Eye of the Storm
by KymmaRaven
Summary: The eye of the storm is misleading and dangerous. Never turn your back on it, for the worst is yet to come. Darkness is coming… A new storm, a kind not seen for eons, is brewing on the horizon. Evil is rising, bringing with it death and suffering. The darkness is coming to life... and this time, the heroes may be helpless to stop it. (Sequel to Hero.)
1. Child of Light

**EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOTE: This story is listed as one of two sequels to "Hero". The other one is "True Storm". Both are essential parts of this series but the order you read them in is entirely up to you. If you want to read this one before "True Storm", by all means, go for it. If you'd like to read "True Storm" first, just come back to this later. It'll wait, I promise.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **An explanation for the rating of this story may be found at the end of the chapter.**

 **~台風の目~**

 _Welcome to the sequel._

 _The eye of the storm is misleading. It can lull you into a false sense of security, trick you into thinking that the bad times are over and that the hardships of the past are behind you. The eye of the storm is dangerous. Never turn your back on it… for the worst is yet to come. A darkness is coming… A new storm, the likes of which the world has never seen before, is brewing on the horizon. War is coming._

 _I hope you enjoy…_

 ** **EYE** OF THE STORM**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Child of Light"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _It never should have existed._

 _This clan ruled most of the known world more than twenty-seven and a half thousand years ago. It was a clan of darkness. Its people were corrupted, their hearts blackened by evil and power-lust. In their conquest of the world, the paths they took to achieve their goals only darkened the people further. The war they started with the establishment of their civilization tore apart the world, encompassing everything in its terrible and dark sphere of influence. As the war raged on and on, the size of that dark clan grew to the point where none of the world's armies, even when combined, could stand a chance against them. Worse yet, the people of that clan began to rapidly change as the darkness within them grew. They developed new and impossible powers, their appearances were altered, their own language began to emerge… It was as if they had never been part of this world, and no one could seem to stop them._

 _It took a century of darkness and suffering for a miracle to finally come._

 _A great and powerful warrior known only as Sade the White took on the clan on his own, bidding the rest of the world to stay out of what was soon to be the final conflict of the war. Taking an ancient orb from the place of his birth, he confronted the evil using nothing but his own true strength. Then, using every ounce of his power, he sealed the dark-hearted clan away within the orb for the rest of eternity. With that single act, the war was over._

 _The legendary hero gave his life to put an end to the war, but his light remained in the world, showing itself periodically within a rare few chosen people. These are the Children of the Light. One such child will one day have to face a terrible evil such as this, and it will take everything he has to do so._

 _But do not fret, Child. You will have friends with you to help guide you on your path and aid you in your struggle. You will not be alone… but you should always be wary. Your enemies are waiting… They are watching you even now as you sleep, comfortable in your dreams. Be ready for anything, Child… for you have never experienced a war like this before._

 _A storm is coming… and this time, nothing can prevent it._

 **~台風の目~**

 **417 words this time. Edited and reposted (at about 7:31 p.m.) 04-20-17.**

 **EXPLANATION FOR M RATING: This story contains mentions of child abuse and intimate partner abuse (a.k.a. domestic violence, domestic abuse, etc.), torture, self-harm, and slavery. No in-depth descriptions are given on these topics, but the mentions are there. There are strong themes of violence (such as in battle), and characters frequently are wounded in this tale (resulting in mentions of blood, specific injuries, and so on). Once again, in-depth and excessive details are not given. Also, there are strong themes of suffering and death and there will be strong language throughout the story. The F-bomb will show up, as will words like "damn", "hell", and so on. However, this tale will not contain strong words with sexual connotation, nor will I be using degrading words like "bitch". Lastly, there will be no lemons, limes, or other "intimate interactions" beyond kissing in this story. Other than these things, EotS is generally suitable for a T rating. If you aren't bothered by what mature content is here, I hope you enjoy the story.**


	2. Old and New

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Hooray, first reviewer! XD Anyway, THANKS! I CAN'T WAIT, EITHER, AND I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU LIKED IT SO MUCH! Uhm, maybe. I'm debating between it being the Voice or one other person. We shall see. XD I'm so happy that you enjoyed it, truly. I hope you like this one as much as well. :) Thank you so much, Pyro-kun! :D**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Time Changes Everything"**

 **~台風の目~**

Time did a lot to change things, Sonic reflected as he watched the people milling about in the huge, lush grassy field around him. Each and every face he saw was extremely familiar to him, and yet, they were all different in some way. _Happier, more open, smiling…_ It was a good change, but the event that had led to the peace that had, for all these years, been allowing for such changes to occur had been terrible. Still, that had occurred a long time ago, and dwelling on such things never did anyone any good. As such, he pushed his memories of that event out of his mind and glanced around, taking in every face that occupied the lush, open space out of his house in the Emerald Grasslands. Everyone here was attending a birthday party, but not everyone attending the party was _here_. Instead of focusing on them, though, he focused on the people who were here.

First, Sonic looked to his father, who was keeping an eye on the twelve-year-old twins while said twins energetically ran around. This was one of those days where Kaden had chosen to wear his hair down, something he had been doing more and more frequently over the years. A single small golden ring that pierced his right ear glinted in the sunlight. His old brightly colored shoes had been replaced with new shoes more than a few years ago. This new footwear matched his gloves.

Next, Sonic looked to Analia. His mother was currently standing at a table (which was about ten feet from the front porch) near her partner and young children, plucking a potato chip out of a bowl. She, like Kaden (and everyone else who had been aged seventeen or above presumably right around Dark Gaia's second rising), hadn't technically aged at all. And, besides an ancient silver pendant (which was shaped like a backwards crescent moon) held around her neck by a delicate chain, her appearance hadn't changed at all.

Next, he looked to Silver and Blaze, who were standing near Amy with Locke and his family. The group was gathered on the porch in the shade. Save for being just a touch taller due to being adults, the cat and hedgehog looked unchanged, as did Rouge. Locke, Amy, and Knuckles, however, did not. Knuckles's hair was a bit longer. Amy's hair was also longer, though more noticeably so as it now reached a few centimeters down past her shoulders. Locke's own hair was still the same length as before (as was Sonic's own), but his once hatless head was bare no longer. Some years ago, he had purchased himself a new cowboy-style hat to replace the one he'd gotten Knuckles, and he wore it virtually always as he'd once done with Knuckles's hat. No one could agree whether the new hat was either very dark brown or black.

After looking over those people, Sonic refocused on his younger siblings. Sen wore dark blue sneakers with black laces. Though he wasn't wearing it now, he normally had a piece of extremely ancient and very rare grey yen tied to a black string around his neck like a necklace. His hair had grown fairly long, reaching about midway between his shoulders and the middle of his back. Sarai's hair had also gotten long. It reached her waist already, and her bangs were still (as always) naturally swept to the side to cover her right eye. She wore very dark purple boots, a spaghetti strap tanktop, and a skirt that reached down to her mid-thigh. Save for the boots, her whole outfit was black. She certainly had their father's taste in color scheme.

Almost idly at this point, Sonic again turned his head, this time looking at the Chaotix, Shadow, and Cream's family. They were all standing a short ways to the left of the snack table where Analia still was. These kids, like Sen and Sarai, were now twelve. Vanilla, Cheese, and Vector truly didn't look any different. Save for the heavy machine gun he, as usual, had strapped loosely to his back, Shadow didn't, either. Charmy's only real change was being a bit taller, like Bokkun (though Bokkun's species was naturally small, so he had barely noticeably grown). Cream had also grown taller, and her ears had naturally grown longer with age. She now wore a lavender dress with a darker purple ribbon that was tucked under the collar and loosely tied in a pretty bow. Her shoes were the same style as her old ones, only now they were dark purple like the bow. Espio, who was standing beside her as he and Shadow spoke, had a pair of black sunglasses (which he seldom wore) on his head, but otherwise looked unchanged.

About five feet away from that group were Marthal and Keiri, and Sonic focused next on them. Though Keiri sometimes wore white sneakers with her white blouse and blue jeans, she was currently wearing her usual white sandals. As such, neither she nor her boyfriend looked any different currently. Not far away from them, about four to six feet to the side (about twelve feet from where Sonic was standing near the porch), were Wave and the newly sixteen-year-old birthday boy himself. Although Wave didn't look any different now than she ever had, Tails had grown taller with age. Sometimes, when working in his workshop, he wore an ankle-length white labcoat and a pair of metal rectangular glasses (the latter of which Silver had purchased for him to "complete the look"), but he currently wasn't wearing them. As such, he, too, looked no different than before.

Now finished observing his friends and family, Sonic was once again forced to acknowledge the fact that not everyone was _here_. Three simply hadn't been able to make it here today. Those three were Amy's parents and Omega, who were all busy with their work and unable to find the time to visit. They, like so many of his other loved ones, didn't look any different. But they weren't the only ones he didn't see here today. They were merely three. Three others were just completely _gone_ , and no one knew for certain _where_ they were. Chip, Storm, and Jet had been gone for years. One could only assume that Chip was back on his homeworld, but no one knew where the two Rogues were. Storm had simply moved out of Future City one day, never to be seen or heard from again. He'd been the second Rogue to leave. And Jet…

Jet had walked away.

It was a terrible truth, the fact that the two Rogues and Chip were gone, but the pain of missing one's friends and family was one he was well familiar with by now. Not that familiarity ever did much to ease pain of any kind, but Sonic was pulled from those melancholy ruminations (and quite abruptly) by the sound of Tails's lighthearted laughter. Sonic's emerald gaze focused on the young fox, who seemed to be enjoying his party. The event had been planned for weeks, but it was well worth all the work, if only to see the fox smile so much. That small detail alone was enough to alleviate some of Sonic's random depressive mood. Looking around again, he found his mood fading yet further as he watched the people around him laugh and talk with each other and the kids run and play. Slowly, the happiness that he himself had been feeling earlier that day returned. _Today is a good day._

"Hey, Dad! Check this out!"

Sonic smiled as he watched a young red boy (who looked like an echidna, even though his mother was a different species) run up to Knuckles, interrupting the older echidna's conversation with Silver (who had walked over to the echidna a couple of minutes ago). The child had long red dreadlocks, just like Knuckles, that reached his shoulders and each of his fists sported small, lethal spikes. He looked just like his father, much in the same way that Knuckles looked just like Locke. The only real different was that the child's eyes were a darker shade of violet than Knuckles's, and the boy didn't _quite_ have Knuckles's old temper. Knuckles himself had actually mellowed out a fair amount over the years, too. _Thank god,_ Sonic thought with a small chuckle.

Pushing his hat up a bit, Knuckles knelt before the young boy. "Whatcha got there?" he inquired lightly as Sonic watched and listened.

The boy, normally so moody and full of attitude like Knuckles had once been, was grinning right now, visibly full of pride over his discovery. "Look!" he said excitedly, his darker violet eyes trained on Knuckles's face as he extended both hands (and, thus, his discovery) forward.

Knuckles carefully took the object into one of his hands and, after taking a moment to examine it, let out a low, impressed whistle. "Man, this fossil's _old_ ," he commented, eyebrows upraised. He looked back to his child's beaming face. "Where did you find it?"

The boy grinned happily at Knuckles's apparent approval. "I dug it up in that cluster of trees over there," he replied, pointing at said trees briefly.

"And you're lucky that you didn't get yourself filthy in the process." Sonic looked away from the two echidnas to watch as Rouge approached the pair (as she had gone to the snack table a minute or two ago). Her hands were resting lightly on her hips. "Honestly, you _just_ had a bath before we came here, Jason."

"So?" the eleven-year-old retorted. Then he added a bit more sullenly with a small pout, "I was careful."

"Regardless, no more treasure hunting for now."

"Aw, Mom!"

"Listen to your Mother."

"But _Da-a-ad!_ "

"No 'buts'."

Sonic was unable to suppress his continued smile as Jason groaned in annoyance and sulked off, his violet eyes glittering with annoyance, leaving his treasure with his father. Knuckles stood and rolled his eyes toward Sonic, his slightly exasperated expression clearly saying, _Kids._ Sonic's own eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Quite a handful, huh?" Silver smiled. He, too, honestly didn't look any different. Sometimes, however, he did wear a light blue kerchief around his neck.

Knuckles smirked at this and turned to face the younger hedgehog. "You have no idea," he responded. "That kid gets into all sorts of trouble, kind of like I used to." To even _hear_ this admission was a testament to how he had changed.

"Jason does it all the time, in fact," Rouge added, also sporting a smirk. "Just the other day, he told Vector that he's an 'annoying slacker'."

At this, Silver busted up laughing, which earned a small smile from his wife (who was still on the porch). "Oh, man, are you serious? He actually _called_ Vector that?"

"Oh, yeah," Knuckles answered with a nod. "To his face, even."

Right after he heard that, Sonic's attention was abruptly ripped away from the conversation when a small black blur slammed into him from the front, holding him tightly in what could only be described as a death grip. Happy ruby eyes shone up at him above a wide smile, and a young female voice shouted excitedly at him. "Uncle Sonic!" she exclaimed. "Guess what, guess what, guess _what_!"

Sonic himself smiled wider as he looked down at his niece. The seven-year-old hedgehog was bouncing lightly up and down in enthusiasm, her red-streaked black hair (which was cut into a sort of a-frame bob) bouncing with her a bit as she did so. Her fur, unlike her hair, was plain black save for a small patch of white that was normally covered by her shirts. As always, she wore simple, dark navy green (though sometimes tan) cargo capris (though sometimes she wore shorts), a plain white spaghetti-strap tanktop, and durable red and white sneakers of similar style to Shadow's, just without the jet skis. She was the very definition of "tom-boy", and the only little kid he knew who could accurately fire a pistol. "What?" he asked her.

She beamed at him. "Daddy said he'll get me a puppy for my birthday! A real live _puppy_!"

Sonic's eyes were shining with amusement when they flicked to her father as the other hedgehog approached. "Did he, now?"

Shadow, who had a subtly tired light in his eyes (kids really and truly exhausted him), walked up to the pair of them. His tiredness was unsurprising, really, as he was a single parent raising a highly energetic child mostly by himself, though also with the aid of family and friends. Her mother (his now ex-girlfriend) didn't help at all, and was no longer around anymore, anyway. She had just vanished, dumping the baby (which he hadn't even known was on the way) on his doorstep, taken off again, and was never seen or heard from again. Shadow had made the unfortunate decision since then to never give love of that kind a try again, but that was all in the past now. His daughter was happy and that seemed to mean that he was happy, too, though he never said such things aloud. Still, in spite of that happiness, he fixed the child with a vaguely exasperated look, one so subtle it could very nearly be missed. "I said I _might_ ," he corrected calmly, speaking to both her and Sonic, "if Lia can manage to behave herself until then."

Sonic looked down at his young niece. "Guess that means no more driving your father up the wall, kiddo," he told her, feigning utter disappointment. "It was fun while it lasted, though."

Smiling from ear-to-ear in spite of this news, Lia stuck her tongue out at her uncle briefly before finally releasing him and running off again. Huffing lightly, Shadow walked after the energetic girl, leaving Sonic alone once more. Looking around yet again, the former hero's attention focused on one person in particular as she carefully placed a tray with more food on the snack table. Noticing his gaze on her back, she turned around, her hair shifting across her shoulders and her familiar red dress bright in the sunlight. She fixed him with a bright smile that he soon found himself returning. Amy never failed to make him do that, it seemed.

At about the same time, he recalled once again how things had changed amongst his family and friends. This particular change was one he often found humorous. _We actually have jobs._ He himself was a DJ and performer at a late-night music club. Analia and Amy ran their own hospitals. Kaden was a world-famous, author, musician, sketch artist, voice actor, historian, linguist (due to the sheer number of languages he knew), and creator of both anime and manga. Silver was a famous sculpter, painter, and sketch artist, and so on, and Blaze and Marthal both ran martial arts dojos (for young kids in Blaze's and teens in Marthal's).

Of course, they weren't the only ones working. Shadow was a worked for the military, dealing (as in trading), repairing, cleaning, and even manufacturing them. Locke was a professional archaeologist and historian who also occasionally a curator at a few museums he had fifty-percent ownership of. Knuckles was now a licensed treasure hunter, as was Rouge. Rouge also worked for a secret-service-like intelligence group and as a self-employed information broker. Keiri was a seamstress part-time and an art teacher at a middle school while also still running her old herb shop. Similarly, Vanilla ran a small shop selling flowers, seeds, saplings, vegetables, and fruits from her garden. Vector, Espio, and Charmy still ran their detective agency. Marie was still an actress, and Harold was still a five-star chef. Tails was a licensed inventor. Wave was still a racer (though a solo one), a famous inventor, and a member of a pro water sports team. Tails was also a famous inventor, a professional pilot in air shows, and a summer tour guide through a very select area of Adabat. Omega aided the military police officers keep the peace wherever they wanted him to. And, lastly, Cream (and thus Cheese), Charmy, and Bokkun were still in school, finishing up their fifth grade year (not that this truly counted as "work").

Everyone was busy in their own ways, and all in different ways than they'd been busy while fighting Ivo so long ago. _Man… "long ago" is a massive understatement, come to think of it…_ he mused as he idly watched Wave and Amy converse. _After all, it's been a hun-_

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Vanilla's sweet voice raised itself to be heard over the many conversations taking place throughout the vast clearing surrounding Sonic and Amy's mansion-like home. "The cake is ready!"

Sonic felt himself start to grin as the children cheered. Tails smiled widely at the sudden increased attention he was receiving as he was ushered toward the cake so that everyone could sing to him. Sonic's smile grew. _Today is a good day._

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,918 words this time. Edited and reposted (at about 7:40 pm.) 04-20-17.**


	3. Little Ones

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Your review to Chapter 1: Yeah! XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 2: Yay! I'm glad you did! :D I really like them, too, and I also think they're cute. And yeah, I can't wait, either! :3**

 **Hello, PyroShockZ! YES, HE DOES! :D Aw, cool! You'll like this chapter, then. :) Nope! She's seven, as stated in the previous chapter. XD YEP, THAT'S EXACTLY WHO HE IS! And yes, yes he is. XD Well, he _would_ be about nineteen now if he'd aged between hero and now, but remember: the Chaos is affecting everyone's aging. Everyone aged seventeen or above in Hero has stopped aging. Everyone below that age will stop aging once they reach seventeen. Until then, they will all age at varying rates (some faster than others and some slower). For this reason, Sonic is still seventeen. This would also explain how the twins aged like eleven and a half-ish years while Tails only aged two. :P Haha, I know, right?! XD Well, if you want really a title and plot, PM me! It'll make this reply too long, otherwise. XD I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! (I noticed! XD)**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Not really. That was only seven, nine if we count Tails and Cheese. Considering how many adults there are in this story, there could be a lot more kiddos here than there are. XD**

 **Hello, karygarcia21! I'm so glad you do! :D And I promise to try not to make you guys wait too long between chapters for this story. I know there were periods in Hero where I didn't update for ages out of laziness and crap, but I've resolve to (try) not to do that here. :)**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Little Ones"**

 **~台風の目~**

With the cake now gone and the afternoon turning late, everyone headed inside of Sonic and Amy's home. The house was large on purpose. He, with the help of everyone else (even Jet and Storm at the time) had built it that way a long time ago so that it could comfortably fit all of his friends and family inside. Obviously he and Amy didn't need or use all that space on their own, but when _everyone_ was over at their house all at once… Needless to say, they needed the extra space during those times.

As the evening wore on, once tentative plans for certain people (namely those who lived far from the house and couldn't teleport) to stay for the night became more set in stone. That meant that (such as Tails) would be spending the night. A good number of others, however, would be heading back to their own homes. Shadow was the first of the latter group to decide that it was time to leave once he noticed that Lia was slowly growing less energetic than usual. That was a good indication that she was finally tiring. Shadow, who had been conversing with Sonic for the past few minutes (though Sonic had, of course, been doing most of the talking), looked away from Lia and returned his attention to the blue hedgehog. "I should get going."

Sonic glanced to Lia just as she finally released a genuine yawn, still stubbornly trying to stay awake as she drew with Cream on various pieces of paper on the coffee table in the living room. "Yeah, probably," he smiled. "It's been a long day, especially for a little kid."

Shadow nodded, his exasperation returning somewhat. "I'm surprised she hasn't passed out yet," he murmured. "She was bouncing off the walls all day."

Sonic smiled wider. "So much for behaving, huh?"

"That child is more stubborn than even _you_ can be. She refuses to change her behavior because it won't be 'fun'."

"I can believe that. She's all about fun."

"For better or for worse." Shadow sighed and turned away. "See you some other time, Sonic."

"Bye," Sonic replied, his smile never fading as Shadow went to retrieve his daughter.

Not responding to that, as he really didn't think he needed to, Shadow walked into the living room and picked Lia up just as the small girl released another huge yawn that she was clearly trying to fight. Using one arm to hold her, he used his free hand to gather up her drawings and, after nodding in response to Cream's softly spoken "Goodnight", he turned and walked back out of the room. Giving his half-brother one last nod of farewell, he walked out the door and began the brief run home. Within about ten minutes, he was stepping up onto his front porch. By now, Lia seemed to have fallen asleep, her arms wrapped loosely around his neck and her head turned to the side as it rested on his left shoulder. Counting himself lucky that he wouldn't have to fight to get her into bed tonight, he silently opened the door and walked inside. He deposited her drawings onto a small table near the front door. When he shut said door, Lia stirred and, sighing on the inside, he turned his head a bit to look at her. _So much for that._

"Daddy?" she mumbled sleepily. "Are we home?"

He nodded once. "Yes," he confirmed quietly, "And it's far past your bedtime."

Thankfully, no protests came. "Where's Mr. Fluffy?" she asked instead, sitting up a bit and looking around.

"Your unicorn is still in bed, right where you left it," he replied calmly.

"But what if he ran away while we were gone?" Lia asked with a tiny frown, seemingly genuinely concerned by this apparent "possibility".

Shadow nearly rolled his eyes, but refrained. Rolling one's eyes was undignified, and it would probably make it seem to her that he was annoyed with her, though he wasn't. The last thing he wanted was to needlessly upset her, especially right now. "I don't think it ran away, Lia."

"You promise?" she demanded.

He fought not to sigh. He wished she'd go back to sleep, if only because he himself very much wanted to crawl into bed and rest. Children never ceased to exhaust him, it seemed. It made him honestly wonder how in the hell people _survived_ having more than one of them. "Yes," he assured again.

She laid her head down on his shoulder again. "Okay."

Sighing softly, he carried the small girl to her room and laid her down in her bed. "Look, here's your unicorn, as promised," he told her, picking up the fat, stuffed white thing up off the foot of the bed and handing it to her. He allowed himself a very small and rather tired smile when she snatched the unicorn into her arms and squeezed it tightly in a hug of pure love. While she did that, he pulled the blankets up over her to tuck her in.

No sooner than he did that, Lia asked quietly, "Daddy?"

He paused in his motions and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Can I have a drink of water?"

"Alright." Leaving the blankets be for a moment, he walked out of the room to retrieve a glass for her. By the time he returned, Lia had already sat up to get her drink. He handed the glass to her without a word, releasing his hold on it just as the phone began ringing downstairs. Unable to keep himself this time, he sighed heavily, left the room, walked down the hall and stairs, then entered the kitchen where his only phone was mounted on the wall. "Hello?"

 _"Hello, Mr. Shadow,"_ Cream greeted sweetly from the other end. _"I'm sorry to call so late, but I wanted to let you know that Lia left her teddy here."_

Shadow sighed again. He hadn't even noticed that Lia had brought it along, somehow. "Alright. I'll come get it tomorrow."

 _"Alright,"_ Cream agreed easily. _"Goodnight, Mr. Shadow."_

He hung up after that without giving a reply (not that this was unusual for him) and went back upstairs and into his daughter's room… only to find Lia playing with her dollhouse on the floor next to her twin-sized bed. He pursed his lips together a bit. So it was going to be one of _those_ nights, was it? "Lia, what are you doing?"

"Playing," was the simple, almost defiant reply.

"You're supposed to be _sleeping_ ," he responded pointedly.

"I'm not tired."

"You were sleeping on the way here."

"But I'm not tired _now_."

"Go to bed."

"I'm not tired."

"I don't care if you just _lay_ there, then, but either way you're going to bed."

Lia stood up and spun around to face her father. "But I'm not _tired_ , Daddy!" she exclaimed, stamping her small sock-covered foot as she said the word "tired". God, he hoped she wouldn't throw a tantrum. It was way too late for something like that. _Why_ was she even fighting this so hard? It baffled him as to why she would insist on staying up in spite of her obvious exhaustion. It just didn't make any sense, not that it made any sense when people like Sonic did it, either.

"Yes, you are," he told her firmly. "You and I both _know_ you are."

She pouted and crossed her arms in some sort of a dignified tantrum. "I'm not," she insisted in a mumble.

His own arms folded over his chest, unintentionally mimicking her posture. Or perhaps it was technically the other way around. She had to have learned it from _someone_ , right? Though he chose not to contemplate that right now. "Stop lying to me and get into bed."

"I don't want to."

"Too bad."

"But Daddy-"

"No 'buts'."

"But-!"

Deciding that he was done with this, Shadow huffed and scooped the girl up, plopping her gently back down onto bed with _just_ enough gentle force to cause her to bounce slightly upon impact. "Not another word," he ordered calmly. She continued to pout, but her arguing finally, _finally_ ceased. Satisfied, he gently smoothed a hand over her head for a brief, silently affectionate moment before removing said hand. She laid down again, and he turned to leave.

Just as he flipped off the light, she spoke up again. "Goodnight, Daddy."

Turning back for just a moment, he saw her curled up under her blankets with her eyes closed, cuddling with her precious unicorn. He allowed himself a small smile that could barely be seen. "Goodnight, Lia."

 **~台風の目~**

"Kimmy, bedtime," Silver called as he entered the living room of the fairly large house he and Blaze shared with their five-year-old daughter.

Kimmy (who had been taken a much-needed nap throughout much of the earlier birthday party) was, as per usual, was dressed in a plain, somewhat bright pink T-shirt, bright blue caprees, and dark purple boots with some light purple and "Sonic blue" (as she called it) on each heel. She had her mother's amber eyes and the very same ruby red chakra on her forehead. Her fur was a sort of silvery-purple (though it tended to look mostly purple). The end few inches of her short-ish hair (which was kept back and out of her face) was a lavender-like shade of pinkish-purple. In spite of being half hedgehog, she looked entirely cat. This was how it went with all people who were of mixed species: they always looked entirely like one species, not some freakish mixture.

"No!" she protested with a whine, turning away from her toys on the floor to look at him with pleading eyes. "Five more minutes, Daddy! Please?"

Silver chuckled and shook his head, arms crossed. In spite of the long day, he was always happy enough to smile. "You got away with that five times already," he reminded her.

"So?" the young girl demanded childishly.

Blaze walked into the room as well. "Bedtime," she said simply. Then she added with a small smile, "Only sleepy kittens don't get tickled."

Kimmy jumped to her feet, ready to bolt. "But I'm not tired!" she insisted.

"Guess it's tickle time, then!" Silver declared with a large grin.

Squealing, Kimmy turned tail and fled down a hall. Laughing, Silver ran after her. With a small laugh of her own, Blaze hurried after them. They chased their little girl through the halls, back through the living room, through the dining room, in and out of the kitchen, back through the halls, then finally up the stairs before they finally managed to catch her. As promised, Blaze immediately began tickling the small child while Silver gently held said child and kept her from escaping again. Kimmy squealed with innocent delight. Her laughter was a sound of pure joy, and it made both of her parents smile. It was such a beautiful thing… but it had to come to an end. It really was past her bedtime.

"Bedtime," Blaze said again in a murmur, still smiling.

"But _Mommy_ ," Kimmy whined in protest. "Five more minutes? Please? Please? _Please_?"

This begging didn't at all swear her young mother. "No," Blaze replied firmly, though not harshly.

"But-" Apparently realizing that she was grasping at straws here, Kimmy seemingly just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "But what about my bedtime story?"

Blaze traded smiles and amused looks with Silver. She then looked back to their daughter. "Alright. You get _one_ story, then."

Kimmy immediately brightened and ceased her pitiful pouting. "Okay!" she agreed happily, all smiles once more.

Chuckling quietly, Silver carried the small girl into her room. He sat down on the little twin-sized bed with her, picking up a book off the nice white nightstand beside it. As he settled back with her and began to read, Blaze turned and walked out of the room to get in some reading of her own now that the house was quiet. Picking up her own book (one of the numerous such books that Kaden had gifted her over the years) off of the coffee table in the living room, she settled down in her favorite chair and began to read.

Somehow, time escaped her. It wasn't until twenty minutes later that she happened to glance up at the time. It was _way_ past Kimmy's bedtime… and Silver hadn't come back downstairs. Even though she'd learned by now how pointless it was, she closed her book and returned upstairs. Stepping into Kimmy's room she called softly, "Silver."

He paused mid-sentence and looked up, as did Kimmy. "Five more minutes," he said quickly with a smile, "then I'll tuck her in, I swear."

It really was pointless. She knew it was. And Kimmy was starting to look sleepy, anyway, which meant that Silver reading to her was working. Blaze sighed, though she was smiling a bit as well. "Alright," she conceded. "Five more minutes." Both Silver and Kimmy beamed at her, even as she walked back down the stairs. Within moments, Silver was reading again. Shaking her head lightly, Blaze returned to her own book.

Only when an hour had elapsed did Blaze finally decide to act once more. Setting her book aside for the second time, she walked up the stairs again and went into Kimmy's room to send her to bed for real… only to find the little kitten and her daddy sound asleep on the bed together. Unable to stop smiling for the life of her, Blaze clicked off the small lamp on the nightstand and quietly left the room.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,349 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this intro-of-new-and-adorable-characters chapter! Posted (at about four a.m.) 09-08-16.**


	4. A Path Forged

**END OF HERO REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Spell of Dawn! Haha, yeah. Certainly. XD No worries! Reviews are always appreciated, but never required. Please never feel like you're obligated to review. :) Thanks! And haha, I don't blame you. The death and destruction in the Ruined Future Arc was certainly kinda addictive. XD I honestly have no idea how I do it. Yes, there will certainly be new OC's and whatnot in EotS. And don't worry! Yes, the heroes certainly get stronger, but with stronger forces of good come stronger forces of evil... It all balances out, I promise. :) Well, Cream isn't exactly dead, so there's still a clairvoyant in the group. However, that doesn't necessarily mean we'll see hints of the next story. Why? Well, she may have gained more control over her powers by now. But, then again, maybe she hasn't. I won't tell here. XD Well, even if it's not following a canon storyline, so long as Sonic characters are still in it, it will _always_ still be a Sonic fanfic. That's why there are so many Sonic fics on this site that don't follow storylines from the games or shows, after all. :) Anyway, I'm happy you like it! Truly! That always makes me happy to hear. Until next time! :)**

 **EOTS REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, StarryMoon33! I knooooooow! X3 I do, too. They're sooo cute. :3**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! *Dies with you* X3**

 **Hello,** **NoOneExpectsDarkBrotherhood! I will, too, kinda. He's not my favorite enemy (I'm just not very into the whole "main bad guy is a mad scientist" thing, personally), but I will miss him in the end. Anyway, I must respectfully disagree with you about his involvement in Hero. Granted, yes, you're right in that he wasn't the biggest threat in the final arc of Hero. I'll give you that. However, that was the case is Sonic X, too, not just here. The Metarex were always destined to be a bigger enemy. However, beyond that, Ivo himself was certainly a huge threat in his own right. To name a few examples, he straight up killed more than eight of the heroes in the Ruined Future Arc, killed Sonic right before Sonic went into his Pure Hyper form, nearly killed everyone at the end of the SA2 Arc... In that last example, if not for Astral Babylon ( _not_ one of the heroes' powers), he _would_ have won. So, in that sense, I don't think the characters are OP. Ivo couldn't beat them, no, but that doesn't mean they're unbeatable. That's the whole plot of this sequel: an enemy that certainly _could_ beat them is the new threat. The stronger the forces of good, the stronger the forces of evil, after all. Neither will ever be truly unbeatable. I hope this all makes sense. ^-^" Oh, and don't worry. The new enemies did exist in a game, so they aren't totally made up. I've changed backstories and whatnot (which I've done with every other enemy so far, anyway), but otherwise they're technically canon. :)**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"A Path Forged"**

 **~台風の目~**

"What the hell are you doing?"

The young man started and looked up. "N-Nothing, sir," he said quietly, eyes wide with surprise.

"Exactly my point," the first speaker replied curtly, arms crossed as he frowned down at the younger male who was sitting in the dirt before him, utterly defeated in appearance. The setting sun beat down upon them, adding warmth to the approaching evening chill. The pair were very near the edge of a sheer cliff by the ocean, at the edge of a vast forest. The other people here were all still within the trees. "Why the hell are you doing nothing?"

"Because there is nothing more I can do," the young man said with a weak shrug, looking back down. His eyes seemed to gain a dangerous shine. "I fai-"

Blue eyes flashed. "Don't," he cut in harshly, causing the younger man to look up sharply in surprise. "Don't let yourself talk that way. Don't _think_ that way. If you do, you'll regret it. If you begin to regret, you'll dull your future decisions and begin to let others make your choices for you. When you give up like that, all that's left for you then is to die."

"But sir," the young man protested weakly, "if I'd known what was going to happen I could have-"

"Next to no one can truly foretell the outcome of any particular event," he said simply, interrupting for a second time. "Each decision you make holds meaning only by affecting your next decision." He looked away to gaze up into the early evening sky for a long moment. When he spoke next, the harshness had left his tone. "Don't make the choice to give up here... or I can guarantee you'll regret it."

"But sir," the young man said again, "you always make it through these things alright. No matter what happens, you always win and keep everyone safe." He slowly looked away. "But, if I may be so bold to say, even during those few times when you _don't_ , you never lose hope. I'm not like you. I can't do that."

The first speaker sighed heavily, his eyes closing to the sky. He searched himself for the words he needed in order to make the difference he knew this young man's life needed right now. "Look... I'm no different than you," he said quietly after a moment. "Not really. The only difference is that my decision comes from experience, and yours doesn't." _My decision to not give up in spite of it all…_

"But if I had just-" the young man started to say before he was cut off yet again.

"It's like I already told you. Whether I stick with my own decisions or believe in the decisions of the people that I trust... no one can predict how things will all turn out." His eyes opened and once more focused on the sky, the glowing orange orb that filled it. "All I can do, all anyone can do, is make my choice, whatever it is at any given moment, with no regrets." He turned and began walking away, tossing one last bit of advice back over his shoulder as he went. "The sooner you figure that out, the better."

"W-Where are you going, sir?" the young man called after him, seeming oddly startled by the sudden departure.

The answer should have been obvious… but he gave it, anyway. "Home. I've dealt with everything I needed to here." Without another word, he summoned up the necessary energy and, with a wispy, pure blue flash, he was gone.

 **~台風の目~**

 _The landscape of this particular dream was dark, nothing but grays and blacks as far as the eye could see. The flat ground was nothing but dirt, save for the chunks of rocks that peppered the ground. The clearing he stood in was surrounded by a dark vortex of slowly twisting clouds. This wasn't the first dream of this sort that he'd had, nor did he think it would be the last, but this was the first time he'd seen someone recognizable in one such dream._

 _"Time is of the essence. You know this." The voice was both familiar and not. He'd never heard it before…and yet, somehow, it was almost as though he knew it._

 _He frowned slowly, his arms folding somewhat rebelliously over his chest as he met that gaze, a challenge in his expression as he stared into bright eyes that were so much like his own. "I will not," he muttered. "I refuse to follow in your footsteps."_

 _The owner of those eyes canted his head slightly, as he himself so often did. He couldn't see this man clearly, save for minute details, like those eyes, but other resemblances were clear. He didn't want to believe it at all. "Is my path truly such a terrible one to tread upon?"_

 _His eyes narrowed. "I forge my own path," he muttered._

 _"As you have always done," the other male acknowledged. "However, there is no harm in occasionally following the paths that others have themselves forged."_

 _"I refuse," he repeated. "I want nothing to do with any of this."_

 _"The time will come when you may not have a choice," the man replied solemnly. "The world needs leadership once more, if only until the storm has passed."_

 _At this, his eyes narrowed again. "What storm?" he demanded. "What are you talking about?"_

 _"Beware the stories of old," the man suddenly warned, "for in every legend there remains a measure of truth. Even myths leave bones."_

 _His eyes narrowed again. ' What stories?' he wondered cautiously._

 _"The truths of one such story will come back to haunt you and all of those that you care for very soon," the man continued. "Your enemies will bring the world to its knees. It will be up to all of you to prevent those enemies from delivering the finishing blow when the end of everything seems near."_

 _"What enemies?" he snapped. "Our enemies have long since died." In spite of his words, he feared he knew the answers to his own questions. If any of his past dreams from these last few weeks were at all true, then-_

 _"Death is not permanent, my son," was the calm reply. He tensed at those words, more-so at the last two words than at the rest of them. It was times like these when he really, genuinely hated being able to see, hear, and otherwise communicate with the dead. "You know this." When he made no reply, if only because he had none, the man spoke again. "The world needs its leader, Kathal. Do not turn your back on it. You must not forsake the planet for the sake of your own ideals. Surely you of all people should know by know how insignificant one's ideals can be in the face of larger issues."_

 _"'Ideals'?" he echoed quietly, his eyes narrowing yet further. He was now even more tense than before, if only because the name he'd just been called by was one that he hadn't heard in centuries. He no longer went by that name, but he had at one time, and hearing it again brought up many memories of his childhood. Some of those memories were best left buried._

 _"Your belief that high authority with great power is a terrible thing is understandable to a point," the man continued, "but not everyone turns out to be so horrible once they are put into such a position of power."_

 _"I can name many who have done so," he replied between clenched teeth, "but I can name none who have not become corrupted by such power."_

 _"You said yourself that you forge your own path," the man replied quietly. "There is nothing stopping you from doing so here. Become the leader that you have never seen. Be the one to end the cycle of corruption. Be the leader that the world will soon so desperately need."_

 _A low growl emitted from him as he repeated what he'd said several minutes before, back when this conversation had first begun. "I refuse." With that, the dream shattered as he broke the connection, sending the unwelcome visitor back from whence it had come._

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,424 words this time around. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at around three a.m.) 09-09-16.**


	5. In Memory Of

**HERO/END OF HERO REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Victory Pikachu! Your review to Chapter 270: I know! D:**

 **Hello, Sun Demigod! Your review to Chapter 270: I dunno! But it was sad!**

 **Your review to Chapter 287: I'm so glad you thought so! That makes me happy to hear! :D**

 **EOTS REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Spell of Dawn! Haha, oops! I fixed that! XD Anyway, thanks! I certainly will!**

 **Hello, StarryMoon33! Yas! I'm glad you are! :D**

 **Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 3: I knoooow! :3 Haha, I'm glad you like her so much! XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 4: I'M. NOT. SURPRISED. THAT. YOU. DO! XDD Well, I'm not telling you for sure! ;D I will do my very best Pyro-kun! (I NOTICED! XD)**

 **Hello, Sun Demigod! Your review to Chapter 2: Same here! :D Yeah, I miss them as well (Omega a bit less so, but still), but I'm also happy to see Silver and Blaze together. They're so cute. :3 As for their kid, you saw that already, so... XD Anyway, no, Tails won't having a girl. He's really not the type of character to be interested in love, you know? Hence him not having a kid of his own. And no, Chip will not be involved in this tale really. He may make an appearance later, but he won't be playing any sort of a big role here. I CANNOT REVEAL THAT BIT BECAUSE YOU ARE RIGHT. YOU MUST READ ON. XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 3: She is! X3**

 **Your review to Chapter 4: I will, I promise! Once a day, at least! :D**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"In Memory Of"**

 **~台風の目~**

It was warm and sunny outside Kaden and Analia's house. The two ancient hedgehogs, like their son and daughter-in-law, had chosen to build their house in the middle of nature, outside the cities and towns and villages where there were so many people and often so many sources of noise. Surrounded by forests as they were here, it was easy to feel isolated. Still, it was a peaceful isolation, and the two of them enjoyed it more than most would.

Separating the house from the edges of the woodlands was a lush green field with many beautiful flowers clustering together in random locations throughout it. In that field not far from the front porch, a simple table had been set up. Locke and Kaden sat on either end of it, having chosen to enjoy the sunlight rather than sit on the porch in the shade. They enjoyed each other's company in their usual way: by talking, bickering, teasing, taunting, annoying, and playing a board game together. It was how they dealt with sad things… and almost everyone they were close with was sad on this day.

Locke considered his next move carefully before finally moving his piece on the board. "You _had_ to choose Shogi," he commented with a smirk. "You know I suck at this game."

Kaden smirked as well. "That's exactly why I chose it."

Locke had no idea if Kaden was joking… or if he was being serious. "Ass," he laughed.

"I'm really not the ass here," Kaden replied calmly as he moved his next piece.

"Oh?" Locke inquired lightly, analyzing his friend's move. "And I am?"

"You are," was the simple confirmation.

Locke laughed again. "Care to explain how?"

Kaden looked up from the board with his eyes to give Locke a look. "You know full well."

Locke's laughter nearly increased, but he held it back enough to reply. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're still peeved over the fact that I dropped a spider on you yesterday."

"And if I am?"

"'Fraidy-cat."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"You really are."

"Spiders don't scare me."

"They do."

"They don't."

"They freak you out."

"That's not the same thing."

"Whatever." With this amused comment, Locke finally made his move.

As Kaden moved his piece, he abruptly switched the conversation back to what it had originally been on. "This game really isn't that different from chess, you know."

"It's different enough, apparently," Locke replied somewhat distractedly, still trying to determine his next move as he spoke. "I _suck_ at this game, but I do just fine with chess."

Kaden's huff was full of unspoken amusement. "You're so weird."

"I am not," Locke retorted. He sounded so almost childish, even to his own ears, but he could hardly be bothered to care at this point. He was enjoying himself far too much for that.

"You really are," Kaden responded simply. "This difficulty you're having with this game is all in your head. It really is just chess, basically, so you should be able to play it just fine."

"By that logic, yes," Locke agreed. "I _should_ be able to play this game well enough, but clearly I can't. I guess the universe just hates me."

"Something that's not alive cannot _possibly_ hate you."

"Oh, shut up."

"Make me."

"I'll throw another spider on you."

"Do it I swear and I'll kill you."

"As if you would."

"I will."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious."

"I don't believe it."

With a huff, Kaden fell silent, watching as Locke finally made his move. Suddenly, Kaden was smirking again, and Locke regretted what he'd done. Kaden moved his piece, and Locke sighed heavily in defeat. "Next time, perhaps," Kaden told him, still smirking, "you shouldn't insist that I choose the game."

Locke smirked again as well as he began helping Kaden clean up their game. "Shut up."

Kaden's response was exactly what Locke had been expecting. "Make me."

 **~台風の目~**

In spite of how sunny and wonderful the day was, the emerald green eyes that gazed out the window were sad and a bit dull. Today was a sad day, after all, and no amount of sunshine and peace could really change that. Today was an anniversary, of sorts, a memory of a day he kept buried in his heart in spite of how painful it was. _This is the day he left… and never returned._

A gentle hand suddenly came to rest on his shoulder. "Sonic, you're in one of your moods again."

Sonic blinked and lifted his chin, which had been resting on his hand, to turn his head toward Amy. He forced a small smile that didn't quite seem genuine, or even falsely so. "Sorry, Amy."

Amy returned his smile, though hers was also a bit saddened, just like his was. "There's nothing to be sorry for. You're allowed to feel how you feel." She took a seat next to him. "I can't fault you for it, anyway. This is a sad day for all of us, but I can't imagine how much harder it is for you. You two were so _close_ …"

Sonic permitted himself a small sigh. "Yeah… we were."

Amy was quiet for a moment before suddenly speaking again. "Great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget," she murmured. "They're gone, but they're never forgotten."

He knew that was true, and she knew he knew that. Still, that did nothing to alleviate his sadness and his loneliness. Surrounded by people he cared about and still he felt a hole in his life… A terrible and painful hole. Losing friends, no matter how they were lost, was never easy. _And some of those losses are definitely far harder to deal with._

"They say that true friends can go great lengths of time without ever speaking to each other and still never doubt their friendship," Amy said suddenly. "There's no way that your friendship with him is dead just because he's been gone. You haven't forgotten him, and he hasn't forgotten you. Your bond is still there, Sonic. Don't you ever dare think otherwise, or I might just be tempted to knock you out with my hammer for real this time."

That finally provoked a real smile from him, but the expression slowly faded as he returned his gaze out the window. "He said he'd come back, you know," he murmured after a while. "He told me he would. That he would try to keep in touch and all that, too. I don't think he ever meant to be gone for this long. And, if I'm right about that, then why _has_ he been gone for all this time? A hundred years and no one's seen or heard from him at all…" _I should have tried harder to make him stay…_

"I don't know, Sonic," Amy sighed. "But I do know that he's not one to break his promises." She looked out the window as well. "None of us were there with you when he left, but I don't doubt that he really did promise that to you. He'll come back someday, just like he said he would. We just have to wait for him."

"But what if something happened?" Sonic asked, finally allowing one of his biggest fears to be voiced. "Out there on his own- He could have died or something, and we never would have heard about it."

"Stop right there," Amy admonished, though gently, as they met each other's gazes. "Sonic, you know that he's more than capable of taking care of himself. You _know_ that. And, more than that, we _all_ know that the world has been at peace all these years, ever since Ivo died. With huge threats like him and his robots gone, there's really nothing left out there that poses that big of a threat to him. I'm sure he's safe, wherever he is."

Sonic sighed again, this sigh softer than the last one. "Yeah… you're probably right." He looked back out the window. "I just can't help worrying… that's all."

"And no one can fault you for that," Amy murmured back. "We all worry about him. We can't help it either. He's our friend, after all, just as much as he is yours." She too returned her gaze to the window to look out and up into the bluer than blue sky. For a moment, she saw their lost companion up there, translucent and smiling at them over his shoulder as he had done so many years ago. "He _will_ come back someday," she said firmly, a smile spreading across her face even as the illusion in the sky faded away. "We _will_ see him again."

Slowly, Sonic found himself smiling a bit as well. "Yeah," he agreed quietly. _Jet will come home eventually… And we'll all be here, waiting for him._ His gaze also drifted up into the sky. _Just… do me a favor and don't make us wait too much longer, okay? I'd hate to be dying of old age by the time I finally see you again._

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,597 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 3:35 a.m.) 09-10-16.**


	6. Long Gone

**Hello, Sun Demigod! Yeah! :3**

 **Hello, StarryMoon33! They are. XD Aw, did he really? D:**

 **Hello,** **NoOneExpectsDarkBrotherhood! Your review to Chapter 4: No worries. That was about a year ago, after all, so I understand completely. You don't need to apologize. :) Anyway, I'm happy you like it. I personally and not usually a fan of OC's, either, but that's why I tried to make them well-rounded and interesting characters, so as to create interest. Still, either way, I'm happy that you can enjoy the story. You have a good day, too. :)**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Long Gone"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _It's strange to say that I feel alone when I'm surrounded by people… but I do._

Walking through the crowded streets of the city, he slowly made his way to a food vendor that he hadn't visited in a while. He was surrounded by faces, both familiar and not, and his expression showed no reaction to any of them at all. He was too lost in thought, anyway.

 _I suppose I understand myself to a point. I know these people, yes, but how many of them actually know me?_

Using some of his hard-earned money, he purchased one of the delicious snacks the man was selling from his cart. As he nodded his thanks to the seller, he noted the gazes of many of the people milling about around him. He was being watched, but there was no hostility. Only curiosity, happiness, gratefulness, respect, silent praise, awe… He ignored all of it for now. He'd deal with it another time, when he wasn't so busy within himself. He resumed walking, headed back to his home, from which he had come.

 _I'm a stranger to them, or at least I may as well be. They know my status, my role, my duties, my deeds… but not me._

He supposed it was for the best, anyway. He had secrets to keep, secrets that he couldn't risk anyone learning about. The closer he got with people, the more likely it was that they would learn these secrets. There was no way he'd allow that to happen. Besides, being involved with him in any way would only be putting people in danger. It was better that no one really know him, for people to continue to know him only on the surface.

 _There are few people nowadays that I can say with confidence are different._

Some of those people were at home, waiting for him to return, and the thought of that was enough to ease some of his secret tension. Some of the other people who were different in the sense that they really knew him (all of them, really) were so far away right now that visiting them would be quite a feat in and of itself. He was far too busy for a trip like that, though. He had so many things to do… especially now that sinister forces seemed to be slowly awakening once more. Evil beings were returning, rearing their ugly heads for the first time in many years. Malevolent faces haunted his dreams… but that was a concern for later, after he returned home to his work. Besides, he knew that those far away people would be more than capable of handling the threat, even if they had to do it without him for a while. As he walked, his thoughts drifted back to the original topic.

 _These few people do know me… but even they don't know me completely. Even the people who once truly did know me don't any longer. They can't._

He knew it was true. Things had changed, and he had changed with them. The people who had once known him would likely hardly recognize him now, if not for his appearance. Not that he planned on seeing them any time soon, anyway.

 _I'm not the person I was before. I'm no longer the same. I can't be, not after everything I've gone through, everything I've had to struggle against, everything I've had to fight to overcome._

For the sake of survival, both his and that of others, he'd had to change. He hadn't had a choice, but there was no one left to blame for that. Those terrible events had been dealt with, anyway, so there was no use dwelling on them. The fact of the matter was that he was different now, and there was no going back.

 _I've grown. I've changed. I'm more myself now than ever. But… How many people will ever be willing to try to get to know me that deeply?_

His sometimes-home was starting to come into view. It was less busy than the city, but things were still a bit crazy. After all, there was a potentially extreme threat on the rise out there somewhere, and it needed to be dealt with. So, with one last thought on the matter that had been concerning him for the duration of his short trip, he cast the matter aside to focus on what was really important.

 _And, at this point… why does it even matter anymore, anyway?_

 **~台風の目~**

 _Gone, but never forgotten._

 _Lost, but never found._

 _Defeated, but never destroyed._

 _Trapped, but never in the dark._

 _Weak, but never incapable of recovery._

 _Stopped, but never forever._

 _Now… it has begun anew. Blinded by peace, they will never see it coming. Even a well-lit place can hide shadows._

 _The strike will come fast and hard, eliminating much with a single blow from behind in the dead of night when they are most vulnerable, comfortable as they are in their sleep and their pathetic little dreams._

 _They will never see it coming. And for that, they will pay the price._

 _Their foolishness will be our salvation. Freedom will come while they remain unaware, and then the world will fall. Once the world has been brought to its knees, we will move on to other worlds. The path of conquest will lead us far… and all those who do not submit and bow before us will feel our wrath… There will be no mercy._

 _The heroes will try to stop us. One by one they will stand and fight, and one by one they will fall. They will plead. They will beg for death. And, in time, we may oblige. For now, however… they will suffer. No mercy will be given to those who stand in our way._

 _There remain, of course, a few particular threats that must be dealt with before the rest become a main concern. The stolen prince and his lovely wife, their precious firstborn, and the new king of another world… These four pose the biggest threat and therefore are our main targets currently. One is relatively alone and will have little protection. He will be the first to die. And, once he has been destroyed, his precious family will be killed off as well. With his fall, the rest of the heroes will be left weaker than ever before. They will need his help… but he will never be there to give it. His death will leave them frozen, and that will be the perfect time… to strike._

 **~台風の目~**

Later on the same day of the sad anniversary of his friend's long-ago disappearance, Sonic watched as his young niece, along with Cream, Cheese, Bokkun, Charmy, and Jason, played in his vast "yard". A small smile appeared on his face. The kids were really having fun, and the adults gathered here were clearly enjoying themselves as well. Espio and Shadow, still good friends after all this time, were talking while Vector and Vanilla did the same. Knuckles was dozing lightly with his hat tipped over his eyes while he reclined against the side of the house. Amy and Rouge were sitting on the bench on the porch side by side as they read. Tails was here as well, and he was playing with the kids, laughing and smiling all the while.

Sonic himself, meanwhile, was sitting on the roof and enjoying the sunshine as he watched it all. Still, in spite of the lightness of the mood and the day in general, he couldn't shake one single thought from his mind. _Something's not… quite right._ Weren't his concerns, vague though they were, unfounded, though? Everyone here was completely relaxed, even Shadow, Mr. Mopey himself. Surely Sonic was just being paranoid. _But… why? It's not like I have any reason to be. I don't exactly constantly have an enemy breathing down my neck like I used to. Gerald, Iblis, Mephiles, Dark Gaia, Chaos, Dark Oak, Ivo… They're all gone now. We've been at peace for a full century. So… why do I suddenly feel endangered? Almost like I'm being…_

 _Watched_ _?_

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,407 words this time. As usual, hope you all enjoyed! I promise action is coming soon. Posted (at about 3:30 a.m.) 09-11-16.**


	7. Broken Seal

**Hello, Sun Demigod! I can't tell you if it was him! XD Anyway, I can't wait, either! :D Yeah, Sonikku... You're not as safe as you wanna think... :(**

 **Hello, StarryMoon33! Of course _you_ do! XD YAS. SO MUCH EVIL. OMG. Yeah... Poor Sonikku.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **Want some epic music to listen to while reading this? I recommend "To Die For" from the Lion King movie soundtrack. Up until 2:08 (where the sad part comes in), it's practically perfect. I was listening to it while writing this. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Broken Seal"**

 **~台風の目~**

Deep within the heart of Adabat was a place darker than any other on the whole of Mobius. Light penetrated the almost impossibly thick canopy of trees above, casting weak beams upon all that were below them, but there was still so much darkness here. It was something few could ever truly see, but no living thing could escape _feeling_ it. The feeling emanated from a single source in the center of this dimly lit clearing, a sort of spire of rock with a rounded-off tip at the top wide enough that a person could lay their hand upon it without bending their fingers.

Large through this crude monument-like structure was, the trees above were tall enough and their branches thick enough to prevent it from being seen from above. The foliage was thick. The journey to this place was far too treacherous for many to dare even attempt it. Few eyes had ever come to rest on that lone pillar of stone since it had appeared so many eons ago in what had once been the Land of Darkness. Even fewer lived to tell others what they had seen. Now, even so many years later, legends circulated of a stone structure deep within the jungle that housed immeasurable evil. However, the jungles had kept their secrets for eon, preventing anyone from ever truly investigating the mysterious of the supposed wicked stone. But the legends persisted.

It was those legends that drove Knuckles to come out here, for even his own tribe and father spoke of it. And come out here he did, not once, but several times. In his attempts to learn more about the structure without disturbing _whatever_ the hell was in it, he had very carefully excavated around it during his first few visits. This rock's roots dug deep, preventing the structure from toppling over as a result of its own size and weight, but that was all he managed to learn. And yet, in spite of knowing nothing about it, the monument deeply concerned Knuckles, for he, too, could sense the immense evil within it. That evil seemed to grow exponentially in the months between each of his visits. This particular visit, one that was taking place just two days after the anniversary of Jet vanishing, was quickly proving to be the most worrisome of them all.

Approaching the pillar, his trained violet eyes quickly detected that there were subtle cracks and splits in the stone that had previously not been there before. Granted, this could easily be due to natural causes, but whether or not that was the case was irrelevant. The fact that they were _there_ was somewhat fear inducing. The fear was unwelcome and hardly based on fact. Despite that, though, the fear that this rock being opened up would unleash utter _hell_ upon the world remained strong. But, as he always did when faced with fear, he pushed through it and walked forward.

The rock split again without warning, great fissures spreading across the cold grey surface and releasing intense but dark purple light. Within seconds, the entire area was filled with that terrible light. The ground shook with so much force he stumbled this way and that, feeling as though he was again standing on South Island as it was about to explode. Waves of tremors so violent they made his vision blur wracked the land, scattering birds, felling trees, splitting the ground… And the rock continued to crumble, falling apart bit by bit until all that was left was a dark purple sphere floating in the air. Though the light remained, centered around and being emitted from that orb, the area suddenly seemed far darker now than it had mere moments before. But this was far from over.

Most of the last of the monument that seemed to be binding that sphere to a prison here exploded, ripping apart the ground and very nearly sending Knuckles cascading into the blackness of a dark underworld below the surface. Mighty trees that had withstood the ruthless brutalities of time fell this way and that, adding their own thundering cries to the already deafening noise. Then a blinding explosion rippled out from the floating orb. The fierce winds and shockwaves struck him and sent him hurtling backward, slamming him into the ground and sending his hat flying off of his head. Pushing himself up quickly, he had just enough time to see the orb split in two, releasing utterly terrifying waves of strange dark energy.

Just as he threw his arms up to shield his face (as though that would save him) and squeezed his eyes shut, that wave washed over him and the rest of the area in all directions. Suddenly, he felt _cold_ , so cold it was like he'd never before felt warmth of any kind in his life. All around, he heard terrible laughter, weapons being unsheathed, running, voices speaking in a foreign language, some shouting threateningly, some whispering as though sharing secret terrors… And there was fear. So, so much fear. But then it was just… over. Just as suddenly as it had all begun, it all ended.

Risking opening his eyes after a long moment, he slowly lowered his arms and looked up into the sky. The sun had returned, but it was not alone in the sky. Fading away before his very eyes was some sort of beacon that almost seemed to be shooting through space. He didn't dare wonder whether or not that was true, and instead focused on standing first. That task was accomplished with only minor hitches. Dirty, battered, and bruised though he was, he wasn't terribly hurt. He could get home, which was what mattered. But…

Swallowing hard, he turned to the remnants of the monument that once stood, dark and ominous, in the center of this now ruined clearing. Stepping slowly, as though afraid to disturb a sleeping beast he knew was no longer here, he made his was over to the stone wreckage and knelt down before it. In each gloved hand he picked up a perfect half of the sphere that had once been hidden away here. It still carried its deeply evil aura and very much retained its dark purple color, but there was nothing else within it. The source of that evil was gone… but not truly. As he stared into depths of those two smooth surfaces, he couldn't help but wonder what had just been unleashed upon the world… and who or what in the hell had caused it.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,095 words this time. _REAL QUICK! VERY IMPORTANT! _ I forgot _entirely_ to explain to you all about the rating of this story! Like with Hero, there is a very specific set of reasons (not including romance-y stuff) as to why EotS is M rated. If you want the details, check the first chapter's author's note at the bottom of the page. Posted (at about 3:40 a.m.) 09-12-16.**


	8. Dark Promise

**Hello,** **NoOneExpectsDarkBrotherhood! Nope, not strange at all! I remember that as well. Such an epic battle. I love that movie. :)**

 **Hello, StarryMoon33! Super glad you liked it! But yes, it's very bad for da heroes! D:**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Yes, it was in a vision with Rouge! Good memory! However, it was also in a vision with Knuckles, where he was looking down at two halves of the broken sphere by the ruined monument. The vision involving the sphere and Rogue was right below that one, and in that vision she had a photograph of it and was showing a male bat. Then, in the last vision involving the sphere, the male bat had the photograph and was lost in thought. So, in other words, the only one who was physically involved with the sphere in a vision was Knuckles, hence the last chapter. ;)**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Yas. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Dark Promise"**

 **~台風の目~**

At the end of the terrible war more than a quarter of a million years ago, after Sade's fall, the man and his deeds slowly faded into the realm of legend. The legendary orb with which he ended the time of suffering fell away, becoming little more than a vague fear all held of the dark and the terrors that lay within. It was not for no reason that such fears existed, and it not for no reason that the orb and its burden were forgotten. It had been hidden away where none would ever see it again. But some still existed who knew of the past… and it was those others that worried Kaden so terribly.

Kaden sat alone in the library-like room in the house he and Analia had built together about twenty miles outside of Empire City. It was three days after the anniversary of Jet's disappearance, and Kaden had a lot on his mind other than that fact. No one else was with him in this room, and the chair he sat in was as lonely as he. This was one of the few times that he was left home alone while Analia went to do something with the kids in the city, and being away from her only fed into his worries. Other things played into it, though, not just her absence. This _damn_ book was one of them. It was a book that had once ended up in Sonic's room onboard the Blue Typhoon, as it had been in the very same box that had contained Kaden's journal. The dark purple hardcover book with strange black markings… Kaden thought it best that Sonic didn't seem to have read it, for it may very well have ended up plaguing the younger hedgehog much like it did to Kaden himself.

As much as he hated the thing, though, he couldn't rid himself of it. He couldn't even burn it. He'd already tried that once. The damn thing had simply protected itself. The magic shielding this book was powerful, there was no denying that. But it was also wicked… deeply, deeply evil. Why he was permitted to touch the horrible object without being cursed or something was beyond him. However, a curse was one of the absolute _least_ of his concerns at the moment. His emerald eyes scanned the very first page. He stared at it, reading and rereading what was written there. He couldn't shake his concern, and reading the sentence once more certainly didn't help.

 _Night is coming._

Biting his lower lip (an act he almost subconsciously did when he was nervous or anxious), Kaden moved to close the book, only to practically freeze when new words began fading into being on the page. Until just minutes ago, when he had felt oddly compelled to open this book and seen that first sentence, he had never seen anything written in this book save for, occasionally, dark symbols he could neither make sense of nor keep out of his dreams. Other than that, every single page in this book was normally entirely blank. Why words he could read were suddenly appearing on this page was an utter mystery to him… but he found himself reading them, anyway, starting again with that very first vague, oddly chilling sentence.

 _Night is coming._

 _…Do you feel it?_

 _Worlds will burn, Lost One. You can feel it coming, can't you?_

 _Tell me, do you truly think that you are any better than your ancestors? Your ancestor, Sen… failed to stop us. The help he called upon, the Father of Light, merely created a temporary solution, foolishly throwing away his life in the process. But we know you wouldn't sacrifice your dear love for anything._

 _Answer me this, then. Will you allow the night to swallow the universe whole? Will you, too, die trying to stop us? What will you do when your pathetic world burns to dust?_

 _Our power is vast, "hero". Those who do not kneel for us will die. We will take what is ours. And that which is not ours will soon belong to us as well. The dark gifts we will share with the universe are to die for. Try to stop us if you will, but remember… even the Light can fall. Even purity can die._

 _We're coming for you._

Suddenly more afraid than he _ever_ normally was, Kaden slammed the book shut and stood so abruptly that it hit the floor spine-first, causing it to fall open again. The words were all gone. Heart pounding, he turned and walked out of the room with stiff legs and clenched fists. His teeth gritted together. He hated feeling fear.

 **~台風の目~**

 **812 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 3:45 a.m.) 09-13-16.**


	9. The Call

**Hello, Sun Demigod! Well, here's more for you to see! :D**

 **Hello, StarryMoon33! I'm so happy you think so! :D And yes, it should have. It inspired this. XD**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! YAS. XD**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Sadly,... that would be correct. Da book cannot be destroyed so easily. :/ Also, yes. I certainly did do that. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Call"**

 **~台風の目~**

Azerel walked briskly down the corridors of the massive building where he and Kath normally stayed. His pace was quick, not slow and steady as it normally was (as the wolf, like Kath, was rather late into his life), and there was a good reason for it. Trouble was brewing… He and his pack had all sensed late in the night a deep evil struggling to surface someplace many, many miles away. It was morning now, but the sun brought with it no new hope, only a reminder that even those touched by the Light could be consumed by Darkness.

Not even the so-called "Gods" were safe.

If something wasn't done very soon, they would all be doomed. The Metarex paled in comparison to the evil that was coming. Even Kath would be unable to defeat them alone, nor would the one who had so utterly surpassed him in strength. Azerel didn't doubt that the old hawk would still stand and fight regardless, though, once he knew of the threat, and there was next to no chance that Kath was unaware. Hence Azerel's rush. _If he's already taken off, I'll just teleport after him and kick his reckless butt myself._ Biting back a growl at the idea of his oldest friend being so _stupid_ , the wolf phased through the ornate double doors leading to Kath's observatory. As usual, the old hawk was in there. What was different from normal was the fact that Kath was not seated at his table writing but was, instead, standing out on the balcony straight across the room from where Azerel was. The hawk was leaning on his arms on the railing, showing no signs of being aware of Azerel's presence.

Walking around the table, chair, and various piles of books and papers as well as over the spot where he normally lay at his friend's feet, Azerel made his way out onto the balcony. The wolf sincerely doubted his arrival went unnoticed, but Kath showed no outward reaction to his friend's arrival. He didn't even blink, his heavenly blue eyes trained on the horizon yet still, watching as the sun slowly rose in the distance. The early morning breezes teased the hawk's hair up and to the side, uncovering his eyes for once. Kath's one long sleeve and Azerel's fur were also moved by the breeze, and Azerel savored the cool air as he nimbly leaped up onto the balcony's white stone railing to Kath's left, balancing with perfect ease. _We need to talk,_ he told the hawk silently, tone serious and brooking no room for argument.

No argument came. "Talk, then," Kath murmured, still not looking away from the horizon. His already normally quiet voice was especially soft, almost to the point where it was stolen away by the breeze. The tone he used held almost no emotion, nothing to indicate feeling. It was just… distant, like Kath's wasn't entirely _here_ right now, even though physically he was.

Pointed white ears had pricked to catch Kath's words, but they then lowered slightly out of concern. It wasn't like Kath to be so "zoned out" (for lack of a better way to put it), but Azerel didn't have time to focus on that right now. _Kath, the pack is restless,_ he said seriously. _We sense danger. A beacon reached us last night, and my oracle advised me that they might be responsible for it._

There was little reaction from Kath, merely a small exhalation and another softly spoken two-word sentence. "I know."

Growling softly, Azerel moved a step closer to Kath. _You need to focus,_ he told his friend. _This isn't like you._ No response. _Kath, what's going on?_ At this point, he was _sure_ that _something_ was going on that he wasn't aware of. That was an idea he didn't like at all.

Finally, Kath looked Azerel. Really looked at him, though he still seemed distant. After a moment, he gave some sort of an explanation, albeit a very vague one. "Night is coming." He looked away again, back out into the distance. "The malevolence called… and the night has answered." Before Azerel could even make an attempt to ask Kath what in the hell he was talking about, Kath jumped off the balcony to the ground far below, landed lightly, and began walking away, leaving Azerel alone with his fears.

 **~台風の目~**

 **768 words this time. This chapter is both important for this story and to set up a later story for this series. Hope you all enjoyed. ;) Posted (at about 4:40 a.m.) 09-14-16.**


	10. Unlikely Savior

**Hello, Sun Demigod! No, not at all. The very first chapter was a prologue, not any of the rest of them. Introducing the evil is part of the story, hence the last three chapters. It's necessary. :P**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! YAS. XD Haha, thanks! I try. :)**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Unlikely Savior"**

 **~台風の目~**

Four days after the anniversary of his closest friend's sudden disappearance, Sonic awoke to the delicious smells of breakfast wafting up the stairs and into the quiet bedroom he and Amy shared. Rolling over somewhat sleepily, he found that the other half of the bed was empty. Judging by those sweet smells, Amy's absence could only mean one thing. Smiling to himself, he rolled back over and tossed the blankets aside. He stepped into his shoes and was soon afterward headed out of the room, then down the stairs and into the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, he found Amy in there, busily working on breakfast like he'd suspected she was. She turned her head when she heard him, and her expression brightened into a smile. "Hi, Sonic."

"Morning," he replied with a smile of his own. He stopped walking, hugging her from behind and resting his chin lightly on her shoulder. "It smells delicious," he murmured.

She smiled wider. "Well you'll have to wait a few more minutes. The bacon isn't quite done yet." Then, before he could even ask, she added, "You can help by setting the table, if you wouldn't mind."

"Sure," he replied easily. He released her and went about pulling the necessary dishes out and placing them on their shiny wooden table. He had only just finished when Amy began serving food for the both of them. Seeing what else she'd made besides the bacon, namely the pancakes and some eggs, he promptly pulled out the syrup, butter, and a knife as well. Once everything was set up, they both sat down and began eating in the peaceful silence of their home.

Truthfully, Sonic wasn't entirely sure just how much time passed before Amy spoke up and broke the silence. "Silver called while you were still sleeping, by the way," she said conversationally.

Sonic looked up from his plate in mild surprise. "Did he?" he inquired. "What for? He need something?"

Amy shook her head, smiling once more. "No, not at all. He just invited us over later today, that's all. He said about ten this morning would be nice."

Sonic soon found himself returning her smile. "It _has_ been a while since we've been over there, hasn't it?"

"It has," Amy agreed. "For that matter, it's been a while since we've been over to your parents' house, too."

"We can go visit them later today or sometime tomorrow, then," Sonic decided.

"We'll have to plan the visit carefully, either way," Amy reminded him. "Wave's coming over tonight, still."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Maybe we should try to get in a short visit before the evening today, then."

"Sounds good to me, Sonic," Amy replied.

Sonic grinned a bit. "So it's settled, then." He paused, then grinned some more. "I say we surprise 'em. It'll make Mom smile."

Amy's smile returned again. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

Silence settled between them again, a comfortable one, and soon enough they finished breakfast. Working together, they made quick work of the dishes. Out of consideration for his continued anxiety (and sometimes fear) regarding water, Amy always washed and, in exchange, Sonic always dried and put everything away. It was a system that worked well for them, and they practically had it down to an art. They were done in under ten minutes and, by mutual consensus, they headed to the nearby living room to watch some television before it was time to go. It was only about eight in the morning right now, anyway, so they had plenty of time to kill before they were expected to be anywhere.

They had only just gotten settled down on the couch that directly faced the T.V., Sonic sitting by Amy's left side with his arm draped casually over the back of the couch behind her, when the house phone suddenly began to ring. It was the only phone in the house besides Amy's cellphone, which was resting on her nightstand in the bedroom upstairs, so they both knew straight away what phone it was. Sonic immediately stood to answer the random call, the first one they'd received in weeks. It was fairly common for friends or family to call them, so it didn't surprise either of them. For them, it was normal. "I'll get it," he said casually, already headed for the phone.

"Alright," Amy replied as she flipped the television on.

Sonic walked over to the phone, which was mounted on the wall just outside the kitchen. Grabbing it and putting it to his ear, he asked in a friendly tone, "Hello?"

 _"Hello, Mister Sonic."_

Sonic honestly hadn't known who to expect hearing on the end, but, for some reason, he was almost especially surprised that it was Cream who'd called. Still, it was a pleasant surprise. "Oh, hey, Cream," he replied with a smile he knew she couldn't see. "What's up?"

 _"I need to talk to you,"_ Cream said in a sort of a murmur. It was unlike her to sound so serious nowadays, and that immediately made his smile fade. _"It's important."_

Sonic frowned slowly. "Okay," he said, perhaps even more seriously than she had sounded. "What's going on?"

 _"I had a vision, Mr. Sonic,"_ Cream responded quietly.

Sonic tensed up. Cream hadn't had a vision in _years_ , not since Ivo and the Metarex had been defeated. This was _beyond_ serious, more likely than not, which coincided with his vaguely foreboding feelings as of late. Those feelings had deeply strengthened a couple of days ago, but he had been trying very hard not to let what he _assumed_ was paranoia get to him. Now, he wasn't so sure that he was just being paranoid. Something real _must_ have been going on. He was now sure of it. _A hundred years of peace and now trouble rears its ugly head again… This… This can't be good…_ He supposed he could have been jumping to conclusions, but even still… "What kind of vision?" he practically demanded. "What did you see?"

 _"I'm... not sure what I saw,"_ Cream admitted slowly, quietly. It was rare that she was unable to tell what she had seen in a vision. Normally, she could relay even the tiniest detail to those who asked. _"Not entirely,"_ she amended after a moment. _"I know there was a house in the woods, though. It might have been Green Forest. It seemed like there were people inside the house, at least three. Then something happened and suddenly the house was destroyed. Then I saw something dark walking away from the fire. I don't know who or what it was."_

Frowning even deeper now, Sonic quickly asked, "Do you have any idea when that attack is supposed to happen?"

 _"I had the vision last night while I was sleeping,"_ Cream responded slowly. _"When I did, I got this feeling like this morning was the time the attack was going to be carried out. Maybe it already happened. I don't know."_

Sonic let out a small, "Tch!" before quickly calling out to Amy, "Amy, change the channel! See if there's anything on the news about an attack in Green Forest!"

Without wasting time and asking any questions, Amy quickly did as she was told and flipped the channel to get to the news. Onscreen, a female reporter was standing in front of a house that appeared to be in Green Forest, just as Cream had said. "Okay!" Amy called back to Sonic. "The news is on! There's a reporter in front of a house in Green Forest! It looks like the house was on fire, maybe even like it exploded!"

"Shit," Sonic muttered. Then he called back, "Let me know what the reporter's saying! I've gotta talk to Cream!" He put the phone back up to his ear. "Cream, what happened to the people?" he asked her urgently.

 _"I think they escaped,"_ she answered briefly, sounding more certain of this than of some of the things she had been telling him before. _"I'm pretty sure I saw them leaving fleeing deeper into the forest."_

Some of his worry eased, but not much. "Who were they?" he questioned quickly, still practically demanding. A hundred years of peace had done _nothing_ to lessen how responsive he was to danger, and this was clearly danger. All the warning bells were ringing obscenely loudly in his mind. _Something big's going to go down… and this is the start of it all._ The phrase, _The start of the war…_ echoed faintly in his mind at the end of that previous thought, but it drifted away much too quickly to be contemplated.

Cream seemed to sort of sigh. _"I don't know…"_ she admitted, almost apologetically. _"Their images were too vague."_

Meanwhile, in the living room, Amy watched as the news reporter concluded the report and go back to the news anchor. "I'm sorry Sonic, but it just was the conclusion of the news report!" she called to him. "I didn't hear anything about what happened there!"

"Tch," Sonic muttered for the second time. Then he sighed and called back out to Amy yet again with a short, "Thanks, Amy!" Turning his attention back to Cream, he said, "Let me know if you see anything else."

 _"I will, Mr. Sonic,"_ Cream promised. She started to say something else before another voice stopped her. She seemed to move away from the phone for a moment. _"Coming, Mother!"_ She returned to the phone. _"I have to go, Mr. Sonic. Goodbye."_

"Bye," Sonic sighed. They hung up. After a long moment of secret tension and worry, he walked back to the living room.

Amy turned off the TV, since the report that they'd been interested in was over now, and watched as Sonic sat back down. "Is Cream all right?" she asked in apparent concern. It made perfect sense. Cream was her little sister, after all.

"She's fine," Sonic assured with another sigh. "I think she's just concerned." His own concern was easily apparent. It had been a century since they'd last had trouble like this, after all. This was _not_ something to be taken lightly.

Amy nodded in response to his words, clearly relieved that Cream was okay but also still visibly concerned about what was troubling her husband. _Not that it's any mystery what's bothering him… This sort of thing isn't normal anymore, not in this day and age. This world is safe. So why is this happening now…?_

After a moment, Sonic sighed yet again and said, "Well, it seems like the authorities took care of everything down there this time, so it's alright for now, I guess. That doesn't explain why that attack was so important that Cream had a vision of it, though."

"It's hard to say Sonic," Amy murmured. "We really have no way of knowing."

"But that's just it," Sonic muttered. "When something's going on, we're _supposed_ to know. We're the world's heroes, all of us, essentially retired or not. When crap goes down like this, we need to be the _last_ ones left in the dark."

"I know, Sonic," Amy sighed. "I know."

 **台風の目**

The run to Silver's house was, needless to say, brief and relatively uneventful. Sonic set his wife down gently on her feet once he stepped up onto the porch, then raised one hand to knock lightly.

"Coming!" The door to Silver and Blaze's house suddenly opened, revealing Silver standing in the doorway. He grinned. "Hey, guys! I was wondering when you'd get here."

Blaze came to the door as well and smiled when she saw Amy and Sonic. "Silver, are you going to invite them in?" she asked, looking at him in obvious amusement.

"'Course!" Silver laughed. "Come on in, you two." He stepped aside to let Sonic and Amy in.

Suddenly, Kimmy came running into the room and tackled Amy in a hug. Amy picked up Kimmy to hug her and then put her back on the ground. "Have you gotten taller?" Amy asked the little girl, a smile on her face as she knelt down to the kitten's level.

"I grew, Gramma, I grew!" Kimmy exclaimed excitedly with a smile, bouncing up and down in an energetic display of said emotion.

"A whole half a centimeter," Silver acknowledged with a chuckle.

"That's great Kimmy," Amy told the little girl, smile still in place on her face. Kimmy beamed at Amy like the proud, adorable three-year-old she was.

"Would you guys like something to drink?" Blaze asked, already moving toward the kitchen.

"I'll have a water, please" Amy answered.

"Nah, I'm good," Sonic replied. "Thanks anyway."

Silver looked to Amy and Sonic. He hated to get so serious so soon into what was supposed to be a pleasant visit, but this matter _was_ serious. "Say, did you guys see the news earlier? About that attack?"

"I turned on the TV just before they ended the report," Amy frowned, "and didn't catch anything about what, exactly, happened."

Blaze returned with two cups of water in her hands and handed one over to Amy as Silver continued speaking. "Apparently that's not the first attack like that," he said seriously. "There were similar attacks in White Jungle, Empire City, Station Square, and even Apatos."

Sonic stiffened. _There were other attacks?_ To make matters worse, everyone knew that Apatos was where Amy's parents lived, and White Jungle was a place Shadow frequented (when he could) for the sake of training, and Empire City was Rouge's former home (a place she still visited often), and Station Square was where Cream, Charmy, and Bokkun went to school…

Amy stiffened when she heard Apatos had been attacked as well, and her mind began to go a hundred miles per hour. She was instantly fearful. "Did you hear who was attacked, specifically?" she asked in heavy concern for the lives of her friends and family.

"No one in particular was attacked," Silver said somewhat soothingly. "The attacks were random, like they were trying to find someone and flush them out of hiding, or… something like that." He sighed a bit as he revealed more information that the two older hedgehogs hadn't previously been privy to. "All anyone knows for sure is that these attacks happened in all those locations at more or less the same time after the Green Forest attack. It seems like there's a group of perpetrators."

Sonic frowned deeply to himself. _What do I do?_ he wondered slowly. _I can't very well leave Amy and everyone, but I can't do nothing about these attacks..._

"You are not doing this alone, Sonic!" Amy exclaimed immediately with a rare flash of temper, having read his mind.

Sonic jumped when Amy suddenly practically yelled at him. " _Jeez_ , Amy! Don't _do_ that!" After a moment of fairly tense silence, he sighed and muttered, "I was never planning on going alone, anyway, Amy. I can't just take off like I could in the past. You know that. All our family and whatnot is here."

"You're right," Amy replied with a sigh of her own.

" _Someone's_ gotta do something about this," Silver insisted suddenly. "Blaze and I can't very well go. We have Kimmy to take of." He paused for a moment before suggesting slowly, "Maybe you two could go together...?"

Amy turned to Sonic, clearly seriously contemplating this idea. "What do you think, Sonic? I mean, _should_ we…?"

Sonic nodded slowly, thinking rapidly. After a moment, he gave a reply that was only slightly hesitant. "I guess so, yeah."

"You can go now if you would like," Blaze offered.

"Wouldn't that be a little rude?" Amy asked, seeming a bit torn between her heroic duties and her social ones.

"You can always come back," Silver said seriously, "but you can't always save a life. Get going." Sonic nodded once. Amy did as well and quickly gave a hug to Silver, Blaze, and Kimmy. She then followed Sonic out the door. "I vote for visiting the sight of the first attacks before the others," Sonic said once they were outside. "What do you think?"

"I think that starting where it all began is a good idea," Amy replied.

Sonic nodded once more, then gently grabbed her hand. It would be faster if they ran, so he carefully picked her up and took off. Amy wrapped her arms around his neck, making sure that it wouldn't choke him inadvertently in the process. Within minutes they were there, even though Green Forest was on the other side of the world. It didn't take much longer to find the house, either, if only because there was still some smoke creating a pillar in the sky above it. It was abandoned by now; all the cops and news crews and whatnot were gone.

"It's sad to know that someone lost their home," Amy murmured. "And so suddenly…"

Sonic nodded his agreement. "Come on," he said quietly, "let's see if we can find any clues or something." Amy nodded and followed Sonic to the ruins of the family's house. There was still a lot of smoke filling the area from the fire, and it was worse inside. Sonic coughed a bit against his will as he pushed open what was left of the front door. Biting back another cough, he stepped inside. Amy tried not to cough, but the residual smoke was too much for her and she ended up coughing a lot, anyway. Sonic rushed to her side. "You okay?" he asked in concern.

"There's too much… smoke… in the air," Amy said in between coughs. "It's making it… hard to breathe."

"Why don't you head outside?" Sonic suggested worriedly. He was mostly unaffected by the smoke. He was a fire-user, after all. "I'll just be a minute." Amy just nodded, since she was finding it hard to breathe to form a reply, and walked out of the house. Sonic began looking through the house. As he wandered around, a frown slowly appeared on his face.

There were no pictures.

There was nothing, not a _single_ thing in the house to indicate who had lived here until just recently. Some things were made clear by looking around, though. There had, in fact, been multiple living in here. Walking into one of the rooms downstairs, he found what seemed to be a sort of entertainment room filled with a combination of instruments, art supplies, video games, and so on and so forth. Up the stairs, the very first room Sonic entered quickly proved to be an office. There was a good-sized desk, all kinds of papers, books, writing instruments… the list went on and on. Yet another room was filled with… pink. And, of course, all of this was basically destroyed, but Sonic could make everything out well enough. But there wasn't a single defining item to be found that gave any indication as to who the victims here were. He stifled a sigh and, eventually, he admitted defeat and returned outside.

"Did you find anything?" Amy asked almost hopefully.

Sonic shook his head. "No, nothing. There weren't any clues about the attackers. There wasn't even a single photograph in the house to tell me who lived there."

Amy frowned and said, "That's… strange," she murmured.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I-" Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a sudden sound that made his right ear flick.

"What are you hearing?" Amy asked, her voice very, very quiet.

"I think..." he said slowly before pausing and listening even harder. He needed to be _sure_. "I think someone's... _fighting_."

"Should we go investigate it?" Amy inquired cautiously.

Sonic nodded quickly. "Yeah. Maybe someone found the people who did this and confronted them or something." He picked Amy up again and took off toward the source of the sound somewhere deeper in the heart of the forest. He had just about reached the place when he was suddenly forced to duck as a sword swung over his head, barely missing the tips of his ears. He skidded to a halt and set Amy down so they could confront their enemy. The enemy was some sort of soldier-like person. As Sonic watched, more soldiers who seemed to be allied with the first one appeared.

"Do not interfere with our plans if you wish to live, _hedgehogs_ ," the first man threatened venomously. "This is none of your concern right now."

Sonic frowned. _None of our concern " right now"…?_

"What should we do?" Amy whispered low enough for only Sonic to hear, her lips barely moving.

"Find out who they're after," Sonic muttered back. "Then fight if we need to." Amy's only response was to nod her head discreetly.

Sonic started to open his mouth to speak, only to have all his plans derailed when the first soldier spoke again. "I told you to leave, hedgehogs. You have made your choice." Without any other warning, the soldiers all rushed forward in a wave of darkly-clothed bodies.

Amy ducked and weaved between the soldiers to avoid being hit while she summoned her Piko-Piko Hammer. She then swung the hammer and sent a couple of soldiers flying. Sonic jumped over a sword and flipped over to kick a soldier in the head. Once that soldier went down, Sonic stole his sword just in time to parry a blow from another sword.

Amy decided to start reading their minds in order to attempt to find out what they were planning to do while still sending soldiers flying. She also knew Sonic could hold his own and handle himself, but she continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye. The soldiers' minds were all heavily guarded, though. All that she managed to learn was that the soldiers had orders to _kill_ their target, and that their target was now homeless and on the run with others in tow. The last and only other thing that was revealed was that they had no idea where their target had gone, just that they were strongly suspected to still be in the forest.

 _"Sonic they're going after the family that escaped from the house,"_ Amy telepathically told Sonic while making sure not to get hit by the soldier's blades. _"These people believe their targets are still in the forest. Apparently their orders are to kill."_

 _Shit,_ Sonic swore in his head in response. _"We need to hurry up and finish this, then. We can't-"_ For at least the second time that day, he was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

Everyone in the clearing froze when a formless wave of bright blue lightning suddenly fell upon them from some indiscernible point ahead of Sonic. It quickly morphed into a huge serpentine dragon that obliterated the army and vaporizing them while somehow never harming Amy or Sonic. Sonic was so frozen with shock that he couldn't move as the lightning slowly died down, revealing a figure that was slowly approaching from the far opposite end of the clearing, a hand on their right hip and their long red scarf blowing to the same side as a result of the residual wind from that attack.

"Was that… a _Raiga_?!" Amy exclaimed in utter shock, seemingly having not seen the newcomer just yet. There were no other words to describe the feeling, though something stronger was _needed_.

Sonic was _far_ too shocked to utter a single word in response. Within a few short moments, Jet, the person whose disappearance they'd been mourning just three short days ago, reached them and came to a stop a few feet away. His expression was far calmer than Sonic ever remembered it being, and his overall expression was almost entirely unreadable. The blue blur, for once, was simply too stunned to react. All he could do was stare in obvious shock, his eyes wide and his mouth, quite possibly, hanging open just a bit. He could barely even _think_ right now, but one thought rang louder and truer than all of the others that were trying to make themselves known to him. _He's… He's back…_

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,139 words this time. He's BAAAAAACK! :DD Posted (at about 3:36 a.m.) 09-15-16.**


	11. Enter the Storm

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 5: It so is. And I, of course, love them too. XD Yes... yes they are. ;_; Because da author deemed it necessary for da story... :(**

 **Your review to Chapter 6: NOT TELLING! XD And, well, you'll just have to find out. ;) Maybe it _is_ talking about him (among other people), but I won't say yet! All will be revealed in due time, I promise. XD HE IS! OMG! XD THANKS! GLAD YOU LIKE IT!**

 **Your review to Chapter 7: I'm so happy you liked it! :D Wow, you did? Cool! The fact that that happened means (in my opinion) that that chapter turned out as well as I'd hoped it would. That makes me happy to hear. :) Once again, I'm so happy you're liking it! :D**

 **Your review to Chapter 8: Yes, it does. Haha. XD And yes, he really is... Freaky. I CANNOT TELL YOU THAT YET! XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 9: YET ANOTHER THING I CANNOT TELL YOU ABOUT YET! Haha, I know, right? Lol! XD (Also, I think you're the only person who's ever called Kath that. Ever. XD)**

 **Your review to Chapter 10: That song or whatever it was was amazing. XD Yes, he is! And yes, it certainly is on the way. I have high hopes for that, truly. :) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! See you next time!**

 **Hello, Samantha! Yes, I am! :D Haha, you're welcome! Happy to know you're enjoying so far!**

 **Hello, StarryMoon33!** **Your review to Chapter 9: I do, too! And I agree. That was fun, and a nice change from the norm (in my opinion). :) Oh, I am, too! I really do have high hopes for all of this!**

 **Your review to Chapter 10: YES. YES. YES. HE IS. DID YOU REALLY? XD**

 **Hello, Sun Demigod! Yeah, he has!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Enter the Storm"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _He's… He's back…_ Sonic thought in shock. As he watched, Jet glanced them over, expression subtly surprised, but otherwise unreadable. Sonic was used to his friend being rather closed off in certain ways, but he _wasn't_ used to Jet being _this_ closed off.

Much to Sonic's further surprise, Jet spoke first. His voice was just as calm as his expression. "You two shouldn't be here."

Amy frowned, her confusion seeming to overtake her shock. "Why not?"

But Jet didn't reply. Instead, he just turned… and for the second time in his life, Sonic saw his friend's back as Jet walked away from him. Gritting his teeth, Sonic ran forward and caught his old friend's arm without ever consciously thinking of doing so. "Wait!"

Jet jerked his arm free roughly, but, by some miracle, he stopped walking. He turned back about halfway to look at Sonic. In spite of the emotion that him yanking out of Sonic's grasp might have hinted at, he remained unreadable. "What?" He almost seemed to be in some sort of hurry. Even a hundred years ago, this wasn't really like him. Typically, he preferred to do things at his own pace and in his own time. He didn't like rushing… unless he was racing. But, of course, those were totally different circumstances.

"Where are you going?" Sonic asked quickly, perhaps even too quickly. There was a sort of desperation in his tone that he couldn't seem to banish, but he hardly cared right now. He just couldn't stand the idea of Jet _leaving_ again…

Seemingly, Jet picked up on Sonic's emotions. His eyes almost seemed to search Sonic's for the barest of moments. Then he broke eye-contact and looked away. "I have things to take care of," he finally replied. His answer was vague and simple, and it didn't satisfy Sonic at all.

"What things?" Amy asked, taking a step forward and toward them.

When Jet didn't reply, Sonic voiced his question again. "Where are you going, Jet?"

Again, Jet turned away. "It doesn't matter."

At this, Sonic felt a sudden spike of anger. "You've been gone for a _hundred_ years and it doesn't _matter_ where you're going?" he demanded.

"No." This reply was stiff. Curt. "It doesn't." Sonic opened his mouth to speak again, but Jet surprised him once more by turning back to face them. "I don't have time for questions," he told them simply. Then he turned away for the third time and resumed walking. As he went, he tossed a brief, "Maybe some other time," over his shoulder without looking back.

Sonic made a split-second decision. When he ran forward, Amy followed him without question. "Wait!" he called again. He didn't expect Jet to stop… but Jet did for some reason, and again he turned back about halfway to face them. Sonic stopped just a couple feet away from him. "We're coming with you."

This time when Jet looked away, the action seemed almost dismissive. "Do what you want."

It wasn't the refusal Sonic had been expecting, so he accepted it readily. Honestly, Sonic was far too overjoyed to see his long-lost friend again for him to even care that much at the moment that Jet essentially began ignoring them as he resumed his fairly brisk walk. Sonic and Amy were right behind him. After a couple minutes of fairly tense and awkward silence, Sonic finally couldn't keep it in any longer. "What _happened_ to you?" he asked quietly. "Why were you gone for so long?" _And why have you changed so much…?_

Jet didn't reply immediately. However, when he did speak, there was a sort of tiny sigh in his voice. "It isn't anything you need to know about." Sonic and Amy exchanged a look. Neither truly knew how to reply to that. Jet soon spoke again, anyway, his tone firmer than before. "I already told you I don't have time for questions, anyway."

Before either Sonic or Amy had the chance to reply, a sudden attack struck the ground just beside Sonic. Jet jumped back just in time to avoid a second attack, and Amy used her psychic abilities to erect a barrier in order to block a third ball of energy that had been launched at them. Sonic immediately summoned Caliburn into his hand using that special technique that they had all been taught so long ago by Amy, who had been doing the same thing with her Piko Piko Hammer for many years. She summoned said hammer into her hands just as Jet did the same with the retractable steel staff that Sen had given him so long ago along with the scarf and backpack. However, the _way_ he'd summoned it was different somehow. When he summoned his weapon, there was a small flash of heavenly blue, and then his weapon was there. However, Sonic knew that he had no time to question this, for as soon as Jet extended his staff, the fight was on.

Jet's movements were calculated, perfectly executed, and Sonic was amazed by how strong his friend had gotten. _It's like he's been seriously training…_ Shaking his head lightly, Sonic focused on the fight. He spun and kicked a soldier away just as Jet hit a soldier across the back of the head with a hard _crack!_ At about the same time, Amy slammed her hammer into the ground. The ensuing shockwave knocked out numerous soldiers. Right about then, Jet's head snapped to the side and away from them as he seemed to sense something that was lost to even Amy's special senses. With a swift movement, he wiped out the few remaining enemies. Then, in a flash, his weapon was gone.

Sonic sensed what was about to happen. "Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Just stay here!" Jet snapped. The sudden exclamation was so shocking that Sonic and Amy were startled into complete compliance. And, with another flash, Jet was gone.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,042 words this time. As usual, hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 4:24 a.m.) 09-16-16.**


	12. Hypothetical

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YES YES YES, IT IS. I AM AS WELL! WGYIFHJW**

 **Hello, Sun Demigod! Yeah! :D Well, wait no more, 'cause here it is! XD Don't worry, you'll find out. :)**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Hypothetical"**

 **~台風の目~**

It was sometime later (though not too much so) that Sonic finally decided to track his old friend down and see what the _hell_ was going on. Amy, of course, was right on board with this idea. She as much as he wanted to know just what was going on. "Where do you think he went?" she asked him quietly.

"I don't know," he muttered, "but we're going to find out." _I refuse to let him disappear again._ As they spoke, the couple walked. This place was just as wet and flooded as Sonic remembered, but time had weathered the landscape and, in a way, made it new. That wasn't all that was new about this place, though. _That house definitely wasn't here before. And, come to think of it, most people wouldn't be interested in living in a place like this._ Sonic knew, however, that Jet had always liked this forest for various reasons. The solitude, the water, the sheer size of the wilderness… it all appealed to him, so it made sense that he might want to live here. _That office space in the house looked a lot like the office in his airship,_ he mused, filled with sudden clarity. _Organized but not at the same time, full of books and papers and gadgets and very private… Definitely his space._ It was then that something else occurred to Sonic. _There was more than one person living in that house._ He frowned slowly as this realization sunk it. _Who else was there with him?_

It was then that Amy spoke up. "Sonic," she said quickly, "I sense someone up ahead." She, unlike Analia and Silver, usually couldn't tell people's identities just by the feeling of their mind. She could, however, sense whether the person in question was friend or foe. The lack of concern and urgency in her tone indicated that this person was the former, not the latter. So, of course, they were left with the only reasonable assumption, and that was that she was sensing Jet. That was a bit surprising, though. She hadn't sensed him earlier, which implied that he'd been guarding his mind and deliberately keeping it hidden from such senses. So why was he letting guard down now? Regardless of this confusing revelation, they kept walking in the proper direction.

 _He stayed surprisingly close,_ Sonic reflected as they walked under a dripping, low-hanging branch, past a cluster of thick bushes, and through a shallow puddle. Sonic had long since gotten over his near-terror directed toward water, but he was still definitely discomforted by being around so _much_ of it. Still, he put up with it, if only because the discomfort (both physical and emotional) would be worth it in the end, because he would get to see his friend again. _And, so long as I don't see too much of this water all at once, I can more or less be sure I won't freak out. These puddles I can handle. They're harmless. Besides, Amy and Jet won't let me drown._ With these encouraging thoughts running through his mind, he forged ahead through a wide, ankle-deep puddle that was standing between him and his long-lost, newly-rediscovered best friend.

Amy spoke up again. "He's just around that bend, beyond that cluster of trees over there." She pointed with one finger, and Sonic quickly spotted the indicated place. Nodding, his picked up the pace, and she was quick to follow suit. "Funny," Amy murmured as they went. "I wonder why he's just standing there."

"Maybe he's waiting for us to catch up?" Sonic suggested, though he was quick to dismiss his own suggestion. "No, he told us to stay put, so why would he be waiting for us? Granted, he probably sensed our auras a long time ago, but even still…"

"I don't know, Sonic," Amy responded, shaking her head a bit. "I'm just as confused as you are."

Somehow, Sonic doubted that. She knew Jet very well, yes, but not like Sonic knew him. He _knew_ that all of Jet's behavior that he'd displayed thus far today, as well as his manner of speaking, the way he carried himself, the way he'd been concealing everything… all of it was just _off_ from what was normal for him. Sure, Jet had always been somewhat quiet, distant, and closed-off, but never _this_ much. _As he is now, I doubt even Wave would be able to read him… and that's really, really saying something._

Sonic was once more pulled from his thoughts when Amy spoke. "Well, here we are." Together, they rounded the bend… and promptly went still.

The hawk that stood before them was… small. He couldn't have been older than twelve. The feathers were emerald green, as they should have been, but the eyes, while blue, were too deeply so, rather than being light, icy, and piercing. The hairstyle, while still windswept, was a bit different, too. His shoes were also different. They were still red, but instead of being boots, they were sneakers with white laces. Sonic didn't understand. _There's no way he could have been turned into a kid so quickly._ And, even if he was wrong and that _could_ have happened, that most certainly did _not_ explain the eyes. Yes, styles of hair and shoes could change from childhood to adulthood, but not the entire shade of color of one's eyes. Looking to Amy he said quietly, "This _can't_ be Jet."

Those eyes flashed distrustfully and narrowed with suspicion, but their owner remained silent for now. Further proof that this couldn't be the right hawk. Jet had always been one to voice his thoughts, at least some of them, as a child. He'd been mouthy, too. Amy spoke instead. She seemed just as surprised as Sonic undoubtedly looked and sounded. "I… I don't _think_ it's him," she stammered, her own bright green eyes wide with the aforementioned feeling and locked on the child still standing silently a few feet in front of them. "I mean, look at his eyes. They're the proper color, but not the right shade."

Sonic looked back at the boy. "I know," he said slowly. "So this can't be Jet… right?"

Finally, the boy opted to speak. His tone was colored with distrust, laced with childish irritation, and full of subtle fear. "You know my dad?"

Sonic was _floored._

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,112 words this time. Seriously hope you all enhoyed this little surprise! :D Posted (at about 5:56 a.m.) 09-17-16.**


	13. United and Whole

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YES, HELLO! Haha, he is. XD**

 **Hello, Sun Demigod! Yes. He. Does. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"United and Whole"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _Dad._ Emerald green eyes looked the child up and down, taking in everything once again. Emerald green feathers. Deep blue eyes that were full of intelligence. Bright yellow beak. Somewhat windswept-styled hair. The similarities in appearance were _impossible_ to miss. _Oh my god._

"Y… Your _dad_?" Amy asked slowly in shock.

The child nodded. "Yeah. You were talking about him just now." A brief, hesitant pause. Then, a small question. "You... know him, right?"

"Yes…" Amy responded, still speaking just a slowly as before. "We've known him for a very long time."

The child fidgeted uncomfortably from foot to foot. The fear in his eyes was growing more and more visible, as was a desperation that Sonic hadn't noticed before. "Do you know where he is?"

Of course, right then, there was an explosion several miles off to the left. Sonic barely even blinked. "My guess would be, that way," he responded with the slightest glance in that direction. "Just, knowing him and his knack for finding trouble." The boy said nothing, and instead turned and ran off that way. With literally no other options at this point, Sonic and Amy quickly sprinted after him. "Hey, wait!" Sonic called. "You can't just take off by yourself!" Again, the boy didn't reply. He didn't listen to Sonic at all, didn't even bother to _attempt_ to do so. Sonic internally huffed, though he was still more shocked than annoyed or anything else. _The same personality as Jet used to have, too._ Dropping back for a moment, Sonic scooped Amy up bridal-style so as to not leave her behind, then resumed his run.

"Thanks, Sonic," Amy said breathlessly, undoubtedly tired from her run.

Sonic just nodded, not speaking for now. Needless to say, it was exceptionally easy, once he no longer had to worry about Amy, to catch up to the young boy. Sonic didn't dare lay a hand on him for fear of how he would react (would he hate being touched like Jet did?). So, instead, he simply darted into the child's path and skidded to a stop (effectively spraying water everywhere), forcing the boy to stop as well. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"To Dad!" the boy snapped. "Where else?!"

The boy seemed really and truly anxious. And, honestly, it made a great deal of sense. If he and Jet were separated somehow, that would explain Jet's behavior to a point as well. At the very least, it would explain why he was so tense, why he seemed to feel so rushed. _But… " Dad"? Just… oh my god…_

"It isn't safe for you to go running off by yourself," Amy told the boy gently as Sonic set her down on her feet. "There are dangerous people out here right now."

"I know that!" the boy responded sharply, snapping for a second time. "That's why I want to go to Dad!"

That was fairly sound logic, but him going by _himself_ wasn't. "So we'll go with you, then," Sonic decided immediately. "That way you won't be in so much danger if some of those people show up."

The boy seemed to consider this for a moment. In the end, the intelligence that Sonic had seen shining so brightly in those eyes won out over the emotions that were undoubtedly trying to rule the boy's actions. "Okay," he mumbled reluctantly. But then the fire returned. "But how do I know _you're_ not dangerous people, too?"

"You don't," Amy told him frankly. Then she added more gently. "You're just going to have to try to trust us for now."

The boy eventually nodded and again mumbled, "Okay." With that, they all began walking, though at a very brisk pace.

No longer able to hold back, Sonic decided to ask a couple questions. "So, what's your name?"

"Lucas," was the reply. He was still mumbling.

 _Lucas._ Sonic was again shocked. Briefly, he remembered a conversation he had once had with Jet a full century ago.

 _"Say, Jet?"_

 _Jet, like Sonic, was lounging on a rooftop that afternoon. He cracked a lazy eye open to look at him. "Yeah?"_

 _Sonic gazed up at the sky thoughtfully as he quietly asked, "Hypothetically speaking… if you ever had a kid, what would you name them?"_

 _Both of Jet's eyes opened, and he looked at Sonic in confusion. "Why the hell would you even ask that?"_

 _"It's a hypothetical scenario," Sonic reminded him in lieu of another reply._

 _Jet looked away to face the sky and, eventually, sighed. "Depends on the gender, I guess," he finally responded._

 _"Well…" Sonic thought for a moment, then said, "Let's say it's a boy."_

 _Jet was again silent for a long moment. "Lucas is a cool name," he decided. "I might hypothetically name a boy that."_

 _"Not that you'll ever have a kid, right?" Sonic asked with a snicker._

 _"Got that right," Jet muttered, his eyes closing again._

Sonic was suddenly pulled from this memory by the sound of Amy's voice. Apparently, she and Lucas had been talking while he'd been lost in thought. "You're twelve?"

"I just said that," Lucas muttered, clearly annoyed. He was definitely like Jet.

Another explosion tore apart the landscape up ahead, much closer now than before. Sonic had been listening to the fight this whole time, but he was unable to tell who was doing what most of the time. And, of course, as soon as he heard that, Lucas took off running again. Groaning internally, Sonic once again picked up Amy and ran after him. The three of them soon broke the cover of trees, emerging into a large, grassy clearing. As soon as they did, Jet's eyes flashed their way. There was a flicker of surprise when he saw Lucas, coupled with great (though barely visible) relief. He quickly whirled around and kicked the last enemy away while Lucas ran over to him. Jet turned to face him quickly, kneeling down in front of the boy and checking him over. "Are you alright?" he demanded.

"Yeah," Lucas nodded. "I'm okay."

Looking at them now, Sonic could no longer deny what he already knew. They were most _definitely_ related. Lucas _was_ Jet's son. Still… he _had_ to hear it. "He's… yours?" he asked quietly.

Jet looked up at him, his eyes just as quiet as Sonic's voice. After a moment, he nodded. Much to Sonic's surprise, Jet actually spoke a second later. "Yes." This verbal confirmation completed Sonic's shock. Jet then refocused on Lucas and, switching languages, quickly asked him something in Babylonian. His tone was stern, urgent, and Lucas's eyes suddenly brimmed with tears Sonic hadn't at any point expected to see. At his son's shaky nod, Jet stood.

"What's going on?" Amy asked worriedly.

Whether or not Jet had any intentions of replying, he didn't actually have a chance to do so either way. The ground suddenly shook violently, and Lucas reflexively grabbed onto his father's right arm to steady himself. Amy, likewise, ended up clinging to Sonic in order to prevent herself from falling. In a situation like this, Sonic would have expected to hear his friend muttering a curse under his breath or even letting out a sigh, but there was nothing. Jet was silent, his face and eyes on unreadable and those all-too-familiar piercing blue eyes locked on so point in the distance. Sonic looked that way, too, but saw nothing. At least, not at first.

Seconds after the initial quakes began, there was an especially fierce tremor and Jet suddenly snatched his son by the arm and yanked him to the side. There was an explosion right where Lucas had been standing, and Sonic knew right then and there that the battle Jet had been fighting earlier was clearly not over yet. His enemies, whoever or whatever they were, had friends. The hedgehog sighed a little between gritted teeth. _Great…_ Taking Caliburn into his hand, he prepared for the inevitable confrontation. Amy stood by his side, ready to fight with him to the end if it came to that. Jet, meanwhile, assumed a defensive position in front of his young son, staff in hand and posture deceivingly relaxed in appearance. Sonic could sense Jet's will to fight, his determination not to fall here. Emerald eyes again looked over at Lucas. _It's no wonder why he has such a strong will… He has something precious to live for._ Turning back to the oncoming threat, Sonic allowed himself a small smile. _I'm happy for him, then. A century of distance between us is fine if that's what it took for him to find new happiness._

After that thought crossed his mind, the fight was quite suddenly on. A minor wave of enemies fell upon the small group, only to be launched back together by a controlled blast of wind that then held the foes suspended in the air. Taking the opportunity as it came, clearly, Amy let loose a psionic blast at the crowd as a whole. The few stragglers that survived that assault met Sonic's blade. The wind stopped the instant it was no longer needed, but Jet was suddenly on the move. The hawk took to the air suddenly and, without warning, sent a lightning bolt through the sky. The attack struck a once invisible foe that Sonic hadn't even _sensed_ , and the hedgehog was alarmed to see that this new foe was some kind of a monstrous beast. The creature howled as it went down. _Damn… what kind of crazy people have something like that as a friend? _Sonic thought, half irritated and half just plain confused. That was when he suddenly remembered. _A friend. ...Jet didn't have a friend in that house. He had a son. ...A_ _nd someone else._ Immediately concerned that that other person was a now-missing wife or something, he called up to his old friend, "Jet!" Piercing blue eyes spared him a glance. "Who else was living with you in that house?"

Jet's eyes betrayed a flicker of some sort of an emotion, but Sonic failed to read it. Instead of answering the important question he'd just been asked, though, Jet instead turned his head away, scanning the thick, dark forest from his high vantage point. Lucas suddenly spoke up again in his father's stead. "You were in our house?"

Turning his head to the left, Sonic's eyes once again came to rest on the young hawk. "Well, I didn't know it was _your_ house at the time," he admitted, "but, yeah. I was in there, not too long before running into you two."

Lucas seemed… Sonic didn't really know for sure, but Lucas seemed sort of _weirded out_ by this knowledge. But a small, "Oh," was all he said.

Of course, further dialogue was cut off when there was another explosion in the distance. Up in the sky, Jet whipped around to face it. Concerned, Sonic very quickly turned to look at his friend. "Oi!" he called up, earning another glance that was tenser than the last. "Are you going there?" A small pause as Jet glanced from Sonic, to Lucas, and then to Amy. Seemingly catching on to Sonic's train of thought (which Amy, of course, shared considering how in sync she was with her husband), Jet nodded once. Returning the nod, Sonic looked to Amy and Lucas. "You guys wait here. We'll be back real soon."

"We'll be fine," Amy told him quietly as she used her powers to put up a barrier around herself and Lucas. "You two keep each out of trouble."

"Amy," Sonic smiled, "since when have Jet and I _ever_ gotten into trouble?" Winking and smiling wider at the sight of his wife's amused expression, he turned and tore off after Jet. The hawk had already began flying away, and he'd gotten a fairly significant distance ahead by the time Sonic began to run. But that was no matter Sonic caught up with him soon enough. "Generally, it's nice to wait for people before taking off!" he called up to his old friend, hoping to break some of the ice that had formed between them throughout the years.

The only response Sonic received was some sort of a hum that seemingly was supposed to mean something, though Sonic knew not what. Jet gave no other form of reply as he allowed the staff in his hand to vanish in a flash of heavenly blue, only to teleport another weapon into his hand with another flash of the very same color. The new weapon was clearly some sort of a white pistol-like gun, but it was so _different_ from any gun that Sonic had ever seen before that he truly didn't know what to make of it. Jet then suddenly, and quite deliberately, dropped out of the sky. An explosion rippled through the air where he had just been, and the hawk hit the ground running, never missing a beat.

Surprised by his friend's speed on foot, Sonic actually found himself having to pick up the pace a bit to catch up. The pair bolted through the woods, weapons in hand and at the ready, neither saying a word. The area was not silent, however, despite the fact that neither of them was speaking or making a sound while running. Explosions ripped up the trees around them. Energy attacks of some kind tore apart the ground even as they ran over said ground. It seemed clear to Sonic that _someone_ didn't want them to reach their destination. That alone made Sonic more concerned. His fear that these freakish soldier-like enemies had some sort of a hostage grew.

It seemed like only seconds passed before the two heroes suddenly broke free of the trees and into a clearing. A terrified cry almost instantly reached their ears from somewhere within the surprisingly thick crowd of enemies. " _Daddy_!"

Sonic spotted the owner of the voice just as Jet did, and Jet visibly tensed. "Stay there!" he snapped, even as he dodged yet another explosion.

Gritting his teeth, Sonic said quickly, "You hold these guys off!" Unsurprisingly at this point, Jet said nothing to him. However, it was clear that Jet understood Sonic's intentions, and he seemed to be okay with them. Knowing that he had been entrusted with something invaluable, namely the safety of one of his best friend's children, Sonic sprinted forward. There was absolutely no time to waste. These enemies were prepared to take the life of this poor child, and Sonic refused to allow it to happen. He had to be faster than the forces of death itself. Enemies fell around him (ten or twenty or more, he didn't know), then he was face-to-face with the person who seemed to be leading the attacks in this forest. Whoever it was, they clearly weren't the main mastermind behind everything that was happening here. They were too easy to defeat. But that was the least of his concerns.

A terrified whimper sounded from the young girl he had just rescued. "Y-You aren't Daddy," she choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Sheathing his sword, Sonic knelt down before the child. He hoped that not being armed and being more down on her level would help her to relax a little. Before he replied, he took a brief second to take in her appearance. She had bluish-grey feathers and hair that was waist-length with choppy ends. Her bangs were cut somewhat short, but were still long enough to get into her eyes and cover them about halfway. And those eyes… they were just like her father's. Piercing. Intelligent. Deep beyond words. Her outfit, however, was different. It wasn't blue. She was wearing a pure white tanktop with straps about an inch thick. Her pants ended several inches above her ankles and were also pure white, save for black lightning strike designs going up from the ends of the pant legs to about mid-way up her thighs. The whole outfit seemed to be made of soft material. Her boots were also mostly white, but with some black here and there. There was a gold chain bracelet on her right wrist.

Satisfied that he would remember her now whenever he saw her, Sonic spoke. "No, but I'm a friend of his," he told her. "Your dad is taking care of the bad guys right now, but I came to get you." To the girl's credit, while her sense of stranger-danger seemed rightfully strong, she seemed to know when to trust that someone was telling the truth. As such, she nodded to him, though just a little. Sonic smiled a little. "What's your name?"

"Um, H-Hannah," was the mumbled, shy-sounding reply.

Nodding a little, Sonic stood up. Before saying anything else, he did a quick glance around to check how many enemies were left. Amazingly, there were already significantly less than there had been before. These enemies didn't seem particularly strong, and Jet was making quick work of them. As Sonic watched, the hawk dodged a vicious swipe of a knife near his face, then pistol-whipped his attacker before whirling around and blasting several others with small but deadly currents of lightning. They were all felled with superior ease, which further convinced Sonic that the enemies they had been met with today were simply _not_ the ones they needed to be worrying about in the long run. But, then… who _was_? Brushing that matter aside for now, he turned back to Hannah. "I need to run into the woods," he instructed quickly. "Go as fast as you can, and don't stop. I'll be close by, but you need to hide somewhere safe. Can you do that?"

Hannah visibly swallowed, looking fearful still, but nodded. "I think so," she all but whispered.

Sonic offered her a reassuring smile. "Hey," he murmured, kneeling down again. "It'll be okay. Your dad and I will take care of this. It'll just be easier if we know you're not in immediate danger, that's all." His smile grew a little then when he added, "Besides, your dad would never let anything happen to you. Everything will be fine so long as you've got him." This seemed to be the right thing to say. Hannah brightened a little, and Sonic knew that his words were believed. Standing again, he ushered Hannah toward the nearest trees. She ran, fast, and he was close behind her like he'd promised. The enemies who dared try to get to her all became a little _too_ well acquainted with his blade for their own liking. Sonic certainly didn't feel sorry for them. Anyone who would kidnap a child, especially with such clear intentions to kill said child… Those people didn't deserve any sympathy, and certainly not mercy. So he gave them none.

As soon as Hannah was sheltered within the trees, Sonic fully returned his focus to the fight. Using several small blasts of fire, he eliminated the opponents that were closest to Jet's young daughter. The next few that came charging toward him were either cut or punched or kicked. No matter how he attacked them, they all fell in the end, and that was all that mattered to him. He readied his sword to take down yet another enemy, but a cry from above stopped him cold. It was a literal cry, too, like that of a _very_ young child. One that was most definitely under the age of five. Alarmed, Sonic immediately dealt with the enemy that had been rushing at him, then looked up just in time to see a stray attack from a different enemy shoot up into the air and strike a third enemy that was in the sky. A small bundle of white cloth dropped from that airborne enemy's hold, and Sonic felt his heart drop with it.

Then there was a flash of emerald green as Jet lunged forward, somehow _miraculously_ managing to catch the bundle before it hit the ground. The cries continued… but that particular danger had passed. Turning away very briefly, Sonic cut down the last few enemies, then turned back in time to see Hannah bolt from the trees and slam into Jet with enough force to make Jet stumble back slightly. Shifting the bundle into one arm, the older hawk used his other arm to half return Hannah's tight hug. The relief Sonic could see in Jet's eyes was subtle at best… but it was there, and Sonic finally allowed himself to relax as well. Sheathing his sword, Sonic walked over to the family. Only then did he get a clear look at the little life contained within that soft white blanket.

The baby had beautiful, somewhat dark crystal blue colored feathers. Due to the child's age, the hair was currently short and therefore had no real style yet. The watery eyes that looked up at him were deep blue, like Lucas's. The baby was dressed in a sky blue T-shirt with white shorts and equally white ankle-length socks, no shoes. Sonic felt himself truly smile. "She's beautiful," he murmured. Jet glanced at Sonic, then looked back down at his girls. Both had very quickly calmed down once with him, and Sonic was glad. He hated seeing children (or anyone, really) so distraught. "How old are they?"

"I'm nine," Hannah mumbled before Jet had a chance to speak (if he'd even intended to in the first place). She continued to cling to her father as she spoke. "Suri is about eleven months in our years."

Sweet little Suri squirmed around a little as her big sister spoke, and Sonic felt his smile grow while Amy and Lucas unexpectedly came running into the clearing. Lucas, too, tackled his dad in a hug, and Amy also smiled widely at the sight of the four of them. _Hannah, Lucas, and Suri._ Three new faces and names he had to remember, and he was happy to do it. Seeing this family united once again made all these unexpected struggles worthwhile. He would gladly have gone straight to hell and back, if only to see this moment at the end of it all. _It's things like this that will always prompt me to fight._ He looked at Jet again. The hawk had knelt down on one knee to properly hold his kids, and he had closed his eyes. His relief was unspoken… but it was still clear as day to those who were paying attention. Sonic again smiled. To see them back together… That alone made this random conflict worth it. It always would. After all… no family deserved to be torn apart, and he would always be there to prevent such a thing from happening.

Always.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,911 words this time. And here it is, the whole family. :3 I hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 2:00 a.m.) 09-18-16.**


	14. Baby Steps

**Hello, Sun Demigod! Haha, I suceeded in surprising you! Lol! XD**

 **Hello, StarryMoon33! They are! X3 Oh, I do as well. And he so is. XD**

 **~台風の** **目~**

 **"Baby Steps"**

 **~台風の目~**

"You could come stay with us for a while."

That was it. A simple offer. Amy had given it from the bottom of her heart, and it had earned a moment of thoughtful hesitation. But, in the end, seemingly for the sake of his kids, Jet had agreed. However, he had refused to go anywhere without first going back to his own home, perhaps to grab some things he needed. The journey there was long, though. The house had been carefully built within a "no-teleport zone" (as many people called them", and that zone was large. The group teleported as close as they could get, but they had to walk it from there. Still, they did eventually get there, and that was the only part that truly mattered in the end.

For a brief while, Jet disappeared inside with the three kids. Sonic and Amy stayed outside, keeping a careful eye out for any oncoming threats. None came. There was no more current danger to be sensed. Their mysterious enemies were gone. It was strange, but sometimes strange things were also things to be thankful for. Sonic certainly felt that this was the case right now. So long as the enemies were gone, they were all safe. Few things mattered to him more than that.

A short time passed, then the family of Rogues returned outside. Save for Suri, they each had a backpack on and Extreme Gear under an arm. Jet's was one Sonic recognized straight away, as he was the one who'd built the board in the first place as a gift to the hawk early into their friendship. The others, though, were appropriately kid-sized and entirely new to Sonic. Obviously, he'd never seen them before. They were entirely new to him. He had no idea who had built them or when or exactly _why_ , but Jet said nothing about them, and Sonic didn't ask. Not right now. The time for questions could come later.

Though it by no means felt like it, this day had already been a long one. It felt so strangely short, but maybe that was simply because of the adrenaline rush earlier. Either way, the morning had already turned into mid-afternoon, and Sonic had a feeling that these poor kids needed some lunch. With them on their boards, Jet flying with Suri, and Sonic carrying Amy, they would make much better time leaving this no-teleport zone than they had entering it. And make good time they did. They emerged from the zone in no time flat, then simply teleported the rest of the way to Sonic and Amy's house. Lucas and Hannah immediately began begging to play in the gorgeous fields that were the hedgehogs' "yard". Jet ended up allowing them to, and Amy headed inside to make everyone some lunch.

When Jet jumped nimbly up and backward to sit on the warm and sunny roof, Sonic jumped up after him. They wound up sitting side by side on the sun-warmed surface, eyes on the older kids while Suri quietly "talked" and wiggled around. So many questions hung in the air between them, questions Sonic suspected Jet would still refuse to answer right now. Still, he wanted to know. _Where did you go? Why did you take so long to return? How long were you there, right under our noses in Green Forest? Why are you so closed off now? What happened to you? _These were all questions he desperately wanted to have answered… but, for now, he was content to just enjoy the sunshine and the simple fact that, after a long and quiet century, his best friend had returned.

 **~台風の目~**

 **632 words this time. Hope y'all enjoyed! Posted (at about 6:07 a.m.) 09-19-16.**


	15. Insight

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I am as well, and I can't either. But why Silver and Tails specifically? XD**

 **Hello, xxSakixx! Thank you so much! Hey, no worries. Your English is just fine. :) Anyway, to answer your question, no. Not yet. That's something to come later (if it happens, I won't tell you for sure yet! XD). You're welcome! And, hey! Thank _you_ for reading leaving a review!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Too Little Known"**

 **~台風の目~**

"You seem lonely, mister."

Blinking, Sonic looked up from the roof he'd been sitting upon. Jet had gone inside more than twenty minutes ago to give little Suri a bottle (Sonic was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Jet even _had_ kids), and Lucas and Hannah had remained outside to play for a while longer. Sonic had ended up staying outside as well, just sitting upon the roof and thinking about the events of this crazy day. He had just started thinking over the fight to save Hannah (for at least the third time) when said girl had suddenly hopped up onto the roof beside him. She now looked at him expectantly, waiting for some sort of reply. "Lonely?" he echoed in confusion.

The young girl nodded quickly. "Uh-huh," she confirmed. "Lonely. It's cause you've missed Daddy, huh? And now you don't feel as close to him as you did before."

 _Leave it to your kids to be as amazingly perceptive as you, Jet,_ Sonic thought with a small smirk. Then, returning his attention to Hannah, he said, "I guess that's kind of true. But how did you know?"

"Daddy always says that a person's aura can reveal a _lot_ about them," Hannah replied. "Their thoughts, their feelings, their intentions, and sometimes even things like secrets they're keeping and stuff. You've just gotta pay attention and know what to look for."

This intelligent reply earned another blink. This girl _was_ only nine, right? "So… You read my aura, Hannah?"

Another nod. "Uh-huh." There was a pause, a lull in the conversation that wasn't entirely unwelcome. Then Hannah broke the silence again. "Daddy doesn't talk very much," she said suddenly, causing Sonic to look at her once more. "In general, I mean. I don't think it's anything against you. He just doesn't like to do it."

Well, that was certainly good to know. As irrational as it probably was, a part of Sonic had, up until this point, been fearing that Jet had been upset at him or something. It was nice to know that that wasn't the case. According to Hannah, at least. "Okay," was all he managed to think to say in response to that.

That was when Hannah suddenly had another burst of insight. "You have a lot of questions for Daddy, right?"

 _"Daddy",_ Sonic echoed in his mind. Under somewhat different circumstances, he would have honestly smiled at just how adorable it was that Jet was called such an endearing name by such a sweet little girl. Maybe later, after everything settled back down again, at least for a little while. "Yes, I do," he readily admitted. "Why do you ask?"

Hannah shifted a little to get comfortable. "Well, maybe I can answer some of them," she offered, sweet as ever. "If you wanna ask me, anyway."

Sonic honestly didn't think it right to ask her most of the things he wanted to get answers about from Jet. But there were some little things he supposed he could ask her without doing any harm. Simple, little things. Nothing more. "Okay," he agreed after taking a moment to think all this through. "I guess I could." Hannah beamed a little, seeming happy that she was being allowed to help, and Sonic felt himself smile a little. "First question. Who made yours and Lucas's boards?"

"Daddy did," Hannah responded immediately. "He told me once that he wrecked his board really badly a long time before we were born, so he had to learn how to fix it himself. I guess he used that knowledge to build ours."

That was pretty sound logic, so Sonic nodded. He took a moment to think of a new question before speaking. "Is your mom still around?" So much for only asking little things, he supposed.

For a few seconds, Hannah looked puzzled. "You mean alive?" she questioned. Since that was one of Sonic's biggest concerns, that this mysterious woman _was_ in fact dead, he nodded. "Yes, she's alive," Hannah hedged, not looking or sounding like she wanted to say anything more about it.

Instead of pressing the matter, Sonic let it drop. "I think I'm only going to ask one more question. Okay?"

Thankfully, Hannah's earlier bright and happy demeanor returned. "Okay," she agreed.

"Your dad…" Sonic started off slowly, "why doesn't he like to talk?"

"I don't know all the reasons," Hannah shrugged as she looked down off the edge of the roof to where her brother was currently sitting on his board and looking a the sky. "But… I do know that daddy went through a lot before we were born. After then, too. I guess those things have a lot to do with it. Those things were bad, so he chooses to keep them out of mind as best as he can. Kinda hard to do that if you talk about them, I guess."

Once again, Sonic was struck by how sound that logic was. However, that didn't mean he had to be _happy_ about it. Still, he (unfortunately) had far bigger things to worry about. Like gathering everyone to discuss the attacks. That horrible feeling of dread and being watched hadn't left the pit of his belly, nor had this new evil left the world. They needed to be ready. And, to be ready, they needed to be informed. In order for them to be informed, he needed to get them all here. With that in mind, he stood up. "Well, thanks for talking to me, Hannah, but I need to go inside and make some calls. You and your brother need to stay close to the house, okay?"

"Okay," Hannah agreed readily. She made no move to get up as Sonic jumped lightly off the roof. With a small wave, she watched as he disappeared inside.

 **~台風の目~**

Knuckles was sitting on the top of the two stone steps leading up into his and Rouge's house. His chin was in his hand and he was gazing out at the afternoon sun as he thought about the monument and the sphere. Everything that had happened with them still deeply bothered him. Those events had been weighing heavily on his mind since that day. In response to this, Rouge had taken some matters into her own hands, as well as a photograph, and gone to visit her grandfather.

Her grandfather, a thief named Tchen, was a _legend_ among thieves. He knew more about stealth and the art of theft than virtually any other person, save for a Rogue or some certain assassins (such as, quite possibly, Kaden). He also possessed a rather extensive knowledge of jewels, but ordinary and anything but. It had come as no surprise to Knuckles when his grandfather-in-law had ended up knowing about the jewel, nor had it surprised him that Tchen had been just as troubled by the orb as Knuckles himself. Still this simple sharing of concern scared both him and Rogue. Tchen was not normally the type to be affected by fear. His lifestyle was too high-risk for it.

An incessant buzzing on Knuckles's wrist drew him out of his thoughts. Looking down at the communicator he still wore there even after a hundred years, he saw a single message on his screen. Tapping it with one finger, he watched as the message opened. It was a group message, sent to him by Tails. Blinking once, he read it.

 ** _Tails:_**

 _Hey, I don't know if anyone's heard, but there have been some attacks going on lately. Green Forest was one of the targets. Sonic went there with Amy earlier today, and apparently they encounter some real bad enemies there. Sonic says that something awful may be about to go down and that we all need to get to his place ASAP._

Barely a second or two after Knuckles finished reading that, the young fox sent another message, seemingly as an afterthought.

 ** _Tails:_**

 _Oh, and he said that something else happened that we're not gonna believe. He wouldn't say what it was, just that it was something very good._

Unsurprisingly, mere moments later, people began sending their responses to this message. All of them were visible in the little group chat that Tails had opened, so Knuckles busied himself by reading them. He'd never been one to use his communicator much, so he supposed he was just stalling on having to type his own reply. Not that he particularly cared to admit that that was, in fact, what he was doing.

 _ **Keiri:**_

 _Marthal is still running a class in his dojo. He should be done by about four o' clock. We can make our way there around then._

 _ **Silver:**_

 _We gotta get packed up real quick in case we spend the night, but Blaze, Kimmy, and I will head out soon._

 _ **Locke:**_

 _On my way._

 _ **Shadow:**_

 _I'll try to leave soon._

 ** _Omega:_**

 _Unable to leave my post. Will not make it to Sonic's residence._

 _ **Wave:**_

 _I guess I'll be there soon._

 _ **Rouge:**_

 _I'll try to get my boys ready in decent time. Hopefully we'll get there around the same time as Keiri and Marthal._

 _ **Tails:**_

 _Great. Oh, and I'm bringing the X-Tornado along. Leaving the Tornado-1. Anyone need a ride?_

 _ **Cream:**_

 _Bokkun and I do, if you don't mind._

 _ **Tails:**_

 _Not at all. Be there soon._

 _ **Vector:**_

 _Me and Espio just left to pick Charmy up from a friend's house. We'll be on our way pretty soon. Bringing the ship._

 _ **Analia:**_

 _I am getting the twins packed. When Kaden returns from his run, we will head to Sonic's home. We will bring our ship as well._

 ** _Shadow:_**

 _I'll bring mine. It may be necessary._

 ** _Tails:_**

 _Yeah, I agree. Anyway, I'll see you all there. Travel safely._

As various people echoed the sentiment of Tails's last sentence, Knuckles stood up, fixed his hat, then turned and went inside. Knowing his son's attitude, he suspected that Rouge would need some help getting the child ready for this sudden departure. As such, he pushed his earlier thoughts aside so as to focus on the matter at hand and headed to the stairs where his wife and son were. As he climbed the stairs to the second floor, one pessimistic thought entered his mind. _So much for peace._

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,785 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Posted (at about 7:00 a.m.) 09-20-16.**


	16. Felorn

**Hello, StarryMoon33! She really is. And haha, yeah. I agree. Totally his daughter. XD Aw, that's so true. He was a lot like her before then, huh? Well, I sure hope this all lives up to your expectations!**

 **Hello, Sun Demigod! Yes! Here they cooome! *Dramatic music plays* XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Felorn"**

 **~台風の目~**

It was around six o' clock in the evening. Everyone was at Sonic's house, everyone who had once fought to save the world, give and take a few. Obviously the kids were new editions to this group, and there were two who simple weren't here at all. Omega was, for reasons he had himself explained in his brief message (not that he had a communicator, merely internal systems that allowed him to reply to communicator messages). Storm, on the other hand, had apparently just moved away one day, and hadn't turned his communicator on even once since then. But Jet… Jet was here now, and he was finding that he very much disliked all the stares he was receiving. He understood that a hundred years was a long time to not see someone, so the shock emanating from the people he had once spent so much time with was… understandable. Annoying, but understandable nonetheless. They were all fairly easily ignored, anyway.

All… except one.

Magenta colored feathers. White bandana tied on her head. Blue eyes deeper than the oceans themselves. A voice capable of expressing a seemingly impossible range of emotions with supreme perfection. There was no doubts as to who this was. Not to him. He would always, always recognize the woman he had once loved so dearly. But recognition was, in and of itself, not necessarily a positive thing. Was he happy to see her here? No. More _uncomfortable_ with it than happy. But was he upset? Not particularly. She had every right to be here, after all, probably even more than he did. That was one of the main reasons why her being here didn't _surprise_ him at all.

Still, it was hard to decide what to think of it, of seeing her here. As far as his emotions went, though, well. That matter was simple. Rather than let himself feel anything about it (as those feelings would undoubtedly be negative and he had enough negativity in his life as it was), he simply chose not to let himself feel at all. He buried away his emotions, as he had for so long now, kept an unreadable mask on his face, and let nothing show. That did not, however, prevent him from _thinking_. And think he did, mainly about how goddamn _obnoxious_ it was that just about every single person in this house had tried their hand of wheedling information out of him.

"Where have you been?"

"Why were you gone so long?"

"Why won't you talk to us?"

"Why did you never call?"

"How long have you been back?"

"What have you been up to all this time?"

It just went on and on and on and on. The near-endless tide of questions grated on his nerves, and every time they did he simply buried the irritation he felt and again attempted to tune everyone out. Suri was in bed now, allowing him to cross his arms in a manner that generally communicated to people that he didn't want to be bothered. Apparently this lot was currently incapable of taking a hint. And to think _he_ was the one with the disorder and subsequent social difficulties. Go figure, he supposed. Not that that particular observation helped him any.

About twenty minutes after everyone arrived, the kids were all sent upstairs to play or relax or do whatever while the adults (and teenagers because he was, by all technicality, still a teen like Tails) talked. Only Cream ended up staying downstairs (thought Charmy, Cheese, and Bokkun could have if they'd liked), due to her wise mind and maturity and the fact that she had no desire to be kept out of the loop. One by one the kids climbed the stairs, and he made mental notes of each child he had only just come to know (through distant observation and listening to various conversations). Jason, Lia, Kimmy. They were all new faces to him. The twins may as well have been, since they had been babies when he'd last seen them (leading to a reasonable guess that they probably had no idea who he was). Cream, Cheese, Charmy, and Bokkun all looked the same, though older, and of course his own kids were entirely familiar to him. Everyone else he saw was basically the same, though with some minor changes of wardrobe and whatnot here and there. Some, like Sonic, didn't look at all different. It was sort of funny how that last bit worked, he supposed.

With everyone who needed to be upstairs now there, everyone else gathered together in the living room, which Jet had not left since the first people had started showing up to the house. He barely listened as Sonic divulged to everyone else the earlier events of that day. For a small moment, he could almost imagine that he was listening to a report of the outcome of a battle on the frontlines or something to that effect. But those were thoughts he much preferred to keep out of his head, so he chose instead to focus on listening to the chatter that ensued when Sonic finished his little tale.

"Why blow up a random house in the middle of Green Forest unless they _knew_ who was living there?"

"I'm glad no one was hurt. Those poor kids, though…"

"What _were_ those people?"

There were so many voices, all talking but none of them adding anything helpful to the conversation… Until one of them did. Kaden murmured something to Sonic in the Ancient Language amidst all the other noise, and Jet just managed to hear it. He knew enough of the language to know that Kaden had just asked Sonic to describe, in detail, what the enemies had looked like. Sonic obliged and, when he was finished, Kaden (who had been looking deeply troubled for a while now) suddenly teleported away briefly, only to return a second or two later with one of his many ancient books. When he opened it up, the yellowing pages, which Jet could see rather well from where he was standing, revealed faded ink drawings of soldiers. _Dark_ soldiers. Each one had skin of varying shades of black and grey and dark purple, eyes that were nothing but glowing light (some purple, some pink), wicked grins… These were most _definitely_ the same people that had blown up his damn house that morning. He still very much planned on making them regret doing that.

"These were the people you encountered?" Kaden asked his son seriously, drawing Jet back out of his thoughts as he listened.

Sonic's eyes scanned the pages several times, but he eventually nodded. "Yes," he confirmed. "That's them. I'm sure of it."

Nodding gravely, Kaden closed the book. His early departure and subsequent return had gained everyone's attention, meaning everyone was listening when he said, "They are members of the Nocturne Clan, ruled by Imperator Ix and, to a somewhat lesser degree, Shade. They were sealed away in a sphere over a quarter of a million years ago by Sade the White to end a war they began in a bid to control the planet."

The mention of Analia's ancestor's name made her perk up a little, but she didn't speak. Jet paid it little mind, anyway, as he recalled the legends he had heard about the clan throughout his life. Though, he had never known them as the "Nocturne Clan". He had always known them by the name his people gave those beings. That name was the Felorn, "the Wicked Hearts". No matter what people called them, though, there were undeniable truths that no one who knew of them could argue with. The Nocturne Clan was infamous throughout the universe for their attempts to take over not only Mobius, but a great many other worlds as well. In setting foot on these new and alien worlds, they learned of the technology required to build ships, thus allowing them to amass their own armada. Their weapons, ranging from technologically advanced to "old-school", were all deadly and powerful. The powers and resources and knowledge these people possessed was as great as it was terrible. And, of course, all of this could really only mean one thing.

This war was never destined to be an easy one.

And it _was_ going to be a war. Everyone was certain of this. That was the entire reason why the group began making immediate plans to leave by noon the very next day. They had to get a move on _soon_ , lest their enemies catch them unawares and deal a critical blow. They were all certain of this as well. And, as horrible as it was to think, there was another, darker truth that Jet knew of with unshakable certainty. It was a truth learned from experience, both his and others, and it was one that could never be made _less_ true simply by not thinking about it. So, just this once, he allowed the thought to drift through his mind as he pushed off the wall and walked out of the room. _Conflicts such as the one we know face can only end in tragedy. No matter which side wins… all will suffer in the end._

 **~台風の目~**

To say that Sonic was surprised was probably some kind of huge understatement. How could he not be surprised, though? After everyone had settled into their rooms for the night, Jet had walked right up to Sonic and actually _talked_ to him. To make things even more surprising, Jet had been the one to _start_ the conversation as well. But… the conversation was brief. Almost awfully so. As it turned out, the whole point of Jet seeking him out was simply to inform Sonic that he needed to go "deal with" some things. Of course, Sonic's immediate response was, "Wait- You're coming back though, right?"

This questioned merely earned a blink and a simple confirmation that came in the form of a one-word sentence (if it could ever even be called that). "Yes."

"Are your kids going with you?" Sonic then found himself asking. Jet gave him a sort of blank look that seemed to be saying something without Jet himself actually speaking, and that was when Sonic's admittedly rather stressed-out mind chose to remind him of one crucial little fact. "Oh, right. They're in bed." That alone was a sort of relief for Sonic. Obviously Jet wouldn't stray too far from his kids for too long. He loved them far too much to do that, a fact which Sonic had already seen proven once before. _He's serious, then. He won't just vanish again._ The fact that Sonic even had that fear was something he chose to contemplate another time. Instead, he asked, "Where are you going?" When Jet apparently opted not to answer that, Sonic just sighed and switched the subject a bit to give a simple, friendly offer. "I'll keep an ear out for your kids. You know, make sure they stay asleep and all that."

Jet gave a nod, maybe an expression of thanks, and was gone with a wispy flash of heavenly blue light that vanished just as quickly and utterly as he did. Sighing again, Sonic turned away and headed outside, prepared to sit on the roof for at least a few hours and keep watch. He refused to let them be caught off-guard again.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,945 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! I admit this chapter could've been a lot better, but... Eh. It's passable. Posted (at about 6:30 a.m.) 09-21-16.**


	17. Rays of Hope

**Hello, StarryMoon33! The heck was that at the beginning? XD And I'm glad you are! Haha, I totally forgot about that scene. And dude, they were terrible ninjas. Absolutely terrible. _They_ thought they were great, though. Up until they got caught. XD**

 **Hello, Sun Demigod! Yep! 'Cept I'm really not following that storyline at all, just using the main bad guys. :P As for when/if any of that stuff will happen... Well, you'll just have to wait and find out! XD**

 **Hello, Mutt7! I'm glad you are! :D Oh, that sucks... But I think you can do it. Just try not to rush yourself. :)**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Rays of Hope"**

 **~台風の目~**

The morning was a blur of motion and activity. Bags and suitcases were packed with necessities including but not limited to dry foods, changes of clothes, and medical supplies. Ice chests were packed with more perishable foods, bottles of water, and so on. Everything that either couldn't be carried by people or didn't need to be was loaded into the three ships. All the while, the kids basically did whatever they wanted, provided they stayed out of the way. This meant that they played outside.

At first, everything was fine. Kimmy and Lia played as they always did, pretending at various intervals that they were princesses or that they were "magical hero people". Jason, as per usual, stayed near his parents and busied himself by just looking at various rocks he'd found. Cream, Cheese, Charmy, and Bokkun ran around and played tag, one of their all-time favorite games. Sen and Sarai, being as inseparable as they were, walked around and talked or had small races, depending on how they were feeling at any given moment.

Lucas and Hannah meanwhile… felt out of place. Neither knew any of these kids, nor did either of them feel especially comfortable trying to remedy this little problem. So they kept to themselves, out of nerves mostly. But being left to their own devices like this inevitably led to some problems. Namely, a stereotypical sibling battle. It was inevitable, especially considering the sparks of temper they each had inherited from both their mother and their father. Thankfully, this fight didn't turn into an all-out brawl, as some in the past had. This one was just an argument, albeit a loud one, and it didn't go unnoticed by the other kids or their father, who was just now walking out the front door with Suri and one arm and several bags dangling by the straps in his other arm. "Lei, H'alia," he said calmly as he walked by, not looking at them. His tone held a subtle warning. They both knew that when he used their Babylonian names, they were without any doubt in some sort of trouble. "Knock it off."

And that was that.

 **~台風の目~**

It was nearing nine in the morning when the Nocturne Clan chose to make their second appearance to Sonic and the others. The heroes had not yet left the house (though they were very nearly ready to), but that detail actually worked in their favor this time around. The house provided a great shelter for all the kids, further aided by the fact that Cream, Amy, and Wave were able to put up a powerful barrier comprised of their combined psychic energies. With that, the group could ensure that the house and everyone in it would remain safe.

The only people who happened to be outside at the very moment the attack started were Jet, Sonic, Analia, and young Cream. Since Cream had run back inside, only three people were left outside fighting. That was fine, however, as there really weren't many enemies to deal with. However, Sonic and his mother were soon the only people left close to the house during the fight. Jet was very forced to engage in aerial combat and, from what Sonic could sense, his old friend was further chased to the woods more than ten miles away. Which, of course, meant that Sonic and Analia could no longer see him.

Doing his best not to worry, Sonic swung his sword and cut down two of the few soldiers that were attacking him and his mother. Analia sensed an attack coming seconds before it could reach her and, using her Light, nullified the attack before countering with her own. Jet's aura briefly seemed to vanish in the distance, only to suddenly flare again as the fight continued. Sonic spun and tore through a rather large enemy's shield with a well-aimed and concentrated blast of fire, then cut that enemy down. Barely a few seconds later, Anali struck down the last opponent that hadn't gone after Jet. Right around then, Sonic felt a _deep_ rumble in the earth from somewhere near where the aforementioned hawk was. Clearly, that ended the fight, though Sonic knew not precisely what Jet had done. Still, he chose to just be grateful for it for now and sheathed his sword.

It was time to get moving.

 **~台風の目~**

By nine thirty-four in the morning, the arrangements were made. Tails, Shadow, Espio, and Kaden would, of course, pilot their own ships. Cream (with Cheese in her lap as usual) was seated in the second seat of the X-Tornado, Bokkun was behind her, and Keiri was in the very back. In the ship Espio was flying, Vector took the second seat, Charmy took the third, and Lucas took the fourth. Locke and Knuckles sat on one of the wings together. Analia was seated behind Kaden in his ship, and Sen and Sarai occupied the seats behind them. Marthal was running nearby with Sonic, who was carrying Amy. Lia was sitting behind Shadow in his ship, Kimmy was behind her, and Rouge was behind her. Blaze sat on one wing while Silver flew nearby. All the Rogues, meanwhile, rode on their Extreme Gear (save for Suri, of course, who was carried by Jet). With all of this worked out, the group set off on their first perilous journey in more than one hundred years.

As he ran, Sonic couldn't help but think of how horrible this all was. It was horrible that the world was once again in danger, especially thanks to an enemy that had already once ravaged the world so terrible. It was horrible that Jet had been returned to them under such dark circumstances. It was horrible, _horrible_ that the kids were going to be involved in this whether they traveled with the group or not. Whether at home or not, everyone Sonic knew would always be in danger. Until this evil was vanquished, if it ever was, no one would be safe. Even heroes were allowed to hate things…

And he certainly hated this.

 **~台風の目~**

As it turned out, the day proved to be uneventful and the time for lunch came quietly. When the group stopped for lunch, Jet sat under a shady tree with his backpack (the same grey one Sen of the Ruined Future had given him so long ago) by his side and Suri in his arms. He was mostly keeping an eye on his other kids as they ate, since Suri seemed content to play with his scarf and the white blanket she was wrapped in for now. Then she shifted significantly and his backpack also moved. Blinking once, he looked down and saw that she had reached into his open bag and pulled something out.

The object she had grabbed with a slim and incredibly high-tech device that worked as camera, a video camera, and an audio recorder. On it, he had literally over six or seven thousand files saved, and with a great deal of storage space to spare. The vast majority of those files were very special for various reasons, but there was no way Suri could delete them. So, he allowed her to play with it. Somehow, she switched the device on and, as he watched, turned the camera around a few times before accidentally snapped a photo of herself. She looked shocked by the flash, and Jet smirked so slightly that he doubted anyone would be able to see it. He heard Silver laugh and glanced up briefly to see that the hedgehog had looked over.

While Silver looked away and resumed eating, Jet gently pulled the camera out of his baby's hands, turned it off, and put it away. He put the device back into his bag and closed it. Footsteps then drew his attention back up from his bag and he watched silently as Tails approached. "Hey," the young fox greeted as he sat down in the grass a respectable few feet in front of Jet. He, like the hawk, crossed his legs. After a small pause, the said, "I'm not here to pester you or anything."

The assurance was unnecessary, in Jet's opinion. _If that had been your intention, I would have sensed it in your aura._ Of course, he didn't say this aloud, merely listened as Tails continued to speak.

"I just… I was hoping to get an answer to a couple of important things." Tails looked at Jet hopefully. When Jet didn't voice any refusal, Tails read the right signs and realized he was allowed to continue. With a small glance at Suri, he spoke. "Is their mother in any sort of danger? I mean, she's not here, so we've been worrying…"

"No." Jet chose to say nothing more about it. There was nothing else to say. He refused to talk about what had been, particularly when the thing in question had brought so many bad things into his life. Granted, yes, the woman Tails had reminded him of had, at one time, brought a great deal of joy into his life as well, but now… Now she had left behind nothing but pain and grief and bitterness. The part he hated the most was the fact that the kids felt those things, too. Lucas was especially pained by everything that had happened. He and his mother had been so _close_ … But now was not the time to think of these things.

Although the young fox still sitting before Jet seemed a little troubled and put off by Jet's overall lack of response, Tails nonetheless forged on ahead. "The other thing I- well, we, wanted to know was how long you planned on staying." There was a very small pause. "I mean, we didn't- don't- know if you plan on taking your kids somewhere safer and staying with them, or… well, I think you get the idea."

Blinking once, Jet took a small moment to consider the idea of doing the very thing that Tails had mentioned: taking his kids elsewhere and returning here without them. But, in the end, he knew that they would only be truly safe with him and this group, as well as one other person. He could leave the kids with that other person, sure, but then that person would be more or less barred from entering the war, which they wouldn't like at all. That basically made his mind up for him. "We're staying." It was, once again, a very simple and brief answer, but it seemed to satisfy Tails, judging by the way the fox's whole face lit up.

"Great!" Tails exclaimed with a happy smile.

This happy sound caused Suri to giggle, then babble out excitedly, "Bababa pebu!" Looking down briefly, both Tails and Jet saw Suri smiling up at them happily, tiny fists clutching her daddy's scarf and shaking it around as she continued to babble. While Tails smiled openly, Jet's smile was more subtle, almost as though it was a secret. Still, he felt it and knew it was there. And, somehow, Suri seemed to know it, too. "Dada."

Tails's smile grew. "She's so cute, sensei," he said, not even seeming to realize that he'd just called Jet by such an old title. If Jet was surprised by being called such a thing, he didn't show it. He said nothing about it whatsoever. And when Tails got up to leave, he said nothing about that, either. There was nothing to say.

 **~台風の目~**

Kaden was, by his very nature, a calm and logical person. He wasn't a paranoid person. He wasn't one to be afflicted by unnamed fears. Hell, he generally wasn't one for fear in general. The feeling was almost foreign to him, but it also wasn't at the same time. It wasn't something he felt typically, but he had encountered the feeling more than enough times to know it when he felt it. Of course, being _familiar_ with it was far from the same thing as being _okay_ with it. Saran had once tried to teach him to accept all of his emotions, whatever they may be at any given point, but Kaden just didn't see how he was supposed to do that. He didn't see why he _should_. It had only come in handy one time, when he'd had to fully control his Darkness. Outside of that situation, he didn't see the use of it. Why accept feeling negative?

And paranoia was such a negative feeling.

 _"You're not paranoid if there really is a monolithic being of evil out to find and kill you,"_ Silver suddenly cut in, voice cutting into Kaden's mind without any warning or permission. _"Just saying."_

A small frown marred Kaden's expression as he looked outside the glass of the cockpit of his ship. The group was on the move again, meaning he was again flying with Analia and the twins toward wherever it was Sonic wanted them to go. If his eldest even had a plan to begin with. Sonic had a terrible habit of _not_ having any sort of plan. One of these days Kaden was sure that they would all come to regret it. But that was off-topic and, therefore, irrelevant at the moment. _"What have I told you about barging into my thoughts?"_ he asked his grandson silently.

 _"Um… To… not to."_ At least Silver had the courtesy to sound sheepish and maybe even a little bit apologetic. Kaden supposed that was something. _"But I was serious about what I said, Gramps."_

 _"Serious or not, you were wrong,"_ Kaden responded calmly, returning his attention to the open sky ahead of his ship. It felt weird admitting that, but at least he couldn't be called a liar.

Silver seemed to give that a good deal of thought before giving his reply. _"I guess you're right."_ A small pause. Then, _"Wherever we walk, our footprints mark the halls. We've blazed a trail of glory throughout our lives. What planet will not, one day, sing of our deeds? But… you're right in thinking that our enemies will always seek to follow that trail, to taint it and, one day, end it and us in any way possible."_

 _"It is foolish to speak of oneself in such a way,"_ was Kaden's reply. _"To call ourselves 'glorious'… To claim that we are the world's true heroes, capable of felling any foe…"_ He nearly sighed, had to force himself to refrain from closing his eyes and shaking his head. _"If we do not respect our enemies, they may very well win this war."_

 _"They may either way,"_ Silver responded solemnly. _"Still… I'd honestly thought, for a long time, that we'd seen an end to the great evils of our world."_

 _"All ends are beginnings,"_ Kaden murmured sagely in his mind. _"Our fight is far from over. So long as good exists, evil will live on to counter it. There will always exist a tentative balance between the two."_

 _"Well, whatever this evil's got, it ain't enough,"_ Silver responded swiftly. _"I say bring it on."_

 _"A fool may not fear the storm, but the storm will never respect a fool,"_ Kaden replied with a frowning glance in Silver's direction. _"Get cocky and it will ensure your end in any way it can."_

 _"We'll never catch the light at the end of the tunnel. But that's not the point."_ Silver's response was firm. Decisive. _"That doesn't mean we can't hope. Hope is a powerful weapon, Gramps, more so than I think you realize most of the time."_

His grandson might have had a point, but… _"The rose may turn its face toward the sun, but its roots grow deep in Darkness,"_ Kaden answered, murmuring in his mind again. _"Even within great beauty lies the potential for great evil. That does not lend itself to helping people hope."_

 _"Maybe not,"_ Silver agreed. _"But we can all learn to hope, anyway. A terrible fire may raze the forest, but the flowers and trees will grow again one day. Things such as that are why people can hope. Because not everything in this world is so terrible."_

Truly, Silver had grown and matured much over the last hundred years. He had become quite intelligent in his own right, and there was no denying that the young hedgehog had made some very good points. Still… Kaden had a lingering thought, a remaining worry that he chose not to share with anyone, least of all the young hedgehog who had put so much effort into trying to make him feel better. _Tossed upon the seas of war and tragedy…_

 _I can only hope we all survive._

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,868 words this time. I promise the chapters in this story will usually be more organized than this. But this collection of scenes was necessary. Once again, I feel like this could have turned out better, but I did like the last two scenes quite a bit. And I think the first scene turned out alright. So, in the end, I still mostly am satisfied with this chapter. XD Posted (at about 7:00 a.m.) 09-22-16.**


	18. Stuck

**Hello, StarryMoon33! She is. X3 I did as well. It coulda been better, but I got bored with it, so... yeah. Hahaha! Yeah, they did! XD**

 **Hello, Sun Demigod! Yeah! Woo-hoo! :D I honestly would've as well... Boredom and laziness are great deterrents, as it turns out. XD Anyway, glad you still enjoyed!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Cloudy Uncertainty"**

 **~台風の目~**

Discomfort was the word that fit her best right now. Watching one's ex, being near that ex, seeing that ex for the first time in a century, learning that that ex had kids now… It was all too, too uncomfortable. And, like all sane people, Wave didn't like feeling uncomfortable. However, she wasn't the best at _coping_ with the feeling, being as unused to it as she was. Her coping mechanisms consisted of:

1\. Ignoring it.

2\. Distracting herself from it.

3\. Ignoring it some more.

So far, none of this had worked. She'd tried ignoring Jet in as civil a way as possible while the group set up camp for the night, but that was hard to do when she was just so damn _curious_ about what had happened to him since she'd last seen him, the ways he'd changed, his kids, and more. Distracting herself hadn't worked, either, as she had very little to distract herself with. Normally she would have just tinkered, but nothing she had with her currently needed tinkering with. So there went that idea. And, of course, ignoring the problem hadn't worked one time, so it wouldn't work a second time. Which meant she was stuck. And, as she watched Jet fly through the sky with his board under his arm and his baby in his other arm, she came to an almost odd realization.

 _They_ were stuck.

They were stuck in a vague area between not being friends and being friends, between being civil and not, between being close and infinitely distant… Everything between them was so vague and uncertain, and Jet's unreadable coolness toward it all wasn't helping a single thing. No one could tell at any given time what he was thinking or feeling, and that certainly didn't help her understand where she stood with him, and where he stood with her. She was beginning to worry that this cloud of uncertainty would never clear up. And, as these things usually went, a rather troubling thought entered her mind time and again. Maybe she was never meant to understand.

Maybe it was better that way.

 **~台風の目~**

 **380 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this brief but nonetheless important chapter. Posted (at about 7:00 a.m.) 09-23-16.**


	19. Pressure

**Hello, StarryMoon33! I know... it's so sad... ;_;**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Both Answered and Not"**

 **~台風の目~**

Time alone was a great catalyst for change. It changed people, places, things, thoughts, feelings… all manner of things in existence. And time, combined with other things (whether they be events, people, or so on), could cause a great deal of change in anything one could possibly think of. Jet was no exception to this rule, and he knew it. He had changed a lot in the last century, and he knew it. He even admitted it, readily. To try to claim otherwise would be an utter lie, and he was no liar. Let it never be said that the hawk was untruthful. At least, not when he didn't need to be. Certainly not over foolish things.

He could admit that he was different now. Anyone could see it, just as clearly as they could see that there was a sun in the sky, or that that sky today was blue. And, changed or not, he was sill no fool. He knew that it was precisely because of those changes that these people kept seeking him out, continued to approach him with an endless tirade of questions. They wanted to know _why_ he'd changed. They wanted to know what, specifically, all of those changes were. They wanted to know what he had been through before unexpectedly running into Sonic out in the woods.

They wanted to know everything he wasn't telling them.

Knuckles… Knuckles was so far being less annoying about it than the rest of them (not that everyone else had even tried, just most of them). The echidna had approached him rather calmly while the two of them flew after the ships. It was mid-morning now, and a sort of peace had blanketed the group up until this point. Jet had to applaud the talent that nearly every member of this group (save for a few) possessed for breaking perfectly good silence, truly. Though he only did so internally, of course. He said nothing aloud, gave no outward reactions to Knuckles speaking save for a few nonverbal replies here and there that would hopefully prevent the fiery echidna from believing that he was being ignored entirely. The questions continued, but Jet remained steadfastly silent. And when Knuckles asked, "Why won't you talk to anyone?" Jet only had one response, though it wasn't one he bothered to share aloud.

He simply refused to waste his breath speaking of what no longer mattered.

 **~台風の目~**

"Daddy?"

Kaden looked up from the can of soup he was cooking over the lunchtime campfire to see Sarai standing next to him all of a sudden (speedy little thing she was). She had a small cut on her knee from the fight that had shattered the peacefulness of the day not too long ago. No one was very seriously hurt, and her little cut was by far the most minor of said injuries. So, of course, it wasn't bothering her at all. All of her focus remained on him, not her little "wound" (if it could even be called that). "Yes?"

"Can I sit with you?" Considering the fact that Kaden was actually kneeling, not sitting, he had to resituate himself before he could let her come over and sit next to him and lean into his side like she sometimes liked to do. He gently brushed some hair out of her face as she hugged onto his closest arm. "Daddy, I'm scared," she admitted very quietly. "Of the bad men, I mean. They're horrible and keep trying to hurt all of us and-"

"I won't let them hurt you," Kaden cut in, tone rather soothing. "Neither will your mother or your brothers or anyone else here. You and the other kids will all be just fine." Emerald eyes just like his own looked up at him with worry that he could feel permeating her aura. It was unlike her to be so quiet and nervous, and he didn't like it at all. If only for that reason, he forced himself not to break the eye-contact she had initiated. "They bad men won't win," he murmured, trying his best to provide her with at least _some_ comfort even if he didn't entirely believe some of his own words. "Everything will be okay in the end.

Dropping her gaze, Sarai closed her eyes and let out a small, "Okay." She continued to hug on his arm and lean against him, and he held her close. He hated seeing her so scared. And, for that, he found it in himself to hate their enemies just a bit more.

 **~台風の目~**

When evening began to fall and the group set up camp, Sonic decided it was his turn to try to get some information out of his long-lost best friend. He tried and he tried and he tried. Tactic after tactic (verbal though they all were) failed time and again. The only responses Sonic earned, when he got any at all, were a subtly disapproving glance, a slight frown, and one shake of an emerald-colored head. Nothing else. Not a _single_ other response. No matter how much Sonic tried to get his friend to talk, Jet simply wouldn't. The hawk focused, instead, on his oldest daughter, watching as she experimented with her powers to control where a leaf floated. She had her father's power over wind, and she looked so proud of herself when she managed to use that wind to float that little lead all the way up into a tree to drop it on a branch.

Something in Jet's eyes seemed to soften.

 **~台風の目~**

The next day started bright and early, and with an even brighter flash. That flash was sort of greenish in color and vanished just as quickly as it appeared. Jet and Lucas happened to be very close to being right underneath it, and the a young woman was dumped out of the air where the flash had been mere seconds before. The two male hawks narrowly avoided being squashed by her as she hit the ground. Both of them stared for a second at her, Jet's expression unreadable and Lucas's surprised and confused, then Lucas asked with a tone to match his face, "Tammy?"

The woman (Tammy, apparently) stood up, allowing everyone to get a much more clear look at her. She had light purple feathers, hair. Her eyes were bright and also purple. She was wearing rectangular framed glasses with tan coloring. Hair wass a bit longer than shoulder-length and kept back in a low ponytail. Her bangs had choppy ends and were kept short enough to never get in her face. Her outfit consisted of a white spaghetti strap tanktop that didn't cover her stomach, very light brown cargo capris, and dark brown combat boots. Truly, she seemed to be a fan of a sort of "military style" of fashion (like Lia). Only after taking all of this in did Sonic notice the device that the woman held in her hands. It bore enough resemblance to one of Wave's portable teleporters that he could deduce that that was probably what that device was. A teleported. _But… why did she come here?_

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who wanted to know that. "Why are you here?" Jet asked her calmly. It dawned on Sonic then that Lucas had called this woman by her name. Which meant they knew her.

"Would you believe that it was an accident?" Tammy offered with a small, sheepish sort of smile. "Well, me _teleporting_ wasn't an accident… but I didn't mean to end up _here_." Jet's only response was to blink.

Amy took a tentative step forward to make her presence known. "You two… know each other?" she asked slowly.

Tammy quickly turned to face her. She then dropped her gaze, suddenly seeming shy. "Um, sort of. I mean, yes." Yep, definitely shy. At least a bit. Then, suddenly, she said, "Oh! I forgot to introduce myself… Well, Lucas kind of already did it for me, but…" she trailed off uncertainly for a few seconds, then rallied with, "I'm Tammy," couple with a small but brave and friendly smile. That simple sentence ushered in a period of nonstop chatter, with nearly every talkative person in the group asking her questions after question.

"Where do you live?" Amy's question.

"How do you and Jet know each other?" Knuckles asked that one.

"What do you do for a living?" That was Vector.

"Do you have any awesome powers?" That one was given courtesy of young Charmy.

There were quite a few others, of course, and Sonic was momentarily worried that they would overwhelm the poor girl. However, she proved him wrong. Bit by bit, Tammy's shyness seemed to die away, and she began answering the questions she was asked, though she didn't go into too much detail with any of them. "Well, in this language, I suppose it would be called a mansion? Maybe something else. I'm not one-hundred percent fluent in the Universal Language. Just, maybe about ninety-nine percent."

"Oh, that's easy. A mutual friend introduced us."

"I invent things. Mostly, I make vehicles and weapons, though I also make devices like this little teleporter."

"I don't know if they're ' _awesome_ ', but I do have powers."

"I'm sixteen, miss. Not quite an adult yet."

"No, I'm not a swallow. I'm a sparrow. Pretty different."

Things went on and on like that for a while, and Sonic was pleased to note that young Tammy was getting along with everyone rather well so far. Shadow seemed to still be suspicious, but that was just who and how he was. Other than that, everyone basically seemed to have accepted her as a friend of Jet's. Hannah even seemed really _happy_ to see her, while Jet just seemed as neutral as ever about the whole thing. He had even resumed packing and was basically ignoring this whole situation, that is until Tammy walked over to him and began quietly talking to him. Much to Sonic's surprise, the hawk offered a few soft replies here and there. It seemed to everyone that she was being filled in on the situation or something. This idea was only confirmed when she walked back over to the rest of the group and offered to stay and help. Of _course_ no one tried to say no. In a war like this, they would need all the help they could possibly get.

 **~台風の目~**

At about one-thirty in the morning, Jet had been on watch for the night while everyone else had been asleep. Suri had been among them, of course, and he had been holding her. That is, up until she had suddenly, and for the first time ever, teleported. In spite of the group being way out in the east, not too far from the mountains where Chun-nan's ruins lay, she had ended up in Shamar on a sand dune. She had been fine, in the end, but now he had to be constantly on guard for more random teleports. That was why, when she suddenly vanished from his arms while he was packing some food, he was already quickly turning to scan the camp and see if she'd landed nearby.

Mere seconds after he moved, the baby reappeared, mid-air, directly in front of the _one_ person in this camp he was actively trying to avoid. Thankfully, said person was able to catch the giggling child, but now he had to approach her to retrieve said child. So, of course, he sucked it up and stood, then walked over there without a word or sound. Neither he nor she said a word as he took his daughter back into his arms and left again, and he chose to ignore the almost pained look in Wave's eyes as he walked away.

He didn't want to deal with it.

 **~台風の目~**

The next day proved to be just as boring overall as the rest of them had been. Save for the rather violent struggles they'd had to face to rescue Jet's kidnapped daughters, no one in this group had faced any serious combat since this so-called war had begun. This simple little fact was taking its toll on the group in more ways than one. Everyone was tense, wary, and on edge. Some people were legitimately paranoid. Others were being made a touch irritable thanks to all the tension. And Jet… Jet was just _bored_. It didn't take a genius to read that particular feeling in the hawk's eyes, expression, and overall demeanor.

Jet was really and truly bored.

It showed in the way his friend idly watched the clouds as they flew, they almost distracted way he kept an eye on his kids at lunchtime, and the almost "going-through-the-motions" sort of way he went about preparing his own food for lunch. The only thing that seemed to break the boredom for him, at least for a short while, was when someone messaged him on his communicator and he began to read. While he did this, Sonic found himself wondering, however briefly, just who else Jet knew now, and if any of the other people he knew (if there were, in fact, others) would be willing to lend any sort of aid in this war. Then Jet sent a reply message and his boredom seemed to slowly return. This prompted a new thought from Sonic. _If this war, as serious as we all know it's going to end up being, bores him so much…_

 _Just what the hell did he go through before we found him again?_

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,348 words this time. Another collection of brief(ish) but important scenes. The next couple of chapters will be different, I promise. Posted (at about 6:00 a.m.) 09-24-16.**


	20. Shadows in the Dark

**Hello, StarryMoon33! She is. X3 Yay! I'm happy you do! I'm happy she's here, too! Haha, yes. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Shadows in the Dark"**

 **~台風の目~**

The area was dark, the trees barren, and the once lush grass reduced to nothing but hard-packed dirt. Noxious fumes filled the air, darkening the sky even more than it already was. A sort of sickly purple fog hung low to the ground, swirling around the young warrior's feet as he calmly walked through it all, scarf flowing gently behind him as he moved. He had left his group behind temporarily to investigate the corruption he had sensed, and now he was here, in the thick of it all. The Nocturnians had done this. There was no doubt about that anywhere in his mind. But not even this could bother him. He'd seen far worse things in his long life than a dead and poisoned forest. Far, far worse.

When a dark woman suddenly appeared mere feet in front of him, it didn't startle him as it would have most people. He merely stopped walking and looked at her calmly. Her aura had given her away long before she had decided to show herself, not that she seemed to care. It seemed clear to him that she had wanted someone to come here and find her. Maybe even him, specifically. The wicked smirk she was showing him certainly lent itself to that belief. It was just as tainted and evil as she was. _Felorn filth._

"So kind of you to pay me a visit," the woman said, tone sickly smooth and much too casual for his liking. "I suppose I should feel honored to be gifted with your presence."

"Shut up," he told her simply. Nothing about him betrayed anything but calm. Even his aura didn't give him away.

"Aw, someone isn't feeling very friendly today." This was said with a small pout that was much too fake to believed for a second. Everything about herself that she was presenting was false. Her "casual" tone and posture, her disappointment that he wasn't playing her verbal games, the fact that she seemed, to the casual observer, to be unarmed… All untrue. In truth, she was like a snake, coiled and ready to strike at a moment's notice. All false disappointment aside, she was simply pleased that he was here. He could sense that she had some sort of knife tucked away in her boot, one that could quite possible be extended into a full sword. Nothing she would have him believe was in any way true, so he ignored it all.

"What do you want?" It was a simple demand spoken so calmly it could easily be mistaken for a mere question. However, they both knew what it really was, and just how seriously he had actually asked it.

That wicked smirk grew. "I think you know what we want," she replied silkily. "Or, at least, the part of it that applies to you. It shouldn't be too hard for you to guess it." The dark, noxious, toxic gas-like fog began to thicken and swirl around her. "Just know that we're coming for you and what you have, whether you're ready for it or not." The gases encased her completely while she let out a small laugh that seemed to strangely echo as she vanished in a rush of wind that sent those gases hurtling out toward him and in all other possible directions.

Several long moments of silence passed and the winds died down as he thought over everything she had said, everything that she had so wickedly implied. Then, silently releasing the breath he had been holding in, he simply turned on his heel and began walking back to the others.

 **~台風の目~**

 **630 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Sorry this chapter is up later in the day than normal. I kinda forgot it was here, and then I went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for over four hours, so... XD Oh! A quick notice for you guys. The next chapter may be up a day or two late. It's a bit of a biggie, and an important piece. I'm trying not to rush it so it'll turn out well. Much thanks in advance to StarryMoon33 for helping me so much on it. Posted (at about 8:45 p.m.) 09-25-16**


	21. Time

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YES. VERY EVIL. I am as well! :D**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Time"**

 **~台風の目~**

It was nearing six in the evening when Sonic noticed Silver standing under a tree near the edge of the camp everyone had set up for the night not too terribly long ago. In the younger hedgehog's hands was a book Sonic had never seen before. It had pearly white pages and a black cover made out of an unknown material that looked to be impossibly soft to the touch. Any by Silver's feet was an all-too familiar grey backpack with seemingly all of his contents spilled out onto the grass… Immediately, Sonic marched over. Silver looked up and saw him coming, then quickly said, "Hey, this isn't how it looks- I didn't do this, I swear!"

"Uh-huh," Sonic replied disbelievingly as he knelt down and began carefully putting things back into the main pocket of Jet's backpack. Jet had quite the variety of things stowed away in there, as it turned out. A stuffed rabbit (probably something for Suri), several strange small spherical devices that seemed to have come out of a rectangular case that was on the ground, a few black pens and a pencil, some sort of white camera-looking thing, his old I-pod and earbuds (god, he still _had_ them?), his old wooden flute that he'd owned since before Sonic had met him, a sketchpad… The list went on, but the thing that drew Sonic's attention most with a sheathed dagger. The hilt of it and the sheath were both golden brown in color and covered in ornate decorations that truly seemed to be made of pure gold. And Sonic had thought the hawk to be unarmed, save for his staff and that strange white gun he'd used in the fight to save Hannah. It seemed such a foolish notion now.

"Uh, Tails, back me up here," Silver called as Sonic slid the dagger back into Jet's bag, then closed said bag.

The call drew both Wave and Tail's attention, as they were both kneeling before the campfire roasting something for dinner. "What?" Tails called back, looking and sounding confused. He probably had no idea what Silver was asking for help with, and neither did Wave. Blaze was now also looking over, probably wondering what sort of trouble her husband had gotten into now.

"They're not going to help you," Sonic told his son calmly as he stood up and swiped the book from said son.

"But it wasn't me!" Silver protested in a rather child-like tone. On days like these, it truly didn't seem like he would ever grow up. "Honest!"

"He actually _is_ being honest this time," Knuckles suddenly cut in. Looking up, Sonic saw the echidna reclining in the tree with his arms behind his head, his eyes closed, and his hat tipped down low over his face. "I heard Kimmy rooting through Jet's things a couple minutes ago. Silver came by and chased her off not long before you came over."

Sonic mulled that over for a moment, then relented. …Mostly. "…Still… you should have put this book back when you found it, Silver."

"I was going to at first," Silver said as Blaze walked over. Tails and Wave were now also walking over, likely to figure out what Silver had been hollering at Tails about a minute ago. "But then I got curious about it when I realized what it was and… yeah."

"What _what_ is?" Tails asked just as he and Wave reached them.

Wave almost appeared puzzled as she looked at the book in Sonic's hands. "It… looks like a journal."

Only after she said this did Sonic _actually_ realize that what he was holding _did_ , in fact, appear for all the world to be a journal. He now had to admit… he understood his son's curiosity. His own curiosity spiked when he fully realized that what he now held in his hands was _Jet's journal_. It was something so, so private, and so, so tantalizing… Then Silver snatched it out of his hands. "See, now you get it, right?"

"…I guess so," Sonic begrudgingly admitted.

"Regardless," Blaze cut in quietly, "it is not ours to be messing with."

"He might seriously kill us or something if we open it," Tails added.

"Ah, let him," Knuckles suddenly said, eyes still closed. "It's not like he's given us some _other_ way to figure out what in the hell's going on with him. He brought this on himself, in a way."

Wave _almost_ seemed to agree with that, but Sonic, Tails, and Blaze were still uncertain about what they knew Silver was about to do. Still, none of them said a single thing about it when Silver opened the journal up to the very first page. "I didn't even think sensei was the type of person to willingly write in a journal," Tails commented as he peered at the page.

"Doesn't look like he was," Silver replied, sitting down. "Get a load of the first entry." Without further ado, he read it aloud to them.

 ** _1._** _-Let's just make one thing clear right now. I'm not doing this because I want to. I'm only writing in this damn thing to make Arthr and Kath and the others shut up. They've been trying to get me to start a journal for months now. They keep saying that writing about what happens each day will help me "deal" with things. As if I need the help._

 _Oh, and I'm sure as hell not doing this every day. I'm not writing all the dates down, either. This is a journal, not a damn textbook, and I don't give a shit exactly when things happened. All that matters is that they did… and I was there._

For a moment, Sonic was utterly stunned. Whatever the rest of the group said was basically lost on him and all he could think was, _Jet… knows Kath?_

"Wait," Tails spoke up a quietly, cutting into Sonic's thoughts. "Who are Kath and Arthr? I've never heard them mentioned before now."

Sonic decided not to mention what he knew about Kath right now, if only because he wasn't so sure just how kindly the old hawk would take to his identity being shared around (even if only by the very people he'd once gone out of his way to save). So he said nothing. Knuckles, however, did. "Just keep reading," he said nonchalantly. "It'll probably tell you somewhere. Or maybe not. You'll never know unless you check."

Almost immediately, Silver picked a new entry and began to read it to himself. Sighing, Sonic also took a seat. "If you're gonna snoop, you may as well do it out loud so the rest of us can hear." Silver offered no argument and, as Knuckles cracked an eye open and peered down at them, began to read.

 ** _3._** _-Sometimes I don't even know why I'm here. I get that they needed help, but what I don't get is why they keep turning to me. They keep acting like I have all the answers and can make this all better with "just a bit more time". I don't know why they expect so much of me. It's not like I'm their leader. Yes, I'm related to Laralei, but what does that mean, really? Probably nothing. I'm not a great and powerful ruler like she was. She changed the world many times, even saved it, and made her people and planet prosper. How can anyone expect me to do the same? Related or not, I'm not her. I'm just… me._

Wave frowned a little bit. "What do you think he meant when he said he wasn't a great ruler? What would he have to rule over?"

Tails shrugged a little and took a seat by Silver and the journal. "Beats me."

"Planet Babylon is dead," Sonic murmured. "He has nothing to rule over, regardless of the title he inherited. He's always even told me so himself."

"But that's not what he wrote," Silver pointed out, "and we all know he's not exactly a habitual liar."

"He did say that Laralei changed and saved the world," Tails pointed out, reading over the entry a little. "It doesn't make sense for him to be talking about Mobius."

"Maybe it does, though," Knuckles replied. "In a way, by sacrificing her in that war Kaden and the others were in, she did both change and save Mobius. Not that that would make anyone in her family ruler of it, but regardless."

"Well…" Silver faltered a little, then offered a weak solution. "Maybe reading more will clear things up...?"

"It is worth a try," Blaze murmured, speaking up for the first time in a while. "I doubt he will be willing to answer these questions himself."

"'Cept he kinda is, in a way," Silver mused. Then he smiled at her approval and turned the page to find a new entry he deemed worthy of reading aloud. Soon enough, he found one and began to read it.

 ** _6._** _-I walk alone most of the time. Not in a literal sense, per se, but I may as well mean it like that. Yes, there are people who are fighting alongside me and helping me where they can, but I'm largely alone in this. I'm the one who has to come up with the tactics and the strategies and the routes and whatnot for the armies to take. I'm the one who has to weigh risks versus benefits when deciding where to send people to fight and when. I'm the one who has to train most of these people who are going out to fight, likely never to come home again. I'm the one who's expected to be the leader, in charge and in control of everything, the one with all the knowledge, all the solutions, all the wise words that are going to magically make things better. I'm the one who's expected to save the world. But… sometimes… I really don't think I can do it. It's all just too much sometimes._

"He mentioned being ruler again," Wave said. "But the way he put it makes it seem like it's the world that he's ruling. That can't be out our world he's talking about."

"But what other world could it possibly be?" Silver asked in utter confusion. Sonic chose not to point out again that it simply couldn't be Babylon.

"Again, a different entry might say," Knuckles commented casually. "Just dig deeper."

Wave glanced at him before she looked at Silver and the book. "Alright. See if you can find anything about where he's been."

"If we're gonna do this, may as well do it well," Sonic sighed. "Try to find _any_ useful information, okay?"

"Sure thing," Silver promised. "And I'll read the interesting stuff, too." Smiling to himself, he looked through some entries, then settled on a new one to read. "Speaking of interesting… here's one."

 ** _12._** ** _-_** _I'm told that I have to try. "Try to believe in the possibilities. Try to believe that things will get better." But the truth is, I've been trying for years and it never gets me anywhere. My hopes rise, and then they fall. They always fall. Hope plays a wicked game with the heart, and I'm tired of losing._

Wave frowned softly, but didn't say anything. _This kind of explains his personality now, but not entirely. Something… bigger had to have happened for a change like that._ Sonic was honestly thinking along the same lines, unbeknownst to her, but he also said nothing. Still, he frowned.

"Um… Maybe try to read one less _depressing_?" Tails mumbled, ears lowering.

"Seems to me like just about everything in here is gonna be," Silver quipped, already looking for a new entry to read.

Blaze walked a little closer to Silver and sat by him, looking over at the journal with him. "What about that one?" she said, pointing at the book.

Silver looked at the entry, then nodded. "Okay." Without further ado, he began to read.

 ** _22._** _-Past a certain point of illness, injury, exhaustion, starvation, and so on, a person simply can't be awoken. I wish I hadn't been reminded of that. We've been camped out in these goddamn Badlands for weeks now and thirteen people have died, four of them right in front of me. I knew one of them personally._

 _She was holding my hand when she passed._

Tails's ears lowered a little further when Silver read the last part. "That's so awful," he said quietly. "That would be so… just… _awful_." His apparent inability to express his thoughts on the matter adequately showed how truly bad he felt over what Silver had just read.

"He definitely was on a different world," Wave pointed out. "We don't have any Badlands to get stuck in for that long."

"Or any place officially named that at all," Knuckles added. "The closest thing we have to a place by that name is Shamar. But it's just a nickname there."

Sonic's ears, which had also lowered when Silver had read that entry, remained low as he thought all of this over. _Another world…?_

"How would he become ruler of another world?" Tails then wondered aloud. "Babylon is gone, like Sonic said, so there isn't any other place that would make sense for him to rule over."

Wave sighed quietly. "It's all really confusing… This would be so much easier to understand if he'd just tell us."

"But he won't," Sonic muttered.

"Which is why we're gonna keep reading," Silver said decisively. Then he asked, "Right?" At Knuckles's nod, his golden eyes returned to the pages and he looked for a new entry to read. Soon enough, he found one.

 ** _24._** _-Another person died. He was killed by some beast that was under the sand. I've never seen such a thing before. Some of the soldiers were calling it a "Turuk". It means "Sand Devil". By the way they were talking, there's more than one of these things on the loose. I want to get out of here._

 _[There was a sketch of a Turuk, which looked very eerily similar to an Iblis Worm, though without the fire, magma, and so on. The Turuk was also much larger, large enough to wrap itself like a snake around the X-Tornado.]_

"That place sounds awful," Blaze murmured quietly. "I wonder what he was doing there with those people."

"Well…" Silver trailed off briefly, looking back at some past entries. "Looks like they were… surveying the area or something?"

"But why would he need to do that if he was ruling the planet he was on?" Tails wondered aloud, again voicing his thoughts.

"Maybe he wasn't the ruler yet," Sonic shrugged. "It wouldn't make sense, otherwise."

"I'd have to agree with that," Knuckles sighed. There was a small moment of silence, then he prompted, "Well, choose another one to read already, Silver."

Silver paused, then looked at Tails. "Maybe you should pick one."

Tails nodded a little and leaned over a little and looked at the book. "Wait, this one looks good," he said before he started to read. Silver nodded, then also began to read the entry Tails had chosen (though he did so internally).

 _ **33.** -I keep having random nightmares about things that don't make sense. I think it's because of the fever. I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to keep pushing myself like this. I'm so tired… I don't think I've been this thin since I was a kid. I can see my own ribs. Not everyone else looks this bad, but I know they're really no better off. Ke'la and Tok are sick, too, or at least they're getting to be. Suki's the only one left who's still relatively well. We managed to find Luko somehow, but he's barely hanging on. He might not make it to see the sunrise in a few hours. I don't want to have to bury him in this awful place. He told me once before that when he dies he wants to be buried on a grassy hill. There's no such thing out here._

Wave frowned a little bit when they finished. "That sounds so awful." _That probably has to do with how much he's changed. Everyone would be different after something like that._

Knuckles frowned under the rim of his hat, his violet eyes hard with anger. _Who the hell would send people to survey a place so clearly dangerous and unfit for survival?_ Sonic, ears still very low, was thinking along the same lines. He was just as angry, if not more so. Silver, meanwhile, was just… quietly horrified.

Blaze glanced at Silver and put her hand on top of his to silently offer some comfort. "Is there anything else noteworthy?"

Silver nodded a little. "Um… yeah." After a small moment, he began to read again. Since the first entry was so short, he read two.

 ** _40._** _-Ke'la asked me if I fear death. I didn't say anything. Silence is the best answer to all stupid questions._

 ** _43._** _-Apparently I collapsed again. Suki says I was out cold for about three days or so. Ke'la apparently thought I was going to die at one point. I guess I almost stopped breathing or something like that. At this point, I don't think I even care. While I was unconscious, I didn't have to think. I didn't have to move. I didn't have to do anything. It was the nicest thing I've experienced in ages. Not as wonderful as true sleep would be, but what are the chances of me ever accomplishing that out here?_

Wave looked down at the book. "That's so terrible," she said softly. "We need to ask him why he was even there." _If he'd even let us talk to him…_

"I can try in a bit," Tails offered. "I was able to talk to him a little while earlier."

"That might work," Sonic agreed with a nod, trying to hide his own emotions from his voice at least somewhat. "He seems to respond a little more to you than he does with most of the rest of us."

Tails nodded a little bit in reply before he looked back at the journal in his friend's hands. "What else is there?"

Silver looked over some entries, then settled on a new one. "Okay, here's an entry." Without further ado, he began to read.

 ** _56._** _-Selene finally came back from whatever battle she was fighting, then visited me in the hospital. She hit me on the head for "scaring [her] half to death by being an idiot and getting lost", but then she hugged me. I didn't know what to do, but she didn't seem to care._

 _I hate not knowing what to do._

Sonic's immediate reaction was a confused thought. _Who the hell is Selene?_

Wave frowned as well, her thoughts about the same as his. _Who is she? Why hasn't he mentioned her?_

"Do you think that person might be his kids' mother?" Tails asked.

"It's possible," Knuckles shrugged. "But that's another thing we probably won't ever know for sure unless he or the journal tells us."

"I doubt he will tell us himself," Blaze murmured. "It seems like a hard subject for him."

Sonic nodded his agreement. "For the kids, too. Save for Suri, they all seem to get upset whenever their mom is mentioned."

"I wonder why…" Silver murmured in a mixture of sadness and confusion.

"I guess the only way to find out is to keep reading," Tails piped up.

"For now, that's our best option," Sonic responded, motioning for one of them to pick a new entry to read. Silver quickly did just that.

 ** _69._** _-I question my life and my decisions sometimes. I really never meant to be gone for so long. I wonder sometimes, when I actually have time to sit down and breathe, how Sonic and the others are doing. I never have time to call. I'm lucky if I ever have time to get a meal in or try to get a bit of sleep, let alone sit down and write in this thing. And even if I did have the time, we're way too far away. If they've been calling, I haven't been getting their messages. I feel… alone out here, even with Selene and Arthr and Kath and Jade constantly by my side._

 _I wonder how Sonic and the others are faring. I feel stupid for saying that I miss them like hell… but I do. Guess there's nothing I can do about it, though._

Sonic immediately frowned. However, he said nothing once again. In a way, he supposed that there was nothing _to_ say. What could anyone possibly say about something as heartfelt and sad as this? _Probably nothing._

When the silence persisted amongst the group, Silver cleared his throat a little in an awkward way, then said, "Well… I found a new entry…" At Tails's nod, he began to read.

 ** _70._** _-I'm so tired of being here… suppressed by all my childish fears. Death sometimes feels so imminent, like it's just around the corner and it's only a matter of time before it strikes, just like a large, venomous snake. I hate feeling like this. These days, it feels like I hate everything. These wounds just don't seem to heal. They're not physical in nature, but… the pain is real enough. It's too real. There's just way too much that time can't erase, and it's far too much for me to deal with alone. But… I don't know who to turn to. Maybe I shouldn't go to anyone in the first place. Maybe I shouldn't say anything. Silence really is the best solution to my problems, sometimes, but is this really one of those times?_

This time, Blaze was the first to speak. "There is no such thing as a childish fear. To call one's fear by such a name is to diminish how real the emotion is. That is never truly 'okay' to do." No doubt Kaden had taught her that.

"But what was he even afraid of?" Tails asked with a worried frown. "I mean, he didn't specify it there, nor in any of the other entries we've seen."

"Whatever it was, it was almost certainly linked to whatever the hell he was doing in that 'Badlands' place," Sonic muttered. Then, taking Knuckles's earlier advice, he said, "The only way we'll get answers right now, in this moment, is to keep reading."

Wave sighed a little, but nodded. She hated snooping like this, really and truly _hated_ it. She knew Jet was a very private person and would almost certainly be rather upset over them doing this… But she, like everyone else, wanted to know the truth of what had happened to him over the last century. So she didn't try to stop Silver. _Like he'd listen to me if I did, anyway…_

Pointing one finger at the page Silver was on, Tails suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, look! This one seems to explain something huge!" By way of explanation, he began to quickly read.

 ** _72._** _-I have to conceal. I can't let myself feel for risk of someone seeing. Everyone is looking to me to be the strong and confident leader they're so desperate for… so I'll make myself be that person. I'm the one who agreed to come to this world and try to save it. I can't just stand here, frozen in the life I chose just because I never wanted to choose it in the first place. What matters now is that I'm needed, and I plan to do everything I can to help._

 _That definitely does help explain his lack of detectable emotions,_ Sonic mused internally. Then, before anyone could say anything, he spoke up, having seen the way his son's eyes began to shine with sympathy as he read something. "What did you find?"

Clearing his throat a little for the second time that evening, Silver said, "Something real sad." He began to read aloud.

 ** _73._** _-I've always needed time on my own. I never thought I'd need someone when I cried. I never thought I'd cry in the first place. But Selene was there with me the whole time. She didn't say anything or really do anything in particular, but I guess I didn't really need her to. Just her caring enough to be there for me was enough and… if I'm being perfectly honest with myself… it meant the world at the time. I guess it still does. But I'm probably overreacting. She really didn't do much of anything. She just… hugged me._

 _[There was a dime-size doodle of a star.]_

Almost immediately, Wave's heart broke for the hawk she had once so deeply loved. And, in that moment, she was forcibly reminded once again just how much she truly did still care for him, even if only as a friend. To hear about him seemingly suffering so much that he'd broken down like that… It was hard to take in and accept. He simply _didn't_ cry. Not ever, and certainly never over something minuscule. _I'm so sorry…_ she whispered in her thoughts as though he could somehow hear her, though she knew he couldn't. She wiped a small, empathetic tear from her eye and watched as the others seemingly wrapped up whatever they had been saying while she had been lost in her own thoughts and feelings. Silver then began to read.

 ** _86._** _-The war had been raging for twelve years before I was called to come to lend aid. It's been sixteen years since I came here. I've been here this whole time, fighting just as hard as anyone else, and now my "ability to fight and lend adequate assistance" is being called into question by some asshole who thinks he knows me. If Selene hadn't stopped me, I doubt I would have stopped after just punching the guy. I still want to pummel him. I hate people like him. People who act like they know my whole story just because they know my name… I hate them. They don't know me at all, and I hate them for acting like they do. No one knows me, and I prefer it that way. I'm considered an "enigma" by most people, according to Kath, and may it always be._

All eyes were immediately wide. Silver and Tails's eyes both scanned the page again, rereading what had already been read. Sonic felt his ears drop back again. _Jet… was… called to war?_

Knuckles finally sat up, and he practically glared down at the journal in Silver's hands. His immediate decision was, _Whoever the hell dragged his ass over there to fight a battle he should have never been involved in is gonna meet my fist one of these days. Maybe even both of 'em._

Silver flipped through a good few pages before settling on a new entry that actually evoked a small smile from him. "Hey… this one's actually not too bad. It's kind of… peaceful." Immediately curious, Tails leaned over to look while Silver read aloud.

 ** _116._** _-It's hard to believe that I could have a beautiful experience on a battlefield after a fierce bout of combat, but I did. There were so many stars out tonight. I love looking at the stars. I stood there with my sword in hand for what felt like hours, just gazing up at them. Then something happened that made it even better. There was a huge meteor shower. It was incredible. It allowed me to forget my troubles, if only for a short while._

 _[There is a detailed drawing of the sky during the meteor shower.]_

Straight away, Blaze was also smiling, her smile soft and gentle. "That does sound beautiful," she murmured. Sonic murmured an agreement and nodded a little.

"It's kind of weird, trying to picture something so terrible under a blanket of twinkling, perfect stars," Tails said quietly. "It's hard to not picture the sky not being pure red or black instead."

"But he found it, anyway," Knuckles remarked, voice also quiet. "The beauty within a bleak situation. And, by the sounds of it, he needed that experience. Possibly to remind him of hope, and what there always is to love for."

Again, Sonic nodded. _He can be so negative sometimes… but he, more than just about anyone I know, can find hope even when most of the rest of us simply can't. And he's always seen hope in the stars._ This thought created a sort of fond feeling in him. Jet's love of the stars had been a constant in Sonic's life practically since the day they met. It was a good thing to remember, a lighthearted thought that Sonic allowed himself to take some pleasure in.

 _He's always liked to look at the stars,_ Wave thought to herself. _I can't even count how many times I caught him on the roof at night, just staring at them._

"Is there more about the war he was in?" Tails asked, hating bringing up something so terrible again. "Like where it was?"

"Not exactly," Silver replied. "At least, not here. "I mean, he still talks about stuff he was doing, but no mentions of what world he was on or who he was fighting."

"So just choose something and read it, then," Knuckles grumbled, laying back down.

"Okay." With this small agreement, Silver turned the page and selected a new entry.

 ** _121._** _-I learned a long time ago that racing is about more than competition and winning. Sonic even told me so when we were kids. But out here… everything's different. This is a race against time. A race that we have to win. If we don't reach the enemy army in time, half the world could very well wind up being obliterated. We have to win. There's no room for error. Not this time. Everything I do has to be perfect. If it's not… I don't even want to think about the consequences. The stress is eating me alive._

Blaze was about to say something about the entry when she heard Kimmy's voice loudly talking, sounding upset. That was quickly followed by Lia's own shouts. She sighed softly before she stood. "I'll be right back," she said quietly before she hurried to the two little girls.

Almost as soon as he heard that last line of that particular entry, Sonic felt some sort of knot form in the pit of his stomach. Maybe it was sympathy, maybe it was anger on his best friend's behalf, maybe it was some sort of combination of the two. Either way, he truly felt terrible. So much, in fact, that he didn't even notice what was going on with the kids and Blaze. _I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Jet…_ This thought was all he could focus on in the moment.

After a couple of small moments, Silver spoke up again. Something akin to relief colored his tone. "Hey, look. I found an entry here that actually involves _fun_."

Tails glanced at the book. "What does it say?" he asked. Right as he asked this, Kimmy, who was just feeling frustrated, tired, and honestly a little grumpy, started to cry about whatever argument she and Lia had gotten into. She was quickly picked up by her mother, who worked on quieting her. Silver, meanwhile, began to read as Shadow walked over to help calm the situation with the two little girls down.

 ** _132._** _-Selene and I had a horse race today. It was incredible fun, actually. Selene won, in part because Neila got distracted by some weird mushroom for nearly a full minute. It was still a lot of fun, though. Selene was laughing and smiling the whole time, and I was smiling, too. I don't even care that I lost. I had more fun today than I've truly had in years. It was wonderful._

Tails managed a small smile at this. "At least it wasn't completely bad for him while he was there," he commented.

"Yeah," Wave agreed with a nod. "I'm glad."

Though Sonic honestly had to agree with both of them, a thought still nagged at his mind. _The way he wrote that second to last sentence implies that there really wasn't a whole lot of anything fun or otherwise enjoyable happening to him before that race. That makes sense with him having been in war and all, but that's no way for anyone to live…_ As he thought this, Silver looked for a new entry. The younger hedgehog of the two selected one rather quickly and began to read it.

 ** _134._** _-Selene's having me write in here to try to calm me down, but I don't think it's working. I'm really, really freaking out. This place is tiny and dark and there's barely enough room for the two of us to move. I feel like I'm going to suffocate even though there's more than enough air in this damn, godforsaken hole. I don't think I've ever had a panic attack before, but I'm pretty sure that's what's happening right now. My hand's shaking so badly I can barely write. I want out._

Wave frowned at this entry. "It sounds like his claustrophobia has gotten worse," she commented.

"I wonder how they even got into that place," Tails added.

Silver could only shrug. After a few seconds, he made a comment of his own. "I didn't even know he _had_ claustrophobia," he admitted, noting the rather messy handwriting of that entry. It was very at odds with Jet's normally neat and rather elegant penmanship.

Sonic seemed to sort of sigh. "He's had it for a very long time, Silver." He refused to divulge more than that, simply because it wasn't his personal information to share. Silver seemed to understand this, and he nodded once to signal his acceptance before beginning to flip through pages again. Eventually, he found one that seemed to surprise him. As such, he began to read it for everyone else.

 ** _164._** _-Been a few months since I've written anything. Not really sorry for it._

 _-I found a kid on the battlefield. I don't know how he got here. He's barely old enough to toddle around on his feet. There's no one else around right now. Thankfully, I had something for him to eat. He's sleeping in my tent. I don't know what to do with him._

Blaze, who had finished helping to settle the little dispute, walked over in time to hear the last bit read. She still had Kimmy in her arms, and the little girl was still sniffling unhappily. She mumbled something with a pout just as Blaze sat back down, and she was gently shushed by her mother. "How would a kid wind up in a battlefield alone like that?" Tails asked as Blaze did this, internally wondering what had happened with the little kid.

"His parents could have been fighting," Knuckles pointed out evenly, "like us."

That was sort of a troubling thought, but Silver didn't argue with it. He had to admit that the echidna was probably right. "Still… that's terrible for that poor little kid."

Tails nodded a little. "What else does he say about the kid?"

"Momma, what book is daddy reading?" Kimmy whisper-yelled to Blaze, her attitude from earlier forgotten.

"A journal," Blaze answered simply and quietly, still paying attention to the other conversation. After giving his daughter a brief but loving smile, Silver returned his attention to the journal. In answer to Tails's question, he began to read. This time, he picked not one, but two entries.

 ** _172._** _-I managed to get a signal on my communicator for a while. I called Selene. She's on her way in a ship to pick me and the kid up. While we were talking, I read the writing on the back of the photograph to her. She translated it for me. "This is our family. In the middle is Keyari, his mother. On the right is me, Kal, his father. On the left is our son, Elan. His grandfather nicknamed him Ten."_

 ** _173._** _-It's been three months since I found the kid. We've pretty much given up on calling him by his actual name. He just ignores it. He goes by Ten._

Tails smiled a little. "That kid sounds pretty cute," he commented. "I wonder if Jet still sees him or not."

Kimmy looked up at Blaze when she heard Jet's name. "Is it Jet's journal?" she asked her mom. "Will we get in trouble for reading it?"

Blaze nodded a little at the first part. "Yes, this is Jet's. I don't think we'll get in trouble."

"Even pretending he was upset about it," Knuckles added, "I _highly_ doubt he'd be upset with you, Kimmy."

"But, back on subject," Silver cut in, "I wonder why he never mentioned Ten before. Seems like he and the kid might have gotten kinda close."

"There are lots of things he hasn't mentioned," Wave muttered. "I bet it just didn't seem relevant for Jet to talk about him."

Tails shrugged a little bit. "Maybe. We'll have to ask sometime. We probably could ask one of his kids, too."

That was when Sonic jerked a thumb back over his shoulder. "We may have an opportunity to do that soon." Peering behind Sonic, Silver saw Hannah and Lucas. Amy (who was watching and holding Suri) was near them. "Lucas is complaining about being bored, so he may come and bug one of us for entertainment."

After a small moment, Silver nodded his agreement. "Okay. So if he comes over we'll ask, then." With this decided, he began scanning for a new entry to read in the journal. He gave Tails a small glance. "Any entries catch your eye?"

Tails turned away from the young hawk kids and returned his attention to the journal. "Number one hundred ninety-four looks good," he replied after a bit.

"Okay," Silver responded. He began to read.

 ** _194._** _-On the brink of a huge battle, everyone looked at me as if I had something profound and deep to say. I had nothing. No words of wisdom or encouragement, no hopeful vision of the future to share with everyone, nothing. Only the grim certainty that many of us won't live to see the end of this combat. It's almost time to go, and I haven't said a word to anyone. The last thing I said today was that the sky was beautiful._

Blaze frowned softly. "I wonder if he would tell us where the war was and who he was fighting. That would give us at least a little information on where he's been."

"I can ask him for you!" Kimmy replied, trying to squirm out of Blaze's arms.

Golden eyes twinkled with amusement as he replied warmly, "Thank you for the offer, Kimmy, but if anyone asks it'll probably need to be Sonic or Tails. He's not very likely to talk to anyone else about this stuff, really."

On that note, emerald eyes slid to look at Tails. "Would you be willing to help me try to talk to him whenever he comes back?" Sonic asked him.

Tails nodded. "Yeah, I'll help you," he replied before he glanced at Kimmy, who was pouting a little.

"I wanna help," the little girl mumbled unhappily.

"It's up to your mom and dad if you can do that," Sonic responded. Silver, however, was no longer paying attention. He was again scanning the entries for a new one to read.

Kimmy, seeing that her dad was busy, looked up at Blaze. "Can I help, mommy, please? Please?"

Blaze smiled a little. "I do not mind if you go there with them as long as you behave yourself."

"I think I can agree to that," Sonic said with a small smile of his own.

Right about then, Silver found a new entry. "Oh, here's one that looks _really_ interesting!" he said, eyes a bit wide. "Get a load of this, guys."

 ** _203._** _-There were huge solar flares last night. They were observable with the naked eye, even though, as I said before, it was night. Not to mention the fact that solar flares are never supposed to be that large. Ever._

 _-Selene says I caused it. I started to dismiss that notion as absolutely absurd, but Kath stepped in and actually agreed with her. He said it was because I've been so damn angry lately and my powers finally acted up due to it, and in a really big way. I thought that was ridiculous, too, and might've said something about it, had he not continued._

 _According to him, my powers of storm are more truly powers of nature rather than just storm alone. To try to explain it further, he went into detail about the differences between my powers and my grandmother's. She could make storms, but she couldn't control individual aspects of it (i.e. winds, ocean currents, clouds, temperatures) by themselves like I can. He said my ability to control so many aspects of nature as a whole is probably what allowed me to, somehow, cause the solar flares we observed last night. Even he's not entirely sure how I managed it, though._

 _I'm still not entirely convinced that they're right._

Tails blinked a few times. "Woah. He's gotten really powerful while he's been gone." Silver eagerly nodded his agreement, eyes still a bit wide.

"Wait," Wave said suddenly. "How would this Kath person know so much about Laralei's powers and how they worked? Hardly anyone who knew her is alive today."

Now Sonic was visibly thoughtful. "Right before the final battle with the Metarex…" he started slowly, "Cosmo and I were talking. Specifically, we were talking about Kath. She told me something along the lines of, 'the things he understands are far beyond what the rest of us can comprehend'. The way she talked, it seemed to me like he knows a _lot_ of thing most would think he shouldn't."

Wave frowned slightly. "You know who Kath is? Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

While Wave questioned Sonic, Kimmy leaned over Blaze to reach Silver. "Daddy, the Metarex where those robot people thingies, right?" Silver nodded distractedly as he listened to Wave finish speaking.

"Oh, right, you guys didn't know his name back then." Sonic let out a small sigh. "Kath was that old grey hawk who saved our butts during that war."

"How long have you known about him?" Wave asked. "This could have been useful to know earlier."

"I've known since about twenty minutes before that final fight against Dark Oak," Sonic admitted with a small shrug. "But it was just a name to me back then. It's not like I expected to ever hear about him again, so I didn't see a point in mentioning it."

"Hey, if he's a hawk, is there a possibility that he's Babylonian?" Tails asked, speaking up for the first time in a little while. "I know that there aren't supposed to be any left, but it still is possible, right?"

"He'd have to be Babylonian," Sonic replied. "From what Jet's told me in the past, bird people simply don't exist outside their race. Besides, he had the flame marks on his arms. You know, the mark of a Rogue. He's definitely Babylonian." Knuckles said nothing about all of this, but he certainly did commit it all to memory. Meanwhile, Silver was busy reading a new entry to himself.

Tails nodded a little just as Kimmy leaned over to Silver again. "Which one are you reading?" she whisper-yelled. .

Since this one was pretty kid-appropriate, really, Silver pointed. "This one." At Sonic's hand signal a few moments later, the younger hedgehog began to read aloud.

 ** _205._** _-Jade and I actually spent the day together. We talked like we usually do, but we also did other things. We played with Ten for a while and had breakfast together. After that, we went outside. It turns out that she knows how to ride horses as well. One of the mares is her father's. We didn't race, but we did ride together for a while._

 _We basically spent the whole day doing simple, peaceful little things like that. When night fell, we laid down on the roof and she had me tell her about the stars and constellations we saw. Eventually, she got tired and had to go in to bed. Right before she left, she hugged me and said that this was one of the best days she's had in a long time. She didn't seem to be expecting a response. That's probably a good thing. I didn't have one to begin with._

"Maybe Jade is Lucas, Hannah, and Suri's mother," Blaze murmured. This idea made Sonic frown in thought. "Does it mention anything happening to her?"

Shaking his head, Silver responded, "No. Well, at least, not here."

"Maybe it will in later entries," Knuckles suggested calmly. He had closed his eyes again.

"He's right," Wave replied. "What else is there?"

"Um… there's a few brief ones here that seem important…" Silver said slowly. He began to read.

 ** _225._** _-When I came to this world to help out in this war, I knew exactly what I was doing. Sometimes I feel like that's what hurts the most. I've done this to myself, in a way, all of this. It's my own fault for even coming here._

 ** _227._** _-I hate having flashbacks of things I don't want to remember._

 ** _228._** _-It's hard to answer the question "What's wrong?" when nothing in my life seems to be right anymore. Maybe that's why, when Selene asked me this earlier, I couldn't look her in the eye and I couldn't respond._

 ** _229._** _-It stings on my arm in the shower. And the worst part is, anyone who ever reads this will likely know what I'm talking about._

 ** _230._** _-The worst kind of pain is when you're smiling just to keep the tears from falling._

 ** _237._** _-Maybe I've been like this for too long. I think this because, nowadays, when terrible things happen, I don't feel terrible. I just feel numb._

 ** _241._** _-The two greatest lies we tell ourselves are "I'm fine" and "Everything's going to be okay". People are never truly fine and things only ever get harder._

Only after reading this last one did Silver trail off. Then he quietly said, "There are a _bunch_ like this."

Tails' ears lowered a little. "That sounds a lot like depression," he said just as quietly. "That could explain part of Jet's current personality."

"How did he even get to that point?" Wave wondered aloud, feeling sad for the person she had once cared so much about.

No one had an answer to Wave's question, of course. However, they did very much agree with Tails's statement. And, a few seconds later, Silver spoke up again. "Hey… That Arthr person wrote in here. Pretty soon after that last entry I read, actually."

"What did he say?" Blaze asked him.

"There are actually three," Silver said somewhat pointlessly before beginning to read.

 ** _249._** _This is Arhr. I'm only writing this for the sake of keeping any potential readers of this (though if anyone ever reads this, it will likely be many years from now, anyway) informed about what's going on._

 _It's been clear to us, all of us, for quite a while now that something's been off with Jet. Something's been really wrong. We somehow managed to get ahold of his camera, communicator, and this journal last night. After going through everything that he's left recorded in these things, whether written or not, it's come to our attention that he's spiraled into some sort of intense depression. It may not even be just depression. There could be a lot more to it than that. We don't know. He doesn't even know, which is the frightening thing. We're trying to get him help now but, with the war getting to be so huge, I fear how little we may actually be able to do._

 _We're afraid he might have been hurting himself. He won't say, but that doesn't prove or disprove anything. We're really afraid of being right about this. I hope we're wrong. I really, really do._

 ** _250._** _Arthr again. It's so hard seeing him like this. It's only been a few weeks, but I guess I'd hoped to see some slight improvement, however temporary it might have been. There's been nothing of the sort. I think he might be slowly getting worse._

 _We don't know what triggered this. Not specifically. Obviously the war's involved (how could it not be?) but we don't know anything beyond that. I hate not knowing. The less we know, the less we can help. Not that he seems to want our help, anyway. But that doesn't matter. We're going to continue to give it to him, anyway, whether he likes it or not._

 ** _251._** _It's me again. It's been a couple of years. He's doing so much better now. He had us so afraid for quite a while there, but he seems to be mostly better now. Some of this will probably never fully heal or go away, but at least he's not hurting anywhere near as badly as he had been before._

 _He's asleep right now. My guess would be that he's probably going to start writing again tomorrow. He'd better do it fast, though. After we take down camp, we have to get moving again. The Syxans aren't exactly going to wait while we rest._

"That sounds like it was really bad. No wonder he's so different now," Tails said quietly. "It's good that they were able to help him, but that must've hit him hard."

Blaze nodded in agreement before she mentioned something different about the entries. "I am guessing there Syxans are who they were fighting."

"Seems like it," Wave agreed. "But I've never heard of them before."

Neither Sonic nor Knuckles offered a comment, so Silver piped up again. "Guess we just need to ask about that, too."

Tails nodded before he looked at the book his friend was still holding. "What else does it say?"

Silver flipped through a fair few pages before finding one more important entry. "Here's something," he murmured thoughtfully. He then began to read.

 ** _285._** _-I overheard Selene talking quietly to Arthr on her communicator earlier tonight. I'd been asleep, but I guess her talking woke me up. I'm pretty sure she thought I was asleep (as my back was to her, meaning that she couldn't see my face), so she kept talking. They were talking about me._

 _Apparently they're worried that I might have a mild or mildly severe form of PTSD. She listed a bunch of reasons to him that she's apparently deemed to be good indicators that I do have PTSD, things that she's apparently observed in me or even seen me doing or whatever. For better or for worse, here's what she listed off:_

 _Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event (I've never told anyone about this)_

 _Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (essentially, flashbacks; I've never mentioned this, either)_

 _Upsetting dreams about the traumatic event (the main reason I don't sleep the few times I feel like I'm actually capable of it; another thing I've never told anyone)_

 _Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event (another thing she must have observed; I've never mentioned it)_

 _Avoiding places, activities, or people that remind you of the traumatic event (mostly places; probably something she could observe easily)_

 _Irritability, general anger, and (often explosive) angry outbursts (something we've all been aware of for a while)_

 _Always being on guard for danger (I don't see how this is so concerning, considering the fact that we're in the middle of a war)_

 _Self-destructive behavior (which I'm not going to talk about, ever)_

 _Trouble concentrating (I think this happened once or twice, as some of my past entries seem to kind of ramble on and drift away from the point, but that could easily be from lack of sleep)_

 _Trouble sleeping (not terribly surprising as, once again, we're in the middle of a war)_

 _Survivor's guilt (I've never noticed this and I have no idea where she came up with the idea that I feel guilty)_

 _…_

 _All in all, I guess she's right that most of these at least in part apply to me, but it's hardly proof that I've got this condition. I probably won't bring it up to her, though, just because I don't feel like arguing with her about it. It's stupid to hope that not mentioning it will cause the situation to fade away, though._

Tails frowned. "That does sound a lot like PTSD. I'm sure that didn't help the depression at all." Sonic had to agree with Tails's assessment, but he said nothing about it. He truly didn't know _what_ to say. However, he did have to wonder… Where in the hell had this Selene woman gotten a _communicator_?

Kimmy, once again, leaned over her mother to get to Silver. "Dad, what's PTSD?" she asked before she accidentally bumped the journal out of his hands and into his lap, making their spot disappear among the many pages. "...Oops."

Silver blinked a few times, looking at the journal, then just picked it up. "Um, to put it simply…" He trailed off, thinking, then said, "Basically, it's a sort of illness, I guess you could say. People can sometimes get it when they experience really bad things." As he spoke, he opened the book again. This time, he ended up looking at entries in the seven-hundred's range. _Well… Definitely lost my place._

The little girl, being as young as she was, soon stopped caring about the answer she had just been given, and she refocused on trying to squirm away from Blaze. Blaze, however, kept a gentle hold on the kitten and prevented her from getting away. Finally, pouting, Kimmy settled down again and gave it up, at least for now. With Kimmy no longer her main focus, Blaze looked at her husband. "Do you remember what number you were on?"

Truth be told, Silver didn't. No one did, really, since everyone had been much more focused on the content each entry contained, rather than what number each entry was. As such, Silver shook his head. "No… not at all," he admitted with a small sigh.

"Just read wherever you are now, then," Knuckles responded. "We'll waste more time if we try to find where we were than if we just keep going."

"Okay," Silver agreed easily with a small shrug. After scanning the pages briefly, he located an entry that caught his eye. He began to read it, though he ended up leaving out the second paragraph and instead focusing on the first line.

 ** _743._** _-Kath gave me a blade called "Alkarus" today. He said it's an Immortal's blade. How fitting._

Immediately, this line raised a question Blaze ended up being the one to voice aloud, though they all shared the confusion. "Why would he call an Immortal's blade ' _fitting_ '?" But, once again, no one had an answer. Silence reigned over the small group, so Silver took the opportunity to scan for a new entry.

Soon enough, Tails spotted one of interest. "Hey, look," he said, pointing. "He mentions Kath again here."

Since he was still rather curious about the old hawk (and had been ever since he'd first learned of the guy), Sonic was fairly quick to ask, "What does it say?" This time, Tails was the one who read aloud.

 ** _746._** _-Kath seemed really, really sad today. It's not that unusual for him to seem a sad from time to time; he has a lot to be sad about (his old home is gone, he has few friends nowadays, and so on). However, him being this sad is unusual and concerning. I talked to him about it, and he just smiled, a sad smile, and said simply that this is the anniversary of the last day he saw his wife, who is now dead._

 _I never even knew he'd been married._

This was, of course, undeniably sad. And Knuckles, more than anyone else in the group, had a strong sense of sympathy for the man Tails had just read about. After all, Knuckles had seen firsthand through his father just how terribly the loss of a wife (or a romantic partner in general, really) through death could tear a person apart day by day by day by day. He knew that if he were to ever lose his own wife he would likely have seen little point in continuing on, if not for the fact that he'd still have their child to take care of and love. But he tried not to think about those things. _I'm being almost as morbid as Shadow can be._ By the time that thought finished, whatever small conversation the others had been having was over and Silver was busy selecting a new entry. He settled on one soon enough and began to read.

 ** _754._** _-I woke up in the hospital. I feel like crap. Selene said I had a seizure, and a pretty severe one. The doctors aren't sure why yet._

 _-Apparently the doctors confirmed what Selene already believed. I have definite diagnosis now. PTSD, depression, anxiety/panic disorder, survivor's guilt, insomnia, and claustrophobia severe enough to warrant them considering medicating me for it. According to them, the PTSD is what resulted in the seizure. Something "triggered" me, thus eliciting a stress/panic response that was severe enough to cause something in my brain to short-circuit (there's really no better way to put it) and therefore cause a seizure. I don't remember anything like that happening. The last thing I remember is sitting at my desk in my room._

 _-I was given medication for the other things I mentioned previously. I don't want to take any of it. I probably won't._

This particular entry immediately caught Sonic and Blaze's attention for one simple reason: Kaden. Kaden suffered from the _very_ same type of seizures. Namely, grand mal seizures triggered by severe PTSD. Both Sonic and Blaze had personally witnessed those seizures at least a couple times each during the last century, and both knew just how serious of a health concern this was. After all, there was never any real telling when a seizure might occur, meaning it could happen in the middle of a fight (creating the risk of being killed or at least severely injured), when going down the stairs (creating risk of a head injury from falling), and so on. To say that the idea of Jet now having the same condition was worrisome… Well, that was a pretty massive understatement, in Sonic's opinion. But then he was dragged out of those thoughts when he heard Silver speaking. "...entry looks interesting," his son was saying. Apparently, if others had been talking, they were done now. "He mentions that Selene lady again, plus a name I've never even heard of before."

"So read it, then," Knuckles prompted simply. So Silver began to do just that.

 ** _757._** _-I think I saw Nyxar again. It may have just been a dream, but I swear I saw his dark form standing on the edge of our camp. His eyes seemed to glow with what little firelight reached him, and he was grinning, his teeth gleaming. I think I may have had a small panic attack after seeing (or imagining) that, because the next thing I remember is Selene suddenly being awake and hugging me and trying to get me to calm down. I didn't sleep the rest of the night. She stayed up with me._

 _She didn't have to do that._

Not for the first time since beginning to read this journal, rather than focusing on the details of the entry as a whole, everyone more or less zeroed in on one little detail. This time, the detail was the rather strong implication of just how close Jet and this Selene woman had once been, or maybe even still were. And this implication, of course, once again lead them to wonder, _Is she the mother of his children?_ But, rather than focus on that for an extended period of time, Wave asked rather quietly, "Have you found another entry to read?" Sonic didn't exactly blame her for not wanting to think about this last entry, considering her rocky history with the author of said entry.

"Um… yeah, here's one," Silver said after a moment. "The details are vague, real vague, but I think this is important." Wave gestured with her right hand for him to go ahead, so he began to read.

 ** _768._** _-I'm finally back home. Apparently Selene found my journal after I vanished. I was gone for months, but I don't want to talk about why. I spent another good few months in the hospital after I escaped. Like I said, I'm home now. Everything still hurts, though. Physically, anyway. Otherwise, I guess I just feel… numb. I think one of the doctors said that I'm "still in shock." Even seeing Ten earlier didn't help me at all. Kath told me it's alright, that it's a normal reaction to what happened to me and that it'll pass. I don't even want to think about how he knows such a thing._

As was nothing new at this point, the contents of this entry immediately raised new questions, questions that none of them had answers to at this point. The biggest one, of course, was perhaps the simplest of them all. _What happened to him? _But, once again, the group simply had no way of figuring it out. At least, not without the help of Jet himself, or someone who had become close to him over the last hundred years. _Someone like Tammy,_ Sonic suddenly realized with a swift glance in the sparrow's direction. She was busy talking with Hannah about something and didn't notice his gaze, but that was okay. He planned on speaking with her later.

After swallowing somewhat audibly, Tails asked, "Did you choose a new one yet, Silver?"

The young hedgehog nodded. "Yeah." About a second later, he began to read.

 ** _771._** _-I still can't hold much food down. I nearly threw up after just a couple bites of breakfast this morning. At least no one was there to see that. And, thankfully, the nausea passed by the time Ten got up. I was able to feed him without a problem._

 _-I have more symptoms of PTSD than the ones Selene listed before. She apparently learned at some point about other symptoms I display, and we discussed them a bit. They are, 1.) Dissociation, or perceived detachment from the body or emotional state, 2.) Recurrent thoughts or visual images of the traumatic experience(s), 3.) Acute anxiety or nervousness, in which the victim is hyperaroused, cries easily, and/or experiences mood swings, and, 4.) Intense psychological reactions, such as shaking or nausea, when something reminds the victim of the traumatic event._

 _Sadly, this is all true for me… even the damn crying._

After a small pause, Silver then began to read another entry that was connected to this vague event that Jet had written about in his 768th entry. However, this was not an entry that Silver read in full. Instead, he left out all but the first small paragraph.

 ** _774._** _-I don't feel like I'm in shock anymore. At least, not as badly. I'm not as numb as I have been. I still don't feel okay by any means, but I guess I'm a little better. I'm still afraid of sleeping in my room when it's totally dark, though. I usually just leave the balcony curtains and doors open, but sometimes I have to use my desk lamp instead. It makes me feel like a child, but at least it lets me sleep._

Unsurprisingly, this was one of those entries that no one knew what to say about. The same went for the one Silver had read just before it. All anyone knew with any degree of certainty was that _whatever_ the hell Jet had gone through before writing this particular group of entries had to have been bad. Even worse than the Badlands mission he'd wrote about so much earlier in his journal (and that alone was a frightening thought). Sonic just couldn't keep the frown off of his face. "We need to ask him about this," he said grimly. "I don't care if he ends up angry at us for it. We have to try."

Of course, Tails readily nodded his agreement. Then Kimmy piped up enthusiastically. "And I can help!" Blaze gently shushed the child as she lightly brushed some stray strands of hair out of Kimmy's face. Kimmy went back to pouting.

Right around then was when Silver's eyes went wide. "Whoa… Guys, you're not gonna believe this…" True to his usual way, he didn't bother to explain himself. Instead, he just read whatever had caught his eye. This time, that consisted of two entries.

 ** _809._** _-Nyxar attacked again. Selene is dead._

 ** _812._** _-I destroyed Nyxar and his armies the same day Selene perished, and I claimed my grandmother's throne. I'm king now. I don't know what to think about it._

 _Guess the war is over. I don't think I'll be writing in this anymore._

Every single person (save for Kimmy, of course, as she _was_ only five and therefore barely paying attention) was stunned speechless. Selene was dead. She wasn't Jet's as-of-yet still mysterious partner. Nyxar, seemingly leader of the "Syxans", was also dead. He had killed Selene. Jet had killed him. And now… Now, Jet had claimed a throne that should have died with his homeworld. He was king, but of what exactly no one could say for sure. But the fact still remained that he was _king_. And that alone was enough to thoroughly shock them all. He was king… and they'd never even known it. But it wasn't something Sonic or anyone else really felt they had the time to dwell on at the moment. So Silver chose a new entry and kept reading. The entry he chose this time had two parts, but he focused on the more important first part.

 ** _821._** _-Jade and I are officially dating. Arthr said it's "about time". I didn't deign to reply to that._

After that, he read three more entries one right after the other. Though the numbers were close together on each one, Sonic had a feeling that a good deal of time had passed between each one Silver read aloud.

 ** _839._** _-_ _It finally happened. Jade and I are getting married. I'm almost too happy to properly think._

 ** _841._** _-I just found out that we're expecting a child… I'm torn between being terrified and being overwhelmed with happiness. I'm happy because this will be our own child, but… I'm really not meant for this parenting thing. It's pure luck that Ten is turning out okay so far. What if something happens to this baby because of me?_

 ** _May 1_** ** _st._** _-This is a date I want to remember. Welcome to the world, Lucas._

This was all so sweet but, in a way, so hard to hear at the same time. Jet had gone through so many things, both good and bad, and he'd gone through them without any of his friends from Mobius. And when things in his life began to go _right_ , none of his Mobian friends had been there for him. To be happy with him, to smile with him, to share in the peace and love he'd finally again found in his life… That _hurt_ , but Sonic tried not to think about it. He did what he could to focus instead on the words his son was saying as the young hedgehog again read a few of short entries one right after the other.

 ** _August 12_** ** _th_** ** _._** _-Hannah was born today. Like with Lucas, Jade insisted that I name her._

 _She looks so happy already. I hope life never takes away her smile._

 ** _852._** _-Though I smile, I sometimes cry inside… Even if only on certain days._

 ** _855._** _-Life is so delicate. I realize that all over again, as though for the first time, every time I hold my daughter's hand. She and her brothers are so precious to me. I never want to lose them. And… a part of me never wants them to grow up._

Though the genuine love conveyed in the first and last two entries Silver had just finished reading was enough to evoke a small smile from Sonic, his smile soon faded to be replaced by a thoughtful look when Knuckles frowned and repeated, "'Brothers'?"

"He only wrote about having one son," Tails said slowly, "but maybe he was also talking about Ten. It seems to me that he was raising Ten for at least a while, so maybe he considered Ten to be part of the family. Maybe he still does."

"Maybe," Wave agreed. She didn't say anything more about it than that.

That was when Silver, whose eyes had never left the journal throughout this brief conversation, spoke up again. "Hey, I found some more entries that seem like they're important."

"Read 'em, then," Sonic responded simply. Silver nodded and began doing just that. On the first one, he read only the second (and last) paragraph. With the others, however, he read the full entries.

 ** _858._** _Jade's been… very distant lately. She's seemed, I don't know, cold these past few months. I think she might be angry, but I don't know about what. I asked her about it, and she just insisted that she was fine. I don't know. Maybe I'm reading her wrong. Emotions were never my strong suit, and they're even less so now (hence the reason why I'm not exactly the most expressive person nowadays). I really hope that I'm just misreading her._

 ** _860._** _-I tend to have nightmares when sleeping alone. Sometimes I still feel fear when by myself in a dark room at night. Though it's been years since it happened, the trauma remains. I'm no longer medicated, but sometimes I wonder if I need to be. The memories are vivid. They haunt me in my sleep. They make resting hellish. They make me want to go against my better judgment and forgo sleep to avoid them._

 ** _874._** _-Jade's been very angry lately. She keeps yelling at me. I ended up fighting with her today about it. I don't think the kids know. I hope it stays that way._

 _-We just fought again. She said some… painful things. I feel like crying right now (which is so stupid of me). Writing about this isn't helping any._

 ** _876._** _-I woke up in the medical ward a few hours ago. Jade and I have been fighting more and more these past eight months, and she's started hitting me. Apparently, during our fight earlier, she knocked me over, and the back of my head hit the corner of my desk and knocked me out. Hence my being here now. I could have prevented that by fighting back, but I can't hit her. I just can't._

 _I made the doctors that now know of this keep quiet about it. I really don't want it being spread around._

 ** _879._** _-Jade kissed me. I don't feel that spark anymore, or anything I used to feel during such an act._

 _-I just found out about ten minutes ago that we're expecting a child again. I don't know what to think. Of course I don't regret having another child, but… what kind of life will that child have with mine and Jade's relationship falling apart like it is?_

 ** _December 1_** ** _st_** ** _._** _-Suri was born today. As with Hannah and Lucas, Jade had me name the baby. Not long after that, she passed Suri off to me and left. She just left. Doesn't she care at all?_

Each and every one of these entries made Sonic's ears go back lower and lower. Out of sympathy? Certainly. Anger? Most definitely. Guilt? ...Maybe. That last emotion was harder than the rest to determine if it was there. However, if it was, Sonic figured he knew exactly why. He'd always known that Jet, being an abused child, was much more likely than most people to end up in an abusive romantic relationship even after escaping his father's household. That was (apparently) precisely what had ended up happening with him and Jade. One way or another, she ended up abusing him (as weird as that sounded, Sonic knew that domestic abuse happened to both genders fairly equally). But… Had Sonic tried harder a century ago or even made any real attempt at all to get Jet to stay nearby or something after his breakup with Wave… Well, maybe then Jet never would have ended up going to war in the first place. At least, not alone. Maybe he never would have met Jade. Maybe, even if he had, Sonic could have been there to deal with Jade before she could ever have dared to lay a hand on his brother. But thinking of all these what-if's and maybes would never change what had actually change what had happened in the past. He just hated the fact that that was true.

Silver, meanwhile, continue to read. Entry after entry he read, some longer than others, and Sonic forced himself to just focus on his son's voice. _I need to pay attention,_ he told himself. _I can deal with my own damn emotions later._ If later ever came, that is, though he chose not to contemplate that thought.

 ** _894._** _-Jade and I fought again. I'm getting sick of this. Isn't this sort of thing exactly why Wave and I started having problems? Isn't us fighting like this the _precise _reason we broke up? Isn't all of this exactly why I told Sonic I was leaving for a few months, only to end up coming here instead?_

 ** _895._** _-Today is yet another anniversary of Kath's wife's death. I stayed with him for a long time today so that he didn't have to be alone. He didn't say anything about it, but he seemed to appreciate it. That's thanks enough. I'm starting to wonder again, though… Who was the woman that he loved?_

 ** _900._** _-Jade and I are getting divorced. She tried to hit Suri, but I managed to enter the room at just the right moment and snatch the baby away from her. Thank god. I made her leave after that. She's not fighting me about the divorce, thankfully. This has gone on long enough. She's never tried to hurt the kids in any way, and I refuse to give her a second chance at attempting to do so._

 _She pulled that stunt in front of Hannah and Lucas. They're both still scared, understandably, but Lucas seems to be taking it the hardest. He was really close with his mother. I'm worried about him._

 _-Jade and I had one last fight before I kicked her out of the palace completely. She claimed that she never loved me, that she just wanted the title of queen, access to my family's fortune, things like that. Considering the way she's been acting since before Suri was even conceived, the things she's said to me in the past, and so on, I find myself having an impossible time trying to convince myself that she was lying. A part of me may always hope that she was, that this was just one last attempt to cut me open and leave me scarred, but the rest of me will always end up doubting everything I once thought was true about us._

 ** _906._** _-The divorce was finalized. I feel like some sort of pressure has been lifted off my chest. For the first time in far too long, it's like I can actually breathe._

 ** _907._** _-Back when I first spiraled into depression during the war, I got ahold of a razor blade for… dark reasons I'd rather not specifically mention. I never tossed it out, but instead kept it and used it infrequently over the years since then. Today was different. This is a new day, and I desperately want to start over. My doctor and friend (also a friend of Kath's) told me that I can never truly heal from what Jade did to me if I never learn to stop hating myself. I guess, in a way, my throwing out that razor blade was my way of trying to take the first steps toward doing that. Ako praised me for it, and Kath told me he was proud of me for my decision. I actually managed to feel… happy. I don't think I ever realized just how much I missed that feeling._

 ** _908._** _-"'Intimate partner violence (IPV)'. This term describes physical, psychological and other forms of abuse executed by a current or former partner or spouse. This can happen to both men and women." Well, now. This explains a lot, doesn't it? (Sarcasm is dripping from my pen.)_

"That's so awful," Tails said quietly when Silver finished. "It's awful that that happened."

Blaze nodded in agreement. "It is," she agreed.

Kimmy piped up from in her arms a moment later. "Why would their mommy do that?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," Silver murmured. "It doesn't make any sense to me." Sonic was currently too busy internally berating himself again to offer a reply of his own. Knuckles, meanwhile, simply had nothing to say at this exact moment.

Kimmy's ears lowered a little. "She doesn't sound nice," she mumbled.

Blaze gently smoothed her hand over Kimmy's head in a comforting gesture. "I know," she murmured.

"She probably wasn't," Knuckles muttered irritably." As always, the pain of his friends was always enough to rouse his old temper.

Wave didn't say anything at the moment. She instead just thought about what Silver had read. _Jet's had it hard enough without her... It's all so terrible. I wish... I wish there was someway I could help…_

Before anyone else could say anything, one of the kids let out a scream that had Sonic leaping to his feet before he even knew what was going on. A second later, there was a deep rumble that traveled through the ground as some huge creature (probably some damn Nocturnian _pet_ ) landed in the midst of the camp. It's massive wings folded against its dark body and it let out a terrible screeching roar. Sonic's ears flattened, as did the ears of every other hedgehog in the group. Silver was the first to speak. "Well… crap."

Kimmy whimpered a little bit at the sight. She gasped quietly when Blaze quickly stood up with her still in her mother's arms. Tails and Wave got to their feet as well. "Silver!" Tails said quickly. "Can you help me get some of the kids into the X- Tornado? They'll be safer in there!"

Immediately, Silver just dropped the journal on the ground. "Go get it ready!" he responded quickly as he ran off to go get Jason and Lia, who were both nearby.

Sonic, meanwhile, was running to the creature. Knuckles was close behind him. Several others were already attempting to fight. Shadow and Kaden tried their fire to no avail, and Amy attempted to use her psychic powers. Once again, this simply didn't work. Sonic took notice of this and gritted his teeth. _Damn… How do we fight this thing?_

Tails started to run to the ship as Blaze quickly set Kimmy down. "Go with Tails," she told her gently. When her daughter ran off after the young fox, she stood up straight and attacked the creature with her Shadows.

Silver ran to Tails with Jason and Lia. Lucas was running after him, and Amy was following with Suri in her arms. Hannah, meanwhile, stayed with Tammy. Tammy was busy fighting the creature as well, using a gun that looked very similar to Jet's strange white gun. The biggest difference was that hers were dark grey. It shot strange short beams of light grey energy that Sonic swore looked like concentrations of aura. Instead of paying that much attention, however, he tried a Homing Attack on the creature. He simply bounced off. "Tch." It was only then that he noticed suddenly that the spot Blaze had attacked was now wounded.

Blaze, who noticed that her Shadows were working, attacked again, putting more energy and power behind her attack. Around then, Tails had gotten the X-Tornado ready. He helped the children get in, many of them sharing seats with each other. As the ship took off, Lucas desperately looked for his father, but saw no sign of him. Only when the ship was actually in the air did he really realize that his father was nowhere nearby. Jet was so far away, in fact, that Lucas couldn't sense him. This heightened his fear, especially since Hannah was still down near the fight. Suri, whom he was holding, had begun to cry. He tried not to panic.

Then the creature let out another screeching roar, and the camp was enveloped in dark light.

 **~台風の目~**

 **14,129 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this huge and massively important chapter. This chapter's title is the same as the title of the story I will now be posting that contains nothing but Jet's journal. Feel free to read it if you want. I highly recommend it, as the journal has been nearly a year in the making as tells a large and epic story. Anyway, much thanks to StarryMoon33 for all her help in writing many Tails, Wave, Blaze, and Kimmy's responses to the journal entries and their actions and whatnot during the end fight scene! Posted (at about 5:34 p.m.) 09-26-16.**

 **EDIT: I forgot to mention something. In each entry, some paragraphs start with a - and some don't. Every time there is a - in front of an entry, it means that he walked away from the journal before writing that paragraph, then came back and wrote. It also indicates the start of an entry. Hope that makes sense.**


	22. Truth Be Told

**Hello, Sun Demigod! Yeah... It's _so_ sad. :(**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! YEP, THAT ABOUT SUMS IT UP. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

The spherical bubble-like enclosure of dark light that surrounded the camp seemed to be void of real time. Time both seemed to be passing infinitely quickly, and not passing at all. Strange noises filled everyone's ears, slowly developing into voices both from the past and the future. The first three voices were unknown to them all, but every single other voice belonged to members of this group.

"Guardian! Guardian, the Tel'or are _here_!" This was a male voice, one that seemed to belong to a young teenager.

"There is so little we understand… Please… We need your guidance." This voice was female, as was the next.

"These little ' _heroes_ ' think they're already in pain." There was laughter. Dark, wicked laughter. "Shall we show them _real_ pain?"

Now, every voice suddenly became familiar. The first familiar voice they heard was Sonic's, and Sonic immediately recognized when he had said this. He had said this back when he had convinced Jet to leave Ross's home when they were teens. "Come with me. There's so much more to life than this. We can find something better. Together."

The next voice they heard clearly was Kaden's. This was something Kaden knew he hadn't said to anyone before, meaning it was likely from the future. " _No_! Don't you _get_ it?! If I don't deal with this, it will consume _everyone_! I'm going whether you like it or not! Now let me _go_!"

Next was Kath's voice. Only… it seemed _younger_ somehow. Perhaps this quote was from the past, then. His tone was bitter. "There's nothing to smile about."

Only then did Sonic suddenly come to realize what was really happening. Past, present, and future weren't meant to blend like this. It was unnatural and normally impossible. This attack was why it was happening. The creature was trying to, for lack of a better way to put it, _break_ time within this sphere, perhaps to wipe him and the others from existence or something because it's Nocturnian owners were apparently just _that_ crazy and screwed up in the head. Forcing himself to focus on something other than the many voices still swirling around them, he whipped around and snapped at Blaze, "Blaze, attack the creature! _Now_!"

Blaze, who had been distracted by the voices, quickly nodded when she heard Sonic. She blasted the dark creature with her Shadows, channeling more and more power into her attack. Kaden snapped out of it right after she began attacking, and he channeled his Darkness through himself, then let out out in as controlled an attack as he could manage. The creature began to screech again, this time in pain. Blaze winced at the sound, but kept her attack up. She very carefully began to use some negative emotions to fuel her Shadows and give them more power. At that point, Hannah's quick mind had come to a very important realization. _This thing is hurt only by pure energies…_ Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes tightly in concentration and focused her own inner energies. Her sky blue aura suddenly began to flow around her, rapidly gathering around her as though to defend. But, instead, it lashed out to attack. The creature again screeched in pain, and Sonic stared at the young girl in poorly concealed shock.

Though Blaze briefly looked at Hannah and her attack, she quickly resumed concentrating on defeating the creature. She called upon more negative emotions and power. After giving Hannah a brief but clearly very thoughtful glance, Kaden too resumed concentrating on the creature. The time for questions could come later, he knew, so he called forth more Darkness. His fur blackened somewhat and his normally bright emerald green eyes gained a shadow of indigo in them. However, he managed to remain in control as he fired a concentrated beam of Darkness at the creature. Taking a chance, Hannah combined her strange power with his attack. Blaze soon joined her attack with theirs, still being careful with her Shadows. After several long moments, the creature let out one last piercing cry before it was defeated. The time-affecting sphere disappeared at the same time, and the voices stood coming through.

When the sphere collapsed, there was a huge rush of wind that accompanied it. The creature's hulking form hit the ground with so much force that the ground rumbled and more wind was kicked up. This wind blew around a familiar red shape, and Sonic turned toward it. With a small sigh, he called out, "'Fraid to say you came too late to save the day this time." A single eyebrow raised just slightly. It was a small expression, a simple one, but Sonic swore it was one of the greatest things he'd seen from his friend in ages.

Not too long after Sonic thought this, Tails landed the X-Tornado. With a simple press of a button, he opened the cockpit. Almost immediately, the kids began clambering out. Lia was the first to reach the ground, and she made a beeline for her father, tackling him in a hug the second she reached him. Jason and Lucas got out next, Lucas still holding Suri, and the young echidna all but sprinted to his parents while Lucas used his free arm to (in a somewhat uncommon act of sweetness), helped little Kimmy out of the ship. Only once he saw that she was on her way to her parents did he run over to his own family. Hannah had made it to Jet already by this point and was tightly hugging him, and Lucas and their baby sister reached the pair soon afterward. Tails closed the cockpit to his ship, then lightly jumped down from the wing. His shoes created a cloud of dust when they hit the dirt, but he ignored that. All his thoughts were on the fight, the journal, and his former sensei. _No, not former,_ he chided himself. _He'll always be my sensei, just like he'll always be my friend. Always._

"Tails," Sonic called softly, drawing the young fox out of his thoughts. Emerald eyes were trained on Tails, and Sonic very lightly gestured with his head for Tails to come over. They were really going to do this, then. They were seriously going to try to question Jet about the things they had read. But, if nothing else, he supposed he could take some comfort in the fact that it wasn't like Jet would yell at them for it. The worst he would likely do was say nothing at all. Though… Tails supposed that that in and of itself would be terrible, in a way.

Walking over to the small group, Tails took it upon himself to start the conversation. With a simple question, he drew the emerald hawk's attention to him. "Sensei?" Once those perfect, piercing blue eyes were focused on him, he spoke again. "Can we… talk to you?"

At the word "we", Jet silently cast a glance at Sonic. Sonic met his gaze evenly, not shying away from it or showing any signs of uncertainty. The hedgehog was set in his decision to do this, and Tails knew it. They were both sure that Jet knew it, too. However, as Jet broke eye-contact with Sonic again, he still said nothing. Something in Tails faltered, but Sonic did not. "Jet," he said seriously, "we have questions. You _know_ we have questions. Questions that _need_ answers."

Still, Jet said nothing. His two older kids strayed away from him and moved deeper into the camp, as though reacting to some unspoken direction from their father, and Suri (having exhausted herself from crying so much) dozed in his arms. And, just when both fox and hedgehog began to feel utterly certain that they wouldn't get any sort of an answer, let alone the one the wanted, the hawk finally, finally spoke. "Ask, then," he murmured, tone neutral. His head remained turned to the right, eyes trained on the sky. He remained unreadable, but Sonic knew permission when it was given to him.

Trading a small look, perhaps out of shock that they had heard what they had just heard, both Sonic and Tails then returned their attention to Jet. Tails took a small and almost hesitant step forward. He was the first to speak. "Why haven't you been talking to us?" he asked after a long moment. "Since we're working together again, we feel like we should be able to communicate with you better."

Kimmy soon noticed him, Sonic, and Jet together. She quickly realized what they were doing and she squirmed out of her father's arms before she ran over. "Hey! You said I could help ask about the book!"

Jet immediately looked at her. Sonic sighed internally. _Great… so much for keeping that a secret._ He watched silently as Jet's eyes followed Kimmy's progress over to them, but neither he nor the hawk said anything aloud at the moment. At least, not at first. When the silence seemed to persist for too long, however, Sonic did speak up in the end. "So… we can ask you our questions?" The look Jet gave him was so incredibly subtle that Sonic nearly missed it, but he somehow managed not to. Jet didn't actually speak, but his oh-so-subtle expression seemed to do so for him. It practically seemed to say, _I already gave you permission. I won't repeat it._ Sonic took the hint and shut up about it. Instead, he asked the first question that had come up when the group had read the journal. "Who's Arthr, Jet?"

There was silence. It persisted for about a minute, then Jet said slowly, "You found a photo once… of me and another young boy."

Though the hawk ceased to speak, Sonic had heard enough. He very clearly remembered stumbling the ruins of the town Jet had been raised in before South Island fell. He very much remembered finding his best friend's former home, his former room, and the aforementioned photograph in that very same bedroom. In that photo, there had been two six-year-old boys, both grinning at the camera. One had been Jet, and the other had been a dark brown hawk with amber eyes. And, now, thanks to Jet… that hawk finally had a name in Sonic's mind. "So… he's alive?" Jet simply nodded.

"How come you never mentioned him before?" Tails asked as Kimmy moved to sit down by his feet.

"I didn't know that he was alive," Jet said simply.

"Until you two reunited," Sonic summed up. Again, Jet simply nodded.

That was when Kimmy chose to pipe up. "What world were you on?" she asked innocently.

For a good long moment, it didn't look like Jet wanted to answer to that. But, for whatever reason, he ended up caving and saying, "Babylon."

"That's not possible," Sonic cut in immediately. "Babylon was destroyed. You said it yourself."

" _New_ Babylon," Jet corrected, tone very slightly irritated.

Now thoroughly stunned, Tails echoed, 'New Babylon'?"

Sonic didn't see the point in repeating the question, so he instead resorted on giving Jet a silent, but questioning look that spoke for him. Kimmy, however, actually spoke aloud. "Why is it called 'New'?"

"Um, long story short, the original planet with that name is gone," Tails told her as simply as he could. "So I guess this new world has that world's name now, just with the 'New' attached to it." He finished speaking after that, choosing to ask another time how this new planet had come to be.

Sonic, however, chose to ask now. In response, Jet gave a very simple reply. "Ask Kath."

A moment of genuine thought helped this sentence to make sense. The Babylonians on Mobius were and always had been tight-knit. They didn't all know each other, but they did all keep track of each other in a way. They all lived together in two communities. The one Wave was raised in, and the one Jet was raised in. There had only ever been two hawks in Wave's community, both females who had passed away of old age when Wave had been small. The rest of the hawks had been in Jet's community. They had consisted of Jet and his family and, apparently, Arthr and whoever his family were. That was it. No Kath. But clearly Kath existed somewhere. Now it seemed likely that the old hawk could very well have been living on this "New Babylon" rather than here on Mobius. As such, he could very well know the history of that world, namely how it came to be the new Planet Babylon. He didn't doubt that Jet knew, too, but it seemed unlikely that the emerald hawk would want to speak enough to explain. _So Kath it is, then,_ Sonic sighed internally. _Guess we have no choice but to ask him._

Now Tails decided to ask a new question, though this one would likely be rather… _upsetting_ to Jet. Still, it needed to be asked. "You wrote about a mission in some 'Badlands' place," he started hesitantly. When Jet showed no upset reaction (not that either Tails or Sonic had expected him to, anyway), the young fox continued. "Why were you and those other people even there?" After a small pause, he thought to add, "Silver mentioned that you guys were surveying the area or something, but why?"

Truly, this didn't seem to be something Jet wanted to talk about, much less think of. Still… after yet another of long pause, he did speak. "We were… attempting to ensure that no one else would become lost out there," he murmured, looking off to the side again. "The area was massive and dying… we knew so little about it. A mission like ours was necessary."

"But it ended badly," Sonic said quietly. "...To say the least." Jet gave no outward answer to that, simply didn't bother. Instead of pressing that matter, though, the hedgehog asked a new question. "Who, exactly, was Selene?"

Some flicker of emotion appeared in Jet's eyes for less than a second, then vanished again. "A friend," he said very quietly. He looked away further. "A close friend." Nothing more was said about it.

Blue ears lowered as the thought occurred to Sonic that, based off of the little he'd heard Silver read from the journal… _Jet may have loved her once._ He didn't know what to think about that. To possibly love someone and then, seemingly, be present when that person died… _How terrible that would be for anyone to go through…_ A new thought occurred to him about ten to fifteen seconds later. _I wonder if she helped raise Ten._ Of course, this thought reminded him that Ten was one of the things they were supposed to be asking Jet about. So ask he did. "Hey, whatever happened to Ten?"

Perhaps simply to clarify, Tails added, "Like, are you still raising him?"

"Yes," Jet answered simply.

"How come he's not here?" Kimmy asked innocently, speaking up for the first time in a short little while.

Jet looked at her, but whatever he was thinking was completely hidden from them all. "Visiting his biological grandfather," he finally said. He left it at that.

Sonic was just about to make some comment about that when the thought occurred to him that it was likely for the best that Ten hadn't been here earlier, given the fact that they had been fighting and all. _The fewer kids that are present during battle, the better._ That thought soon drifted off, but his mind remained briefly focused on the topic of battle and fighting. Those thoughts then shifted to weaponry for some reason or another. It was this thought that reminded him about one particular entry Silver had read aloud, an entry about a sword named Alkarus. _An Immortal's blade…_ "Oi, I need to ask something important," he said suddenly. "And I want a straight answer." Jet looked at him silently. "Why in the hell did you call an _Immortal's_ blade _fitting_?"

Silence. Absolute silence. Sonic swore nearly a full minute passed, perhaps even more, but then Jet finally spoke. "Use your head," he told Sonic dismissively, tone neutral. Once again, he turned his head away. "Figure it out." Without another word, he turned on his head and walked away toward Hannah and Lucas, giving no one further opportunity to question him.

Sighing heavily, Sonic turned away.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,798 words this time. Sorry this is late, but I hope you enjoyed. Thanks to StarryMoon33 and Blazing Winds for the help they provided me in the writing of this chapter. Posted (at about 4:30 p.m.) 09-30-16.**


	23. Journey to Hyale

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Hahaha! XD**

 **~台風の目~**

That evening, after all the children fell asleep, Sonic called a meeting with everyone. The subject matter was simple. They needed more allies, more resources, and more intel than they had. The intel was especially important. They _needed_ to know what the enemy was up to. What did the enemies want? So far, Sonic had no idea. He hoped, though, that the newest member of their group would have some useful knowledge. But she did not. "I'm sorry..." she murmured. "I don't know a thing about them beyond legends."

"The problem with legends, though..." Locke sighed. "Well, even if they have an inkling of truth in them, it can be nearly impossible to separate the truths from the fantasies."

"But there has to be _someone_ out there who knows something about the Nocturne Clan, right?" Tails asked. He was, perhaps, just a bit too hopeful.

"One would think," Wave responded, "but there are never any real guarantees in life."

"What about you, Kaden?" Amy asked her father-in-law. "You're the one who even told us that this clan existed."

"I know some things," Kaden murmured, "but not many. And much of what I know is but minor information. I doubt any of it will help."

That was when Tammy turned her head, quite suddenly, to look at Jet. "Eiro nasu ko a Kath?" Jet merely blinked.

Though he didn't speak Babylonian by any means, Sonic very much recognized the name at the end of Tammy's question. "What about Kath?" he asked quickly.

"I was suggesting that Jet or I should call him," Tammy replied. "I just figured that he would know something." Jet, expression unreadable, still said nothing as he got up and walked away, already typing on his communicator.

As Sonic watched his best friend go, Rouge spoke up. "Well, whatever we end up doing, it needs to involve us getting out of this area as fast as possible," she said, looking over at her husband, who was sitting protectively beside their sleeping son just a couple feet away. He met her gaze. "It's not safe here. Obviously the Nocturnians know we're here."

"But where should we go?" Silver asked worriedly. Kimmy was fast asleep in his arms. "How do we know that _any_ place is any safer than this?"

"We have no way of knowing," Blaze murmured. She was sitting beside her husband and child. "But we do need to try. If we stay here, we are only guaranteeing that they will attack us again very soon."

"We can't risk that," Locke said firmly. "Especially not when the kids are all with us."

"We should leave first thing in the morning," Shadow muttered. He, like Knuckles, was sitting protectively beside his young child. "Waste no time. If we do, we put ourselves at greater risk."

"Maybe we should get some things packed tonight," Wave suggested. "That way there's less for us all to do tomorrow."

"That would likely be best," Analia responded quietly. "The less we have to do tomorrow when the children are awake, the better."

"It'll be hard to get anything done as it is once they're all awake," Vector added, "so the more we get done before then, the better." Espio nodded his quiet agreement, but said nothing. The meeting was then, in a sense, "adjourned", and the group of them got up to begin quietly packing up anything that wouldn't be needed in the morning. As they passed each other while working, Tails and Silver. traded ideas of where they could go. Silver spoke first.

"Spagonia?"

"No, too many people. Too dangerous."

"How about we try Green Forest?"

"No way Sonic and Kaden would be okay with that. Besides, the Nocturnians already swarmed that place once, remember?"

"Angel Island's a no-go, right? Because of the Master Emerald and all that."

"Yeah. But what about White Jungle?"

"Too much water. Shamar?"

"Too _little_ water."

"How about- ...No... the Emerald Grasslands are way too open. No shelter."

"How about East or West Forest?"

"They're way too small, aren't they? ...What about Adabat?"

"Dude, that's right by the so-called 'Jungle of Doom' where Sonic nearly died one time. I'd rather not go near that place again if I can help it."

"Okay, so what about that unnamed mountain range between Mazuri and Chaos City? We could take shelter there."

"But it's so barren there... there wouldn't be much water, let alone much reprieve from the sun and heat."

"Oh, yeah, true... How about Sky Rail, then? Uncle Shads- sorry, I swear I won't call you that again! ...Anyway, he has a _ton_ of security systems set up there. That could keep us safe for a little while. ...'Cept... I guess there's still the problem of it being barren and hot."

"Yeah... Maybe we could-" Tails suddenly gasped. "Wait!"

Silver, who had been in the process of folding up an extra blanket they didn't need right now, immediately paused and looked at him. "What?"

Ignoring him for the moment, Tails quickly turned and quietly called out, "Espio!"

The chameleon paused in what he was doing, looked at Tails for a moment, then stood (as he had been crouching before an ice chest) and walked over. "Yes?" he asked in his usual calm voice.

"You lived in the Highlands, right?" Tails asked him, unintentionally referring to the place by its nickname. He then clarified, "I mean, the Northern Mountains of the high west?"

Slowly, Espio nodded. After a few seconds of quiet pause, he ventured to inquire, "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking we could go there to take shelter for a little while," Tails informed him excitedly. "That place is so isolated and sheltered, and very few people can make it through that mountain range without getting lost or even perishing in the elements."

Silver caught on. "But _we_ can fly. The Nocturnians are so ancient, though, that there's no way that they have ships."

"Exactly," Tails agreed happily. he returned his attention to Espio. "So what do you say?"

Another pause, this one a tad bit longer. Then, finally, Espio nodded once. "We can try," he murmured, "but I make no guarantees of whether or not we will be able to stay there for very long."

That last bit aside, Tails was just pleased that they now had some direction. They had an idea of where to go now, and that was far better than earlier. It was certainly better than nothing.

 **~台風の目~**

The group left the forest they had been staying in (an unnamed place between Lester City, where Sonic had once had an apartment with Silver and Blaze around the time the twins were born, and Ironlock Prison, the one prison that had ever dared to try to hold Ivo) early the next morning. As they traveled, heading a bit to the northwest, the group watched the landscape change from that simple forest to the towering and dripping trees of White Jungle. After about an hour of traveling north from there, they reached Green Forest. From this aerial point of view, it was rather easy to spot the clearing Jet's ruined Mobian house still feebly stood in and the two huge lakes (Never Lake on the east and Crescent Lake on the west) that the home was nestled in between. From there, they continued to travel north, flying high over the sparkling Sapphire Sea just outside the forest (which was a good hundred miles or so to the east of Future City), past Leaf Forest to the sea's northeast (the forest Tails's house was hidden in and which was just miles outside of Station Square by the eastern ocean), then further north over some nondescript forest.

Twenty minutes later saw them flying yet further north and passing over the Great Canyon and the Great Forest just beyond it, then over Empire City not far beyond the woods. Upon reaching the ore northern outskirts of that huge city, they could faintly see Shadow's house off to the west and Kaden and Analia's off to the east, both outside the city's limits. From there, the group drastically changed directions, making sharp turns to start heading directly northwest. Soon ("soon" being more than an hour later), they found themselves flying over a vast and snowy landscape. There were some small patches of woodland here and there, a couple icy rivers and a frozen lake, but nothing else was particularly noteworthy that could be seen. And in the distance, far from the place they were flying to... the Mountain of Destiny, the place where the new Guardian would one day be chosen.

If one believed those old legends, anyway.

Eventually, the first signs of signs of the Northern Mountains, the so-called "Highlands" began to come into view. The more they did, the more it became clear that the place was heavily sheltered by some form of magic. They had no snow, and the mountains were lush. Every possible inch of them was covered by trees, with a few lakes and rivers here and there as well. Cascading down the side of one of the highest peaks that could be seen from this distance, they caught a faint glimpse of a truly tremendous and likely extraordinarily beautiful waterfall. But, of course, they hadn't come here to admire the beauty of the nature to be found at this place. They had come to seek refuge, and that was just what they were going to do.

"Espio, can we pass through those barriers?" Amy asked over a group call on the communicator (they had had this call open all day long so as to be in contact just in case there was a fight or something). She and everyone else in the group with special senses had detected the barriers, so of course she wanted to know if it was safe to approach them.

"You possess no ill will, correct?" Espio asked her, his normally calm tone actually possessing a genuine hint of amusement.

"Um... no?"

"Then you will be fine."

Smiling a little to himself, Sonic quietly observed as Espio took the lead, piloting his ship through the barriers and into the Highlands. Everyone else soon followed. Within about forty-five minutes, the group was landing very carefully amidst the trees of a mountain near the very heart of the mountain range, in an area that appeared just as lonely and isolated as the rest of them. Why this place was the area Espio chose to have them land didn't become clear to anyone until they actually did so. Only then did anyone come to realize that this place was more than just an empty forest. It was an entire large village, one built high in the treetops, around the trunks of the trees, and even _into_ some of the much larger and sturdier trunks. One of those buildings in the latter category appeared to be a huge monastery of some kind. It was all very awe-inspiring... but something about this place bothered Sonic. Where were all the _people_?

Nonetheless, the group voice no immediate questions as they began to walk. As they walked, they looked around at the hidden monastery where Espio had once been trained (a specific fact he had really only shared with Kanari). Though he had mentioned long ago that he'd been raised in these mountains, no one had expected there to be such grand buildings hidden away here. Still, it was perfect. They had truly needed a place to hide for a short while, and this place was so perfectly hidden... Regardless, though, the fact that this was here remained surprising. "You never told me about this place," Vector said to his old friend, looking around the whole while like nearly everyone else was doing.

"Or me," Charmy piped in as Espio led the way up the steps and through the massive double doors. The chameleon gave no reply, instead choosing to remain silent.

Sonic also looked around. Of course he did. Anyone in their right mind would be curious about this place, he was sure, and he was most _certainly_ in his right mind. "I don't sense anything," he said, his tone low (but still echoing quietly) as though he was concerned about disturbing people that he wasn't even sure were here. The group had, by now, fully entered the building and were standing inside the massive darkened main room. "Is this place abandoned?"

Suddenly, hundreds of chameleons dropped down from the shadowed rafters, dressed in what could only be described simply as "ninja garbs". Within seconds, nearly everyone in the group was pinned to the ground, save for Espio, Jet, Kaden, and the kids (all of whom these ninjas never even tried to touch for some reason). Shadow seemed to bite back a growl as he responded irritably to Sonic's question. "Obviously not."

"Nice one, smart-ass," Sonic replied, rolling his eyes. "You figure that out by yourself?" This time, Shadow gave in and growled.

"Knock it off, both of you," Kaden cut in. It was rare for him to sound so stern, prompting both of the grown-up children to shut their mouths abruptly.

As calm as ever, Espio approached the man and woman who very much appeared to be in charge of this group. He spoke quietly to them in his native tongue, a rather beautiful language that Sonic had never before had the privilege to hear. When he finished, the woman slowly nodded, then gave the group of ninjas a quiet command. Everyone who had been pinned down stood back up. Really only Analia didn't seem at all surprised or confused or annoyed or otherwise in any upset by the unexpected and rather rough treatment. She merely dusted herself off, as at ease with everything as ever, and walked back to her partner and youngest children. _I swear, it practically takes the apocalypse to upset her,_ Sonic mused as he also stood and dusted himself off. _...Not that I'm complaining._

"They are all your friends?" the mysterious chameleon woman asked Espio in the Universal Language, drawing Sonic's attention back to them. At Espio's nod, she turned her head to look over the group. "I apologize for our method of... _greeting_ you, then. We remain wary of outsiders due to the evil lurking in the shadows as of late."

Sonic supposed he could understand that, but that by no means meant that he had to be happy about practically being tackled to the ground. Not that he told her that, of course. The very last thing he wanted to do at the moment was upset the people who would, potentially, allow them to stay in this village. _That might just screw us all over._

Her eyes then fell upon Jet. "Highness," she greeted respectfully.

Jet almost seemed to let out a nearly inaudible but no less derisive snort as he turned his head away. "Don't call me that," was all he said. Sonic chose not to question at the moment how she even knew that his friend was a person of royalty.

"You have traveled far to be here today," the man said, speaking up for the first time. His eyes swept over the group. "You all have. Your efforts to make it to this place show that you have purpose."

Taking the hint that the mysterious couple (though he supposed they may not have actually been a couple) wanted to know why they were all here, Sonic stepped forward. he quickly but in detail laid out their situation, what sort of odds they were up against, and the fact that they just needed a place to stay for a short while so that they could regroup and hopefully gather more supplies and allies and whatnot. When he was finished with that, he dared to directly ask, "If it's alright with you... may we stay here?"

This time, it was the woman's eyes who swept over the group. A sort of hush fell over everyone as she looked at each individual in turn, practically seeming to read everything about everyone as she did so. Finally, her eyes landed on Espio, and she spoke. "We do not typically trust outsiders no matter who they may be... but we will always trust one of our own." Her gaze shifted back to Sonic. "Welcome to Hyale."

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,776 words this time. Once again, sorry this is late. Now, for a couple quick pronunciation helper-things. 1.) "Eiro nasu ko a Kath": "Ae-roe nah-soo koe ah Kath"**

 **2.) "Hyale": "High-ale"**

 **Also, in the second scene, everything from the line "You never told me about this place," to the line, "Nice one, smart-ass," is a scene that PyroShockZ created in a review to Hero ages ago and allowed me to use. Much thanks to him for that. Lastly, I hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 1:22 p.m.) 10-02-16.**


	24. Misty Mountain Cold

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yas! Awesome ninjas! Dude, that's so true. Not sure if that counts as cheating, though. I think they'd disagree with you on that. XD Thanks! Super glad you enjoyed! And that brief moment of bickering was funny for sure, in my opinion. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Misty Mountain Cold"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _Wave sat alone in the living room of the Rogues' tower in Future City, leaning into a windowsill and looking out over the city's brilliant lights and wishing that she, like so many of the people out there, had a friend to lean on. The Rogues' tower home was so lonely... Although, she supposed that nowadays this was all just her tower. She was, after all, the only remaining person living here. Everyone else was gone. All her boys had left her in some way. But it was so late right now... she didn't want to think about such sad things. Yes, she'd lost something precious, but right now... right now she just didn't want to think about it. It hurt too much. And yet... she couldn't keep her mind out of the darkness and hurt of the past. So many things had gone wrong... namely with her and the young man she had once so deeply loved. _

_So many things had gone wrong._

 _The endless fights haunted her memories. They had been over so many things, some of them so foolish and silly and some of them all too serious. Perhaps one of their worst fights, however, had ended with her saying in a moment of foolish rage that she wanted to never see him again. She'd regretted the words almost as soon as they'd left her lips, and he'd stormed out of the house. They had reconciled later that night, but sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if that sentence had stuck with him. What if her words were the very reason why he'd been gone for over sixty years now? Even if it wasn't the only reason, that would still have been horrible. She felt awful, really and truly awful, due to the possibility. Still, she tried to remain hopeful. The future could still be bright even after all of this, couldn't it?_

 _Maybe Jet would come home someday. Maybe Storm would come back, too. Maybe the three of them could become friends again, even close ones like they'd once been. It was probably too much to hope that her and Jet would ever resume dating, but she was okay with that idea right now. Maybe one day she wouldn't be, but for right now she just wanted her friends back. Especially (as horrible as it sounded to say) Jet. She missed him so much... She really, truly wished that he would come home. But, for now..._

 _For now, t_ _hings were quiet here. They didn't used to be that way, she knew. Living with Jet, his dog, and Storm had ensured that things were always noisy inside the spacious home. Now, however... things were almost eerily quiet. The quiet only worsened her loneliness. She was so lonesome now that she was the only one living here now that Tanner (bless his old, sweet canine heart) had passed and Storm had moved out and Jet had... Cutting that train of thought off before it could continue, Wave turned her gaze away from the window she had spent the the last few hours gazing out of. With great reluctance, she got up and turned away from the outside world. She needed some food. Maybe that would take her mind off of some of her sadness... at least for now._

 _She started walking toward the kitchen, only to have her best plans derailed when she walked by a round side table with a single framed photograph sitting on it. Depicted in the photo was Wave herself, standing alongside all of her boys. She, Jet, and Storm were clearly happy in the photo, and so was Tanner. She was smiling and making a small peace sign. Storm was grinning widely with his arms crossed. Jet was holding his young (at the time) terrier in both his arms and giving the camera one of his rare, genuine smiles. It all hurt too much._

 _Blinking back tears, Wave entered the kitchen._

Wave opened her eyes as the dream (which had really just been a strangely vivid memory haunting her in her sleep) faded away. Wiping a stray tear away from her right eye, she pushed herself up. Sniffling softly, she stood up, allowing her thin blanket to fall to her feet. Moving as silently as possible across the room of the small wooden home she was sharing with Cream, Charmy, Cheese, Bokkun, and a creepy old spider in the corner, she approached her backpack. Shooing the spider away and further into it's corner (those eight-legged critters had really never bothered her), she opened up her bag and pulled out her communicator. She had taken the device off her wrist for the night for comfort's sake, but now she was wide awake and potentially had some minor need of it. _What am I doing? _she thought, hesitating. But then bravery (perhaps rather _foolish_ bravery) took over her and she typed out a simple message.

 _ **Wave:**_

 _I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I can't sleep anymore and... Can we talk? I'll understand if you don't want to._

Breathlessly, half hopeful and half insanely nervous, she waited for some form of a reply. When it came, it startled her so badly it made her jump. And, for a long moment, she could make sense of what the message said. When addled brain finally accomplished its goal of deciphering the simple response, she felt a strange sense of elation and hope blended rather perfectly together.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Yes._

Choosing not to think of the fact that Jet had changed his ID on his communicator from "Jet" to "Sein" (as Sonic had changed his ID long ago so it really wasn't that weird), she instead focused on typing a response. Once again, she was uncertain.

 ** _Wave:_**

 _Are you sure? If you'd rather not, I can understand..._

The reply came quickly. He'd always been a fast typer, after all, being the tech-savy person he was. Through his message, it became clear to her that he was at least _trying_ to be civil. His responses were brief, but at least he was communicating. She appreciated that.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _It's fine._

Not wasting a single second if she could help it, Wave sent a quick reply, then thought about what she even wanted to talk about and sent another message.

 ** _Wave:_**

 _Okay._

 ** _Wave:_**

 _Listen... I'm sorry. About everything that happened, I mean. You going off to war by yourself and seeing and experiencing all of those horrible things... I'm sorry, for all of it._

This time, he took a little bit longer to reply. She wasn't sure why this was so, but she soon stopped thinking about that as she read his reply. This one was longer than the others, though not by too much.

 _ **Sein:**_

 _It isn't your fault, and the past is done._

For whatever reason, reading this caused Wave to feel a pang of sympathy.

 _ **Wave:**_

 _Something being over with isn't the same as it being something to forget about, though. Not acknowledging it won't make it go away._

Now he was back to the quick two-word replies, it would seem.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _I know._

Frowning slightly, Wave sent her next reply.

 ** _Wave:_**

 _So why have you been going to such great lengths to keep your experiences a secret?_

A small moment of pause, then Wave hurriedly sent him a new message.

 ** _Wave:_**

 _I'm sorry... I didn't mean to start prying. We've all just been so curious and confused about all of this... I'm no exception, as I just proved._

This reply took a tad bit longer to come, but when it did Wave understood the cause of her wait; this reply was actually longer than a sentence.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Stop apologizing. None of this is your fault. If anything, it's mine. You needn't apologize for events you never caused._

Again, Wave felt herself frown.

 _ **Wave:**_

 _But how is it yours?_

Amazingly, this was another longish reply.

 _ **Sein:**_

 _It should be obvious. I chose to aid in the war and I chose not to tell you all about it. That was my doing, not yours._

With this next reply, Wave found herself making an admission.

 ** _Wave:_**

 _I spent so many years blaming myself for you leaving and subsequently disappearing... And when I found out everything you went through while I was gone, I guess I blamed myself for that, too. I thought you would feel the same, for some reason, and be angry with me._

Jet's next reply was once again overly simple... but it still said everything she had ever needed to hear from him.

 _ **Sein:**_

 _It was never you I blamed._

Neither of them replied for a long while after that. Had they been speaking in person, she was quite certain of the fact that this surprisingly heartfelt conversation between the two of them would have ended with an awkward silence right about now. But was the conversation truly _over_? She didn't want it to be. Yes, she knew that this polite and fairly casual conversation would do very little to help mend their shattered friendship, but at least it was proving to her that maybe there was something left of that friendship to save. That alone gave her hope, however fragile it was. Wracking her mind, she searched for anything, _anything_ at all that they could talk about. In the end, though, all she came up was a lame question related to the conversation that the group as a whole had been having the night before.

 _ **Wave:**_

 _Were you ever able to get ahold of Kath?_

 _ **Sein:**_

 _No. He's busy tending to the kingdom while I'm away._

 ** _Wave:_**

 _It must be exhausting, running an entire world. I don't see how one person could ever do it all alone._

 ** _Sein:_**

 _It's difficult, but manageable enough._

 ** _Wave:_**

 _It must be exhausting._

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Mm._

 ** _Wave:_**

 _So... what are some of the things you have to do every day when you're there?'_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _It varies. Paperwork is the only consistent job from day to day._

 ** _Wave:_**

 _Okay, but what else do you do?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Attend council meetings, deal with interplanetary trade and conflict and the like, organize and deploy troops when need be, oversee the passing of bills and the signing of treaties and the like... I occassionally have to do rather stupid things as well, such as hosting pointless galas._

That nearly made Wave giggle. If nothing else, she did smile.

 ** _Wave:_**

 _I can't see you hosting a gala._

 _ **Sein:**_

 _Try more than twenty-seven of them._

Smiling some more, Wave sat down on her makeshift bed to type her next reply. She didn't doubt that things would resume being awkward and tense between them in the morning when the saw each other in person, but she didn't dwell on that right now. For the time being, she was just happy to pretend that she had her old friend back. The fact that he was clearly more talkative through text than through the actual verbalizing of words certainly helped her do so. So, for now, she allowed herself to dream.

 **~台風の目~**

It was past midnight when Espio finally climbed out of bed and walked out of the small home he had once shared with his parents. Now, however, he was the only occupant. Where his parents were was unknown to him, but it was bothering him so much that it was preventing him from sleeping. Resolved to get some answers right now (because, at this point, he knew he wasn't getting any sleep), he exited the home and sought out the man and woman who had given them all permission to stay here. Those two were far from strangers to him. They had been his teachers all throughout his life, and he respected them immensely. He knew them to be honest people, hence the woman being so forthcoming toward Sonic and the others about their distrust toward outsiders. They wouldn't lie to him. That much he knew with certainty. With this in mind, he approached the home the two of them shared (they were such close friends that they were practically siblings and therefore had no trouble sharing their space). Reaching the home required him to nimbly jump into a very large and tall tree, and easy feat for one such as he. Upon reaching the home, he knocked softly on the door. Hopefully one of them was awake.

A couple of minutes later, the male (his name was Hael while the female was Eiko) opened the door. Upon seeing his grown up former student, he smiled. "Espio," he greeted warmly.

"Sensei," Espio murmured in reply, giving a small nod. With the greetings out of the way, he spoke again. "Sensei, where are my parents?" he ventured to ask. Suddenly, he was almost afraid of the answer. Though, normally, fear was something he seldom felt.

Hael's eyes visibly saddened, a fact which only furthered Espio's worries. Hael looking _sad_ in this situation didn't bode well. "We warred with a village on another mountain months after you left this place to begin your travels," he murmured. The knowledge of yet another minor ninja war occurring wasn't surprising to Espio at all. Such conflicts had occurred all throughout his life. However, it concerned him, simply because this being in any way related to his parents not being here was a _bad_ thing. "Your father... perished in the conflict." Espio felt himself freeze. "We buried him on the Misty Mountain, in accordance with our customs."

"And- Mother?" Espio heard himself ask, barely able to force the words out.

"She lives on," Hael assured quietly. "She frequently travels to our allies in the southern mountains, as she finds it hard to remain here in Hyale without her family."

Now unable to speak anymore and reeling with the sudden knowledge of his loss, Espio gave his teacher a curt nod and teleported away. When he reappeared, his feet touched dripping grass covered by a dense blanket of fog. Feeling numb, he allowed his feet to carry him through the Misty Mountain graveyard, which was on the peak of the giant isolated rock. It took a short while for his searching to reveal to him the grave where his father had been buried. As his eyes slowly scanned the name engraved on the stone, he remembered quite randomly the way his father had so genuinely smiled at him when the younger chameleon had said his farewells to begin traveling so long ago. Had he never left, maybe she could have saved his father. Or maybe he would have simply been killed, too.

After an unknown length of time passed him by before he noticed that that there was an incense on the top of the grave. It was unlit, as was every other incense on every other gravestone here. Shaking just slightly, some thing that was very abnormal for him, he reached up and closed the index finger and thumb of his right hand on the end of the stick. Using a ninja technique he had been taught in childhood, he lit the incense. Then, swallowing around the lump in his throat, he moved his arms tensely to his sides and bowed down, a silent show of respect and care. A thin, wispy trail of smoke drifted lazily into the air.

 **~台風の目~**

It had been a while since Tchen had last seen his granddaughter Rouge. The encounter had been long, and it had been (for once) unpleasant. Rouge had brought with her a photograph, the very same one the older white bat now held in his right hand as he stood alone at the very edge of a very tall cliff. The wind whipped the photograph around in his grip, but he never let it go. Taking his gaze off of the early morning horizon (which was starting to turn faintly orange), he looked back at the photo. Depicted in it was a dark and evil sphere that was broken into two perfect halves. He, like Kaden, knew what it was and the dark beings it had once held captive. He knew that Sade's work had been undone, his sacrifice now rendered almost pointless. The Nocturne Clan was free, but Tchen knew not why or how. The seal was supposed to have lasted forever.

But he supposed that nothing truly ever did.

That much had been proved to him when his wife had died of illness so long ago, but that matter wasn't the one that held his concern right now. Right now, he remained worried about that dark and horrible clan of monsters that was now loose in the world once again. No one on Mobius was safe anymore... No one at all, but least of all those who were unable to fight to defend themselves. That alone filled him with a sense of fear. Criminal though he was (he was, after all, a legendary thief), he still cared about people. It was why he never stole from those who couldn't afford a loss, and it was also why he'd spent so much time fighting to defend his home city (formerly home _town_ ) from Ivo's robots. It was also why the clan being free again had him so uncertain. He could barely shake the feeling that they were all doomed.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,947 words this time. A little more was supposed to happen in this chapter, but I kept forgetting to write it and didn't want this chapter to be horribly late, so... just be on the lookout for some enemy chatter in the next installment. That's all I'll say. XD Posted (at about 5:00 a.m.) 10-04-16.**


	25. Blade of the Immortals

**Hello, StarryMoon33! IT WAS SOO SAD. DX Yeah, I agree with that. But things won't be fixed anytime soon... YAS. And yeah... poor guy. :( Haha, maybe sometime. If I remember. XD**

 **Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 11: Not telling! XD And yes, yes he has!**

 **Your review to Chapter 12! Yep! He's got a kiddo! And good! The surprise was intentional. XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 13: Yep! And yep again. XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 14: Somebody is a bit shocked, huh? XD And lol, I catch your drift. Haha. XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 15: Yep, she is. And don't worry, you won't have to wait too long! :D**

 **Your review to Chapter 16: That about sums it all up... And I'll check it out! :D**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Blade of the Immortals"**

 **~台風の目~**

The area the Nocturne Clan was currently residing was a place of corruption and darkness and death. The few trees and other plants that remained in the area were wilted and fragile. The ground was barren, nothing but hard-packed dirt and the odd rock here and there. The sky was darkened by black clouds. It was here that the Clan had set up camp. Shade sat in the middle of it all on a rock twice as tall as person and as wide as she was tall. Her legs dangled over the edge and her right cheek rested in her hand as she idly watched and listened. All around her, her clanmates spoke, and not one of them had anything good to say. "We've been much too lenient on our enemies," a dark voice complained. "Those fools should be writhing in agony right now, not sleeping peacefully in some damn protected mountain range."

"They should be living in fear," another dark voice, this one female, agreed. "Every moment of their lives should be spent fearing the shadows in the dark and dreading the day those shadows inevitably strike."

"Patience," Shade murmured even as more voices muttered their complaints and protests. "Much patience will be required to achieve our goals. We were hasty once, and thus lost the opportunity to permanently rid ourselves of the Babylonian king. We shall not make such mistakes again."

"If we wait too long, the enemies will only continued to grow stronger and we will be less capable of defeating them!" a random soldier snapped.

Shade's dark head turned toward the man. "You _dare_ question Ix's direct orders?"

The man faltered. His head lowered, fearful and submissive. "No," he all-but whispered. "Never."

With a disbelieving hum, Shade jumped down off her rock and drew her blade. Without remorse or any hint of mercy, she slashed her clanmate across the face. He let out a scream and covered the wound with both hands. It would scar, and everyone knew it. He would be forever marked. "Then let this be a reminder to continued not to do so." Such punishments were commonplace in this dark society, and not one single person or creature made any sort of an attempt to save the man from his painful fate. Satisfied that the man would not repeat his offence any time soon, the dark and wicked woman sheathed her slightly bloody blade and returned to her rock. All that was left for her to do for now was wait. Unlike the man she had just attacked, she knew better than to distrust their leader. So she did as she had been commanded... and waited.

 **~台風の目~**

It was very late at night when Jet walked through the double doors leading into the Babylonian palace he had called home for the last century. It was rare that he traveled through space (even if only by teleporting) without leaving his children in the care of a select few specific people, but he trusted that they would be safe in Hyale for the time being. They were, after all, surrounded by allies, and not just Sonic and the others. The very people of Hyale itself were allies of his. The Babylonian king had many allies in many places... and far too many enemies to count. But he brushed that idle thought aside as he walked through the spacious and huge front room of his home. He was here for a very few select reasons. One, to check up on things (not that he didn't trust Kath to keep the kingdom running smoothly, but still). Two, to speak with Kath himself. Three, to retrieve a few things from his room. He figured he could get all of this done before his kids woke up. That would certainly be the ideal situation.

As he headed for a beautiful carpeted staircase on the far side of the room, a woman (a member of the palace staff) jogged up to him. He recognized her immediately as Sho'hara, whom he'd put in charge of the palace's defense systems less than eight months ago. Silent, he paused, waiting to hear what she had to say. "Sir," she began, in spite of the fact that he'd told everyone who'd ever called him that _not_ to at least six times each, "the planetary barriers are stable, as are the barriers around the civilizations across the world, but the palace barriers have been experiencing some strange energy fluctuations since last night. I may know what to do to repair the issue, but it's a tad risky..."

Without remorse, he cut in before she could finish. "I don't care. Just get it done." He turned away again and resumed walking as he tossed a simple order over his shoulder. "Do whatever you feel is necessary." Choosing to ignore her reply and the sound of her hurrying away, he began climbing the stairs, headed for the top floor. There were _so many_ floors between the one he'd just been on and the top one, but he'd made this upwards journey so many times by now that it felt like nothing to him to do it once more. Upon reaching the top floor (a feat he accomplished in mere minutes), he began walking down familiar halls. Bypassing his bedroom, the kids' bedrooms, Kath's bedroom, and several other familiar doors, he approached Kath's large observatory, which was built perfectly attached to the palace. Since he was one of the only people allowed the enter the observatory without knocking, he took advantage of the privilege (such as it was) and walked in. The much older hawk was, as usual, sitting at one of his tables while he wrote on a paper about something or other. It didn't take Jet more than a second or two to figure out the Kath was working on the younger hawk's paperwork. But that was unimportant at the moment. When Kath looked up, Jet spoke. Almost subconsciously, he spoke in Ancient Babylonian, rather than the modern version of the language or even the Universal Language. He chalked it up to habit. "Eina ko nanin." ("I need to speak with you." Can be taken to mean, "I need to speak my mind.")

Kath blinked once, then inclined his head and gestured for Jet to sit down. "Trela kan?" he asked as Jet took a seat in the room's only other chair. Since Kath was at the head of the table, Jet was both a little ahead of him and to his right. ("What of?")

"Urushin," Jet responded sagely. ("The enemies." Can be taken to mean, "The dark" or "Darkness".)

"Teira nul un tola Urushin teil meina tel'run," Kath murmured sagely. "Elo'na Felorn ein." ("Those who seek to harness Darkness may find themselves consumed by it instead. The Felorn are no exception.")

"Seil no'ran kecha," Jet responded. ("Therein lies the problem.")

"Kochek?" Kath inquired. ("Is this what concerns you?")

"Soka," Jet admitted after a small moment. ("In part.")

"Keir nin'o vel'in to'raj," Kath replied. A small pause, then he asked, "Da kal?" ("You leave this world to ensure it will still be here when you get back. Is this not so?")

Slowly, Jet inclined his head and replied, "An." ("Yes.")

"Eiran tol'kan nei'ana run," Kath responded simply, voice soft as ever. "S'ola, dankerei un'nol." ("Then you needn't be concerned. At least, not about the people's words.")

"Dei keina atin fel'nor an'tu," was Jet's reply. He barely noticed that his words were getting more formal. "Reina venturi kezan e'lurin." ("I'm their king. They expect me to listen to them.")

It was then that Kath chose to switch to the Universal Language, and quite abruptly, but Jet barely reacted to the change. "This power, the power of your rule over this world, is your privilege… and your burden," he murmured. "But being in power doesn't mean you are under any requirement to listen to every complaint people may make. Most are not complaining to begin with."

"Enough of them are," Jet responded quietly.

"If you are looking for advice on what to do," Kath said, "then listen to me. The future can never truly be reached. Every moment was once something distant to us all. The future becomes the present. The future is _now_. But there is no future for the dead. If you wish for this world to perish, then do what those few people are saying. Withdraw from the war. Stop lending the Mobians aid."

 _That_ awoke a spark of temper in Jet's heart, as Kath likely expected it to. However, he hid it from every sense so none would know he was feeling it. None save for Kath himself, however, as the older man was always able to read him anyway, somehow. "I never claimed to be considering the idea of leaving them to fight alone."

"Then cease your worries," Kath told him calmly. "They will only cloud your mind. You know this."

Letting out a soft hum in reply, Jet stood up. Whatever unnamed concerns he'd had before felt eased now, and he was grateful for it. His gratitude was unspoken, but Kath seemed to understand as always. Giving the older hawk a small nod of farewell, as they both knew he would need to leave the world again soon, he turned and exited the observatory, shutting the door behind him. Moving silently, he walked to his room, which was recognizable to any immediately by its ornate double doors. Opening the right one, he stepped inside and walked to his desk. After teleporting his backpack to himself from Mobius, he opened his desk and pulled a couple small devices from it and placed them carefully into his bag. He went to close his close the drawer, only to pause.

Sitting almost innocently in the drawer was a small dark rock that glowed faintly with evil power. Just by looking at it, he could tell it was from another world. And, of course, it had _no_ business being in his desk. Expression unreadable, he reached out and grabbed the stone, heedless of the wicked energy it was giving off. It was... _warm_ to the touch, as though it had been wrapped in a thick blanket and left in the sun for hours. _Strange,_ he thought quietly. A long moment passed him by, then he simply dropped the stone into his bag for now, closed said bag, stood, then teleported back to Mobius.

 **~台風の目~**

On this night, Jet, Wave, and Espio weren't the only ones who found themselves unable to sleep. Sonic, too, was wide awake at the moment. Far too many questions swirled throughout his mind for him to find any form of rest. So, so many questions continued to bother him, some of them regarding his enemies, some of them regarding the two grown Babylonians who had so recently joined (or _re_ joined, in Jet's case) the group, and some related to some slightly miscellaneous things.

 _Who are our enemies, really?_

 _Who's leading them?_

 _What do they want?_

 _Who was Selene?_

 _Did Jet love her?_

 _What else happened on Babylon that he's not telling us?_

 _How much does Tammy know about him and what he went through?_

 _Where is Kath now?_

 _Will he help us?_

 _What will we do if he decides not to?_

 _Who else can we turn to for help?_

 _Do the enemies know of the Chaos Emeralds?_

 _Do they know of Astral Babylon?_

 _Are any of those treasures at risk?_

Question upon question continued to plague his mind throughout the night and on into the morning. It wasn't until about an hour after breakfast that he finally pulled out of his thoughts for even a short while. The adults of the group were again having a sort of meeting (even as they watched the kids). "We need to keep track of the tools we have available to us," the young hero said seriously as he took a seat under a tree. "Vehicles and weapons and the like."

When no one else immediately spoke, Tails apparently opted to speak. He was sitting just a couple feet to Sonic's left. "Well, we already know what ships and weapons I have, and I can easily make new planes or ships if necessary."

"Daddy has a ship, too!" Lia (who was sitting in her father's lap across from Sonic) happily reported as though no one had known this before. "And _lots_ of guns!" Amy smiled at the young girl, amused by the child's enthusiasm.

"I think Dad was more referring to the fact that we kinda need to keep tabs on everything we have," Silver said. He was sitting with his wife and daughter near Tails "You know, so if we end up with a loss of some kind, even if it's minor, it won't go unnoticed."

"And you guys should probably be made aware of what supplies he and I have to offer," Tammy added as she and Jet traded a glance. The two were sitting side-by-side like close friends would under an especially tall and bushy tree about five feet to Shadow's right. They were near the very edge of the group, and Hannah and Lucas were playing close by.

"That would be nice," Knuckles responded while helping his wife keep an eye on their young son. Jason was currently far too busy playing with rocks to be getting into any sort of trouble, though, so the scrutiny was currently unnecessary. The three of them were seated to Sonic's immediate right, as was most everyone else.

With a small nod, Tammy gave Jet a sort of hand gesture that seemed to communicate, _Give it here_ , or something to that effect. Not missing a beat, Jet grabbed his odd white gun and tossed it to her, all in one fluid motion. Suri tried to grab it as he did so, but failed to even so much as touch it. He appeased her with a leaf as Tammy caught the gun and spoke. "This is one of the most powerful weapons we have at our disposal," she explained to Sonic and the others. "It's unique design makes it perfect for concentrating the user's aura into short laser-like beams that can fire faster than any bullet. These guns alone are enough to take down entire ships if the people wielding them are aiming well enough."

"That's amazing..." Tails murmured, clearly fascinated. "Can anyone use them?"

"Not unless you're a Babylonian," Tammy answered, seeming apologetic. "Only our people have the ability to do more with our auras than just prevent them from being sensed. And even then some Babylonians here and there aren't born with those powers, either."

Tails looked down. "Darn..." he mumbled in disappointment. "That would've been so cool..."

"What other weapons do you two have?" Amy asked as Tammy tossed Jet's gun back to him. He caught it effortlessly in one hand.

"I have a basic sword," Tammy reported. "It's nothing special, really, but it's a bit difficult to break, which is useful. I have my own gun, too. And as for his other big weapon... Well, it's hard to believe if you don't see it for yourself." Turning to Jet with a small, knowing smile, she suggested, "Why don't you bring it here?"

Not saying a word, Jet stood and summoned a sword to himself. It appeared, fully sheathed, in his right hand. The scabbard and handle of the blade were were beautifully decorated with gold, and it was clear even to the untrained eye that no one but the best had crafted the weapon they were looking at. Bending down briefly, he gently laid Suri down on her small blanket in the grass, then straightened again. Trading the sheathed blade into his left hand, he unsheathed it. The actual blade itself was as perfect and beautiful as the rest of it, and Kaden (being the blacksmith he was) was very obviously fascinated with the weapon in an instant. Remembering the sword they'd read about in the journal, Wave ventured to ask, "Is that... Alkarus?"

"Yep," Tammy replied. "It's the pride and joy of the Immortals, the most powerful weapon they ever crafted. It's an amazing weapon, let me tell you." Her smile changed into a grin. "Oh, and it's not _just_ a sword. Any weapon that you can think of that has any sort of blade or blade-like piece to it, Alkarus can become." As she'd expected, a few members of the group (such as Shadow) were skeptical of this, but she was undeterred. Still grinning, she said to Jet, "Show 'em." Without further ado but not exactly seeming fond of being the center of attention at the moment, Jet did as he was bid. Before the group's very eyes, the sword changed to a dagger, then a spear, then a battleaxe, then a scythe, then a bow with a single arrow. Then, apparently deciding that he was finished with this demonstration, he turned it back to a sword and sheathed it, sat back down, and laid it down in the grass beside him. While he picked his sweet and innocent little baby back up, Tammy spoke up again. "See?" she said, almost sounding proud.

Locke let out a low whistle to indicate how impressed he was, and Kaden and Jet for whatever reason traded a glance. Perhaps due to how strangely similar the two of them were, they were able to understand each other without words. Jet tossed the sheathed blade to Kaden, who (looking pleased) began to examine it. Sonic chose that moment to speak up. "What about vehicles? Do either of you have anything?"

Jet nodded, but Tammy spoke. "Yes, we do. He has a couple ships, the same size as your X-Tornado and Tails's Blue Typhoon, respectively." The fact that she knew how big the Blue Typhoon was didn't surprise anyone at all, as she and Tails had spent a long while talking together on the way to this mountainous refuge. "We also have vehicles akin to hoverbikes. They're called Sparrows, and they're _very_ fast and very durable. Jet's is in pretty bad shape at the moment, but he can easily borrow Kath's in the meantime if need be."

And that was it. There was nothing else to discuss, and everyone knew it. The conversation trailed off bit by bit, then everyone began to go their separate ways for the time being. Only when Sonic, Jet, and Suri were the only ones left in immediate earshot did Sonic finally stand and walk over to his old friend. The hawk (who had allowed Kaden to walk off with his sword for now) was looking down at his baby girl as she played with a stuffed rabbit that she seemed to positively adore, but he looked up when Sonic reached him. Sonic sat down in front of him, leaving a respectable few feet of space between them. "Were you able to get ahold of Kath?" Jet inclined his head. "What did he say? About helping us, I mean."

Piercing blue eyes looked away, back down at young Suri. "He will aid us when he finds the time," was all Jet said.

At this point, Sonic believed that was a lot better than nothing. As such, he accepted the response straight away and changed the subject to a new matter. "Listen, before I leave you alone, I really need an answer to something." Again, Jet looked up at him. For once, he actually made eye-contact, and Sonic felt himself smile a little, almost encouragingly, for just a moment. Then the smile faded away to be replaced by a serious look that he knew his friend knew how to read. "I know you told me to figure it out for myself, but all I'm ever doing is making assumptions until you confirm or deny my thoughts." This sentence earned nothing more than a blink. " _Are_ you an Immortal, Jet?"

There was a very long period of silence. Sonic gradually began to think that he would never receive an answer. But, of course, just as he started to stand to leave, Jet broke eye-contact and spoke. "...Yes."

Sonic completely paused, uncertain what to do or say. At a loss for words, he simply nodded, finished standing, and walked away.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,406 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Posted (at about 8:50 a.m.) 10-05-16.**

 **EDIT: Forgot to add pronunciation help before. Here they are: "Ix": "Ih-x"**

 **"Eina ko nanin.": "Ae-nah koe nah-nihn"**

 **"Trela kan": "Trell-ah kahn"**

 **"Urushin": "Oo-roo-shin"**

 **"Teira nul un tola Urushin teil meina tel'run": "Tae-rah nool oon toe-lah oo-roo-shin tael mae-nah tell-roon"**

 **"Elo'na Felorn ein": "Eh-loe-nah fell-orn"**

 **"Seil no'ran kecha": "Sael noe-rahn keh-chah"**

 **"Kochek": "Koe-check"**

 **"Soka": "Soe-kah"**

 **"Keir nin'o vel'in to'raj": "Kaer neen-oh vell-ihn toe-raj (soft "j" sound)"**

 **"Da kal": "Dah-kahl"**

 **"An": "Ahn"**

 **"Eiran tol'kan nei'ana run": "Ae-rahn toel-kahn nae-ah-nah roon"**

 **"S'ola, dankerei un'nol": "Soe-lah dahn-keh-rae oon-nole"**

 **"Dei keina atin fel'nor an'tu": "Dae kae-nah ah-tihn fell-nor ahn-too"**

 **"Reina venturi kezan e'lurin": "Rae-nah vehn-too-ree keh-zahn eh-loo-rihn"**

 **EDIT 2: One more thing I forgot to mention before: the idea to call the hoverbikes "Sparrows" comes from the game Destiny, as well as it's expansions (i.e. Destiny: Rise of Iron).**


	26. Aikouhenno

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Pfft, haha! That's so true! But, then again, it's not like it was _his_ choice to show it off. XD YES, IT HAS! AAAAHHHH!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Aikouhenno (Disaster)"**

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic walked to Tammy immediately upon leaving Jet alone with Suri. She was sitting where she and Jet had left their bags that morning (namely, under yet another tree), and she took notice of his approach quite quickly. Looking up, she offered him a small smile. "Hi, Sonic."

"Hey, Tammy." Taking a seat in front of her, he spoke again. "Hey, can I talk to you a bit?"

The sparrow's smile turned knowing. "Our friend over there is being difficult again, isn't he?"

Somehow, Sonic found it in himself to chuckle a little. "You could say that," he admitted. "He's nearly impossible on some days. Not so much on this one so far, but still."

"I understand," Tammy replied easily. "Selene and I really had our hands full with him sometimes, trying to figure what he was thinking and that sort of thing."

Blue ears perked at the sound of Selene's name. "Selene is actually one of the things I wanted to ask you about," he said suddenly.

"Okay," Tammy agreed. "What about her?"

There was a small moment of pause bordering on hesitation, then Sonic spoke again. "I mostly just want to know who she was, especially in relation to him." Emerald eyes briefly drifted to the side to rest on Jet, and purple eyes followed. Then they both looked back at each other. "I haven't tried asking him about it, though. I just keep thinking that he won't tell me, so I end up hesitating and crap because I don't want to fight with him unnecessarily." _Our friendship is fragile enough as it is without me making it worse._

"I understand that," Tammy murmured, looking down. She suddenly seemed very, very sad. "And you're right in thinking that he won't talk about it. It's _such_ a hard subject for him. See, he and Selene knew each other right from the very first day he set foot on Babylon to aid in the war." Sonic listened intently, keen on not missing any details, lest he end up missing something important. "They were quick friends, and great allies. I swear those two were as perfect for each other as your own parents, Sonic."

The part about his parents didn't surprise Sonic at all, as anyone with _eyes_ could see how perfect Kaden and Analia were together. Hearing that Jet had found someone who was like that for him was... surprising, but not in a bad way. _But she died..._ he remembered. _Jet wrote it himself._

"The two of them went through _so much_ together," Tammy continued quietly. Her expression had changed from just sad to sad but smiling. "They fought countless battles together, went on daring missions, explored unknown sections of the world, traveled through space, shared the job of raising little Ten, confronted even the most ruthless of the Syxans without fear... God, you would've thought that they were characters in some fantasy novel or something. They were just _that_ perfect together. And when they fell in love, they fell hard." That small smile grew. "They denied it, of course, but we could all see it. They loved each other so much... Each was willing to die for the other, to live for the other no matter how painful life became, to take on all of the other's pains... but they never had a chance to even _try_ being in a relationship. The war permanently took that possible future away from them."

"Because she died," Sonic murmured.

Tammy nodded. "Yes. And that's not even the worst of it." Sonic's eyes betrayed his confusion, and she explained. "She died, but not just anywhere. Her murder happened _right_ in front of him, at a point in the fight with Nyxar where he was so badly injured that he could do _nothing_ to try to save her. He could only _watch_ as she was killed, and that's something that still haunts him horribly to this day. He even still has nightmares about it." There was a small pause before she continued. "That's why he doesn't talk about her," she sighed softly. "Not necessarily because he just doesn't _want_ to, but because he _can't_ without reliving all of the pain he went through on that day. A wound like that just isn't one that ever fully heals. It's just not."

The truth of those last two sentences was _so_ real that it forced Sonic to question just how much his friend might still be hurting... and just how hard it must have been for Jet to continue on living after that horrible day. It forced him to question something else, too. "If he loved her so much... then how did he end up with Jade?"

"Love is such a tricky thing, Sonic," Tammy sighed. "It can happen at any place and at any time and with any _one_ , no matter how much you decide that you just don't want it. With Selene's death having happened sixty years ago, he had more than enough time to find new love. He didn't want to, and he certainly wasn't looking for it, but it happened. It took him ten years after Selene's death to finally realize that he was starting to have feelings for Jade, and another decade or so after that to finally heal enough emotionally that he could start to act on those feelings. From there, things progressed as normally as one might expect, with lots of dates and eventually a marriage. Though, as you well know by now, things didn't _stay_ happy between them."

"Is she still a risk to him?" Sonic asked suddenly, eyes sparking temper at the idea. "Or to their kids?"

"To him, yes, at times," Tammy responded with another sigh. "He keeps her away from the kids at all costs, but when she catches him alone somewhere... He's gone on simple walks in the woods before to relax, only to come back battered and bruised because she just _happened_ to show up there, too. That's happened several times, and there are many incidents like it. Whenever she thinks she can get away with it, she goes after him like that."

"Why doesn't he ever defend himself?" Sonic questioned, utterly baffled and furious at the same time.

"He does, but not by striking back," Tammy replied. "He just won't do that, partly because I think he's developed a sort of fear of her attacking him like she's been doing. I've seen him sort of freeze up just from seeing her in the distance once or twice before. Plus, I just don't think he can stand the idea of hitting her back because he seems to feel like that would make him no better than her."

 _Or Ross,_ Sonic realized silently with a sort of jolt of understanding.

"However, he doesn't just passively let her hit him," Tammy clarified. "If he can escape the situation or get her to stop somehow through means other than violence, he will. A couple times, before the two of them were divorced, he even called out to Kath for help."

That name caught Sonic's attention. "So Kath knows about all of this, too?"

His question earned a nod. "Yes, of course he does. Even pretending he hadn't noticed the abuse for himself, though he did very early on, Jet would have inevitably told him at some point or another. They're very close with each other. Practically family, really. And, because they're so close, Kath will _absolutely_ die to protect Jet, and vice versa. Jade knowing that Kath is so protective of Jet is one of the reasons why she never dares to try to harm him at the palace, since Kath lives there, too."

 _So Mr. King has an entire palace, not just a castle, huh?_ Sonic thought, slightly amused by his own thought. He couldn't quite recall if that had been mentioned in the journal entries he and the others had read before, so this felt like new news to him. But it was far from being the important bit of information that he'd just been given. It was far more important to know that Jet had people looking out for him on Babylon, especially with cruel people like Jade still in his life. "I'm glad that he has people like you and Kath," he murmured. "He needs friends in his life, even if he doesn't always think so."

"I agree," Tammy replied sincerely. "That's why everyone he ever befriended on Babylon, besides Jade, have always refused to leave him, even when he would try to push us away."

Sonic nodded slowly, then switched the subject back to the matter of Selene's death. In spite of how abrupt this was, Tammy seemed unfazed. It was, after all, still a topic related to friends in one way or another. "I don't understand something about all of this," he admitted. "If he was so horribly injured when this Nyxar person killed Selene, then how did Jet ever win that fight?"

"It's going to sound crazy at first," Tammy replied slowly, "but he won that fight by at first _losing_ it."

Now Sonic frowned, but only out of confusion. "...What?"

"You know about what he is now, don't you?" Tammy asked him suddenly. When Sonic still seemed confused, she sort of huffed. "Think about it. It's the very same reason why he's able to wield Alkarus."

 _Oh... Right..._ Feeling a bit stupid, especially since he'd _just_ learned about this not even twenty minutes ago, Sonic scratched at his right ear. "Okay. I get it. He's an Immortal."

"Right," Tammy nodded. "And when an Immortal dies, the death is only temporary unless they're killed by another Immortal, of which their are only four in total. Nyxar most certainly _wasn't_ one, so when he killed Jet after Selene was dead, Jet simply revived." Before Sonic could even voice a question, Tammy continued with her explanation. "And when an Immortal revives, whatever injury or injur _ies_ they had that directly led to their death will heal instantly. As such, Nyxar killed Jet only ensured a much faster end to his own life. Even if he hadn't done it then, he undoubtedly would have done it later, and the result would have been the same."

This all made sense, but... it was still horrible to know that Jet had died back then. _And who's to say that he hasn't died other times as well?_ Sonic suddenly realized. On that thought, he quickly asked, "Do you know how many other times Jet's died before?"

"Not exactly," Tammy responded, turning to her right and bravely reaching into Jet's bag without a fear in the world as to how he'd react to it, "but this can tell you." Blinking, Sonic watched as she pulled Jet's journal out into the open. As she flipped rapidly through the pages, she kept talking. "Arthr and I monitor what he writes in here due to that massive depression incident you and your friends read about," how Tammy even knew they'd done that was beyond him, but he supposed Tails or Jet himself could have told her, "so I went through it last night to see if there was anything worrisome written in here. You know, anything to hint at the fact that he might be feeling depressed or hurting himself again or anything like that." The confirmation of the contents of two specific Sonic remembered from Jet's journal, entries involving very vague mentions of Jet harming himself, made Sonic's ears lower quite a bit. "Anyway, while I was going through the entries, I found this one." Tammy turned the journal around so Sonic could read, and he took it from her to do just that. Since he didn't know specifically which part of the entry she was referring to, he just read the whole thing in spite of its length.

 _ **921.** -I caught myself drumming my fingers against my thigh earlier ("earlier" being at about 12:20 this morning), as though my hand thought it was playing the piano or something while I was sitting under a tree at lunch. I've caught myself doing that before (though not always on my leg). I've been doing that for… basically my whole life. I can't really explain  why I do it, though. I've always chalked it up to some sort of an idiosyncrasy and could never explain it better than that. I still can't. But, the only problem is, calling it an idiosyncrasy doesn't explain why that action feels so… compulsive (though it only feels that way when I actually consciously notice that I'm performing the action, as it seems to tend to be subconscious)._

 _I told Kath about the finger-drumming thing in passing while we were, for lack of a better term, "texting" on our communicators (I built some for him, Selene, and the others during the war) earlier in the day. He seemed thoughtful, but didn't really say anything about it. He did ask some weird questions, though, like if I remember how interested I was in certain games as a young child (i.e. peek-a-boo), how long I've been averse to touch, what other compulsions I have, if any, and that sort of thing. I answered his questions, but he didn't tell me why he was asking. It was weird._

 _-It's lunchtime. I've been a bit bored today due to overall lack of combat. That worries me, since bad things inexplicably happen around me (i.e. bookshelves randomly falling even when nothing happened to them to cause it, someone randomly tripping, etc.) when I get bored. It's never as a direct result of something I do, but even still. So far, nothing has happened this time. It's possible that my wandering thoughts provided enough entertainment for me and that's why nothing happened, but who knows._

 _Anyway, I was in the middle of continuing to be bored as all hell and eating a sandwich (and Sonic wouldn't stop watching me for nearly ten minutes for some damn reason) when I got a text from Kath. It literally read, "Do a self-assessment. Does this sound like you?" Attached to that little message was a file. Upon opening it, I found a list. It was a list of autistic symptoms. Of course, I read it. Then, after a couple of minutes, I opened the list again to read it once more._

 _I still don't know what to think._

 _-I left for a while earlier. Tammy agreed to watch the kids for a while, and I left to go investigate some auras I was sensing. I met Shade. She's a Nocturnian (as I mentioned a while back), and a very powerful one. We spoke briefly, and then she vanished. After that, I went back to the others. It was around seven in the evening by the time I returned, and I found a minor scene from hell. Apparently, the group was attacked while I was gone. Sonic teased me for a moment about not arriving in time to save the day, then I focused on checking on the kids._

 _Not too long after that, he and Tails began questioning me once again. Apparently, they read my damn journal. I don't know who else was involved, but I suspect Silver was. Part of me wanted to walk over to the hedgehog and smack him, but I didn't. I just dealt with the questioning for as long as I could tolerate it, then walked away. That did little to appease Sonic, I'm sure, but I don't care right now. I'm too goddamn tired._

 _If nothing else, this saved me the trouble of having to explain about any of the things that happened during the war. Apparently, I did myself a favor by writing in this thing so much back then._

 _-We made plans to leave for Espio's homeland tomorrow, a place many know as the Highlands. I remember that place. The villages of Hyale, Maukuri, and Tzhin are allies of mine. Hopefully, even if they're not too keep on the idea of so many strangers staying in the mountains, my alliance with at least one of those villages will ensure us a place to stay. One can only hope._

 _-It's the middle of the night. The kids are finally asleep (even Sarai, who has her father's habit of not ever wanting to go to sleep). The only other person who's awake right now is Sonic (even Kaden and Shadow are out), but he's leaving me alone, thankfully. Anyway, I'm bored as hell right now (fancy that), so I figured I may as well write in this old thing again. But, because I don't have much to say right now (beyond the fact that I'm so glad that Suri finally stopped crying and passed out), I guess I'll just write my deaths. It's a morbid topic, but at least this way there'll be a record of them somewhere. _

**_On South Island, Before Gerald's Reign of Terror:_**

 _1\. Age one, killed by a crashing plane that hit me after I wandered away from my mother (who died a couple months later, not long after I turned two, if memory serves)._

 ** _On South Island, During Gerald's Reign of Terror_**

 _2\. Age ten, mauled to death by some animal in the woods (I think it was a bear, but I don't remember for sure)._

 _3\. Age ten, killed by the giant Chaos explosion when South Island was destroyed._

 ** _After the Dark Days, Before Ivo's Reign of Terror_**

 _4\. Age fourteen, died in my room due to heavy bleeding after a particularly severe beating, then saved from a second death that day when Sonic found me and got me to a hospital (not that I wanted to go)._

 _5\. Age fourteen, died due to doctors' negligence when Sonic again took me to the hospital after I received a beating so severe I couldn't even open my eyes (the doctors all decided it would be fine to leave the room at some point and I perished briefly before they returned; Sonic had no idea, as he was in the waiting room)._

 _6\. Age fourteen, finally starved to death while locked in the attic._

 _7\. Age fifteen, died upon impact when my airship (the one I stole from Ross) violently crashed into the ground not long before Sonic and I met Wave (Sonic wasn't on the ship at the time, thank god)._

 ** _During Ivo's Reign of Terror:_**

 _8\. Age seventeen (as with all the rest following this), killed by activating Astral Babylon._

 _9\. Stabbed by a Metarex leader in plain view of Amy, but almost instantly revived just as she sent a wave of healing energy at me (which is how my Immortality remained a secret)._

 ** _During the War for New Babylon:_**

 _10\. Died from a combination of heatstroke, exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, illness, and injury during the failed Badlands mission not long before we were finally rescued._

 _11\. Bitten to death by a Turuk the same day Luko went missing. Revived quickly, but not before Luko was dragged off. Luko seeing me die and then seeing me alive later on caused him to learn of my Immortality._

 _12\. Stabbed and slashed to death during an assault with a shortsword by a lone enemy on the Southern front (I was alone and had prior injuries and, as such, was unable to defend myself properly)._

 _13\. Killed in a gunfight while alone in the woods mere hours after the above incident._

 _14\. Died before I could be taken to the hospital after being poisoned by a Syxan (which is how Selene, Arthr, and the others learned of my Immortality)._

 _15\. Briefly froze to death after a shipwreck in the middle of a massive blizzard (that later turned into a full-on white-out)._

 _16\. Tortured to death by Syxans while in their custody for around six months._

 _17\. Tortured to death by Syxans while in their custody for around six months._

 _18\. Tortured to death by Syxans while in their custody for around six months._

 _19\. Tortured to death by Syxans while in their custody for around six months._

 _20\. Tortured to death by Syxans while in their custody for around six months._

 _21\. Killed by Nyxar minutes after Selene's death (I was unable to fight back effectively due to exhaustion and pre-existing injuries)._

 ** _After the War, Before Reuniting With Sonic and Co.:_**

 _22\. Killed from injuries suffered from a severe beating from Jade (I apparently lingered for a while before bleeding out from the head)._

 _23\. Trained to the point of exhaustion so severe it was lethal (and was promptly scolded by an angry Kath, though he normally isn't the type to scold people)._

 _24\. Caught a disease that originates from the Therian homeworld, Therius, and was violently ill for weeks before it finally claimed my life (didn't revive for about forty-six minutes; my slowest revival so far)._

 _25\. Was too reckless in the use of that damn razorblade (months before disposing of it) and quickly bled out._

 ** _During this War (which I will henceforth refer to as the Nocturnian War for simplicity's sake):_**

 _26\. Killed due to psionic blasts created by a Nocturnian soldier. (Quick revival.)_

 _The secret of my Immortality is safe for now. I don't really know how much longer that will remain true, though. And, really, I'm starting to wonder why I'm even bothering trying to keep it a secret in the first place._

With a great start, Sonic re-read some of the deaths on that list. He _vividly_ remembered the beatings Jet had mentioned, as well as the airship wreckage. That wreck had especially caught Sonic's attention at the time, as Jet's lack of serious injuries when Sonic had arrived at the scene had utterly baffled Sonic at the time. But those three deaths were most certainly _not_ the ones that held his attention. His eyes focused on numbers sixteen through twenty, remaining frozen on them. "T... tortured?" he somehow managed to choke out in a whisper.

"Yes," Tammy confirmed with a solemn nod. "He was captured by the Syxans at some point, he can't remember clearly how it happened and no one else was there, and they did horrible, horrible things to him. That's why, in those entries you and your friends read from the time period after his rescue, he made mention of being shock, physically ill, unable to really eat, exhibiting more PTSD symptoms than before, being afraid to sleep in the dark, and so on. It was because of what he went through during those six months when he was in their custody."

Sonic had no chance to reply to that (not that he knew what to say or feel or think, anyway) before he suddenly heard a loud crash, followed by Kimmy and Lia both crying. Turning, he and Tammy both watched at the girls' parents hurried over to the pile of girls+branch. It didn't take long to sort of what in the hell had happened. All it took was Kimmy's wail about something having to do with her and Lia apparently being "sneaky super ninjas" for everyone to understand. Sighing and rolling his eyes in amusement, he turned back to Tammy, only to have their conversation interrupted for the second time before it could even actually resume. This time, it was because of a strange dark purple glow that started in Jet's backpack, then almost instantaneously overtook the entire area. Kimmy and Lia started to cry harder and Suri began to wail. Every single person touched by the light immediately began to experience a piercing headache so severe it nearly robbed them all of their senses. A voice, sadistic and smooth that seemed to be coming from everywhere at once whispered to them all. No one could understand what in the hell it was saying, but it gave _everyone_ the most horrible feeling of dread any of them had ever experienced.

Gritting his teeth, Sonic shoved his hand into Jet's bag and grabbed the source of the light, whatever it was, only to drop it onto the grass instantly due to how intensely _hot_ it was. Jet reacted in that instant and the rock became encased in his aura, thus blocking out the dark light and rescuing everyone from its effects. Without even thinking, Sonic snapped at him, "What the _hell_ is that thing?"

Clearly not in the mood for this all of a sudden, Jet shot Sonic a sharp glare that immediately shut the hedgehog up as Jet walked over. However, it was Tammy and not Jet who spoke. "Okay..." she muttered, "so I was apparently _horribly_ wrong. I guess you were right in suggesting that we find a way to get rid of the rock. ...My bad." Jet let out some sort of noncommittal hum that may or may not have been an agreement and and moved his hand under the ball of glowing heavenly blue aura energy. The ball, with the rock still inside, floated harmlessly above his palm as he straightened back up.

"Is that thing Nocturnian?" Tails asked, rubbing at one of his poor, temporarily nearly-blinded eyes. "It's just so _evil_..."

"That's what we suspect," Tammy replied. Then, turning to Jet, she asked, "So, what do we do?"

"Call Kath," Jet responded simply, asserting authority with her for once. He normally never liked to assert kingly authority over anyone, least of all his friends, but situations such as this one tended to force his hand. "Now." Tammy nodded quickly and began to do as she was told with portable device while also gently taking Suri from Jet, thus freeing his other arm. Kaden tossed Alkarus, sheath and all, to the hawk, who caught it easily and walked away with both it and the ball, just in case. Sonic watched him worriedly.

Just what were the Nocturnians planning?

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,440 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. Real quick, here are a couple word pronunciation help things.** **Maukuri: "M-ow-kurr-ee"**

 **Tzhin: "T-jin (soft "j" sound)"**

 **Lastly! Those of you who have not yet read the Hero side story "Time", I highly recommend that you do so! For those of you who missed my last explanation of it, the gist of the story is that it's Jet's journal. Every chapter consists of entries from his journal, in order, from one and onward. Writing it has been a fairly massive undertaking. The journal has been around a year in the making so far and is still ongoing. I won't be updating it for a little while, as the next chapter will contain a bit of important information that has not yet been revealed here in EotS, but it has around four chapters up already and I do highly recommend the story. :)**

 **Posted (at about 3:40 a.m.) 10-06-16.**


	27. Dark Clouds

**~台風の目~**

 **"Dark Clouds"**

 **~台風の目~**

"Uncover it."

Sonic, Jet, and Tammy (all of whom had moved a safe distance away from the village when Kath had arrived minutes ago) looked at Kath more or less simultaneously. None of them distrusted him, but Sonic didn't quite know whether or not Jet should go along with the older hawk's calm command. Nonetheless, Jet looked back to the bubble of aura energy he had created around the rock and allowed that bubble to fade away into nothing. Kath then seemed to use his own aura (which was, apparently, the source of the bright yellow attacks he had used in the fight to help end the Metarex scourge) to contain the energy of the wicked rock without blocking out the whispers it had been creating. After letting him listen for a moment in peace, Tammy spoke up. "Please tell me it's not speaking in one of the few languages even you don't know."

Kath had, by now, gained a soft frown. "It isn't Felorn," he responded slowly, "but something very similar.

"'Felorn'?" Sonic questioned in confusion.

"Nocturnian," Kath translated dismissively. Most of his attention still seemed focused on the rock. Sonic shut himself up. In answer to the question everyone had on their minds, the old hawk said, "It isn't saying much... merely repeating the same three words endlessly."

"'Future is now'," Jet murmured, earning a glance and a small nod from Kath.

"Wait, you can understand it, too?" Tammy asked him, but Jet said nothing more on the subject. Sonic thought his old friend looked vaguely... troubled.

"So what do we do with it?" Sonic asked Kath, returning his attention to the rock and the man whose aura was still holding it.

"It needs to be disposed of," Kath replied immediately. "Your mother's Light will destroy it. Let no one else touch it."

Nodding grimly, Sonic accepted the yellow bubble as it was passed to him. When the bubble vanished, he quickly used what small bit of Chaos he could access without his emeralds to encase the rock for the third time. When this task was accomplished, he turned back to Jet. "Where in the hell did you find this?"

Piercing blue eyes spared him a glance before looking away again. "It was in my desk," Jet replied after a moment.

"Not that it had been before," Tammy added helpfully. "But he _did_ find it there either last night or very early this morning. He didn't have time to ask you," she looked at Kath, "about it because Suri had just woken up. I know because she woke me up." Kath nodded his understanding of the situation. "And, for the record, he did suggest that we should get rid of it... I was the one who said that maybe we should hold onto it. That was my fault."

Jet shook his head. "I could have done something with it, regardless. You're not the only one at fault."

"Either way, at least it's being dealt with now, before someone got hurt," Sonic cut in.

Unsurprisingly, Kath agreed with this statement. "Yes. Now take it to your mother, before anything else happens." Nodding, Sonic turned and quickly ran back to the others. Satisfied with this, he turned back to Jet and Tammy. "Next time, don't wait so long to bring something like this to my attention." It was a sort of reprimand, but a fairly gentle one. This had all been a simple mistake, anyway, something that had been sort of brushed under the rug in light of everything else that Tammy and Jet had been dealing with since finding the rock. But no one had been harmed, in the end, and that was the most important thing. It easily _could_ have gone that far, but it hadn't. He was just thankful for that.

"We won't," Tammy promised quietly. She then excused herself to go help take care of Suri for the moment, since the baby was currently still wailing in poor Amy's arms.

Heavenly blue eyes refocused on Jet, who was now looking down at the grass as though it was truly something interesting to be looking at. The younger hawk had crossed his arms defensively, having recognized the reprimand (however gentle it had been) in Kath's tone moments before. He made no attempts to argue, but Kath could tell that the hawk whom everyone normally had such a hard time reading was upset... and feeling foolish. There was little doubt to be had that Jet was probably scolding himself internally right now. But there was no need for that. In spite of his general intense hatred for physical contact with other people, Kath reached out and laid his right hand on Jet's shoulder, prompting Jet to look up at him. "Enough of that," he told the younger hawk quietly. "Berating yourself will only serve to make you miserable. It isn't worth the effort."

Huffing softly, Jet looked off to the side. "Whatever," he muttered, showing a rare true hint of the temper he had once showed so freely during the war.

"The sooner you stop punishing yourself for being a person and making mistakes, the sooner you'll find yourself feeling happier," Kath told him calmly. He removed his hand from Jet's shoulder. "Keep that in mind, will you?"

After a long moment, Jet released a soft sigh and his small spark of temper seemed to ebb. "Fine," he murmured. He turned his head back to the front to look at Kath, then voiced a simple question. "Will you stay?"

The grey hawk shook his head. "Not know." This response was followed by a promise. "Soon." Jet seemed to accept this, and he gave a small nod. Kath then reached out and lightly ruffled Jet's hair, a mildly affectionate action born of the fact that, over the last century, the two had developed a sort of grandparent-grandchild relationship. Jet let out a small _tsk_ and ducked his head away. As Jet fixed his hair, Kath allowed himself a small smile. "Get some sleep tonight, Jet. You need it, if this little fiasco proves anything." With that, he teleported away.

 **~台風の目~**

"If the Nocturnians are willing to pull a stunt like this, maybe we should get out of here," Sonic muttered. "I don't want these people getting hurt simply because we're near them."

"It may be the most advisable course of action," Analia murmured as she busied herself with carefully ridding them of the rock with her Light. The wicked object floated in the space directly before where she sat.

"So where should we go?" When Analia looked thoughtful but offered no suggestions, Sonic looked to his father. "Dad?"

A good minute or so of silence passed before Kaden chose to speak. "Virtually every place we choose to go, whether on this planet or off of it, will never be a truly safe refuge for us. The Nocturnians may from from a time very long ago, but they still know this world and space very well. We will not be safe, no matter where we choose to go."

"So what are we supposed to do then?" Sonic asked, fear sharpening his tone. "We can't very well just sit around and let them come and get us."

"I never suggested that," Kaden responded, tone also sharper, though more mildly so. "My point is simply that true escape from these enemies is impossible, and always will be until they're defeated."

"How is it that they can get into space as well?" Sonic then thought to ask. "It's not as if they can _all_ fly, I'm sure."

"You would be right about that," Analia murmured just as the rock finally slowly faded away into nothing in front of her. "However, we are in the very same position, and _we_ are capable of venturing into space."

"It's a different scenario with us," Sonic responded. "We've got ships at our disposal."

"You underestimate what people were capable of back then," Analia told him with a small smile.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"Civilizations on this world were very low-tech and, for lack of a better way to put it, rather medieval," Kaden said, "but that has never meant that all worlds where in the same state at the same time as us. many other worlds were far past similar stages in their history and were already very high-tech, beyond what even this planet can claim in our current modern era. The Babyloniand and da Asania societies are prime examples. The Nocturne Clans learned of the fantastic 'flying-things' that worlds beyond our own had and, during their original reign of terror during Sade's time, the Nocturnians who _could_ fly ventured out in search of these worlds. Two such planets, Arkonia and Zelthor, fell pray to the Clan almost immediately, and the people were enslaved, forced to craft high-tech weaponry and ships for use by the Clan. There is no other way that the Nocturnians could have become the infamous 'Plague of the Universe' otherwise."

A heavy sigh escaped Sonic's lips. "Great... so we're facing an ancient threat with weapons and ships that can probably rival most of our own. Anything _else_ I need to be aware of?"

"Ix." Kaden looked away. "Their leader's name is Ix."

Slowly, Sonic frowned. "But he's not the real threat, is he? Otherwise he would have been specifically mentioned in that legend you showed me last night. The one about the Child of Light."

"You're correct... in part," Kaden said quietly. "In many ways, the clan as a whole is the true threat. In some ways, it's Ix himself. In others, it's instead Shade, his right-hand soldier."

"She is often rumored to be the most evil and wicked of them all," Analia added softly. "According to some legends, her darkness was rivaled only by one clanmate, and it was not their leader. His name has been disputed for ages, but some believe it to have been Kethro."

"He was known as Kethro the Malevolent to the families of the victims he claimed," Kaden said. His voice had grown oddly dull and his gaze, while trained on the grass, seemed to have become infinitely distant. This worried Sonic for some reason. "Kathros claimed to have taken inspiration for his own deeds from the man."

Now the shift in his father's tone and expression made sense. It had been necessary for Kaden to mention this so as to help further explain just how purely evil this person was, but speaking about anything related to Kathros always, _always_ had a profoundly negative effect on him. As such, Sonic sought to steer the conversation away from that a bit. "So... long story short, if this Kethro guys shows up, we're utterly fucked." He normally wouldn't have used such a strong word but, _dammit_ , no other word really seemed to do this situation any justice.

While it was no secret that Analia rather greatly disapproved of the F-bomb, she said nothing about it this time around and instead chose to say, "That may be so, but we cannot walk into a battle thinking such things. Doing so will only ensure that we are defeated before the struggle even begins."

Again, Sonic sighed. "Yeah... you're right. Sorry."

His mother shook her head. "Do not apologize. It was an honest mistake, nothing more.

 _An honest mistake. Just like believing so foolishly that the peace we nearly died for would remain._ After a moment or two, Sonic stifled this thought and said, "I'll speak with the others. Maybe someone has an idea of where we can go for now."

By now, Kaden seemed to have pulled out of his distant state, and he nodded. "If this doesn't work, come speak with us again. We'll work something out."

Returning the nod, Sonic stood up and turned away. _Yeah, we'll work something out,_ he thought as he walked toward Tails, Knuckles, and the others. _We'll have to._

 **~台風の目~**

The time had come. Ix had given the order, and his clan went on the move. Explosions rattled the ground all the way up to the atmosphere. Blazes raged in every conceivable direction. Smoke billowed high into the heavens. The great mountains of the north fell under siege together and all but collapsed together. In a cold and calculated strike that lasted mere minutes, the barriers protecting the ancient chameleon civilizations shattered, and the people were left at the mercy of the Nocturne Clan. Many were able to flee, among them the so-called heroes of this world, but it was of no matter. The Nocturne Clan had made a decisive early victory in the war they had once again started in a bid to control this world and others. The Northern Highlands, a once seemingly impenetrable fortress left untouched since a time before even the Clan, had finally fallen. The Clan had had failed to take that land once, but not twice.

The news made Ix grin, but the war was hardly won at this point. There was still so much left to do. They now held a protected mountain range that they could make their base of operations, but that alone was not enough. His scouts had come back to him reports of vast cities covering nearly all of the world. They, too, would need to fall. However, the military bases he had learned of were his top priority. Taken them would give them access to great many weapons and vehicles, all of which would help replenish the many supplies his clan had once held. All of their former ships and most of their former weaponry were all gone, but that would not remain so for long. Soon, they would have new weapons and new ships, and then they could again ascend into the heavens and resume their conquest throughout space. Perhaps this time they would even be able to find themselves some allies.

Many a year ago, years before Sade had so utterly defeated he and his people, Ix had heard of people on other worlds who sounded as though they were practically Nocturnians themselves. There had been multiple names that he had learned of at the time. Syxans, Therians, Tel'onins, Arkonians... He had conquered the Arkonians back then, and found them to be little more than a collection of ruthless thieves and space pirates. Still, they had possessed a ruthlessness and evil spirit that had been rather admirable. Perhaps they were worth conquering again. The Tel'onins, however, were such a secretive and elusive bunch that Ix and Shade together had never managed to track the lot of them down. Perhpas that could change this time around, but he was confident that he and his Clan would be victorious with or without their help. They didn't need _anyone's_ help, truly, but the more soldiers he had to bolster the ranks of his clan the faster these wars would end and the faster he could begin to rule over what he had conquered. And he _would_ conquer this world, as well as any others he laid eyes upon. One by one, they would all fall. Everyone who dared not bow down to him would die. That was the way things were meant to be. He would be victorious... but a select few would forever stand in his way.

The Child of the Light.

The Will of the Light.

The Disciple of the Light.

The Soldier of the Light.

The Future Sixth Guardian.

The Child of the Night.

The Disciple of the Night.

These seven would prove to be huge problems, indeed. The early plot to rid himself of one of these threats had failed, but he had honestly expected it to. None of these people would fall easily. Not one of them. Not even the two members of the bunch who were _actually_ children. Regardless, however, they would all one day fall. Even the Immortal. He'd already made plans to ensure that neither the Immortal nor any of the others would live to see the end of this war. Initially, his plans had involved more specific targets, but that had changed. Now these seven were his main focus, and he fully intended to rid the universe of them once and for all. It would only take time. That was all. And he had all of the time in the world.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,797 words this time. Really hope you all enjoyed. We got to see some more of Kath for the first time in a little while, were reminded of Kathros's atrocious deeds, and given a peek into Ix's mind and thought-processes. Certainly an eventful chapter, in my opinion. Posted (at about 3:30 a.m.) 10-07-16.**


	28. Taken Over

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 17: She is. :3 Haha, they did! And I don't think either of them won, really. XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 18: IT IIIS! AHHHH!**

 **Your review to Chapter 19: Nah, he's really not. He's basically like Sen, if you ask me. Same sort of behavior and whatnot, honestly. Anyway, I agree that it is sad, but "acts" is definitely the important word in your sentence... ;) That last line is something I agree with so much. Really and truly. :D**

 **Your review to Chapter 20: Hahaha, yes. That was the best way to describe it. Ever. XD Well, you shall see! Very soon! ;D**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Taken"**

 **~台風の目~**

An explosion, a scream, an alarm that began to blare. Shade smirked to herself, moved forward, blood on her hands. Sirens wailed, people fled, and robots dared to attack. All who she saw were soon dead. More explosions, more evil entered the building, more screams of death. The wicked smirk grew, and red splattered the walls. Weapons were stolen, ships were acquired, and not one witness was left behind. A military base had fallen, and it was but the first planned attack for the day. The casualties meant nothing to her. She did not feel their pain. The victory was well worth it. Her only wish was that their had been more lives for her to take.

If only.

 **~台風の目~**

Emerald eyes stared at their owner's communicator screen late that afternoon. Onscreen was a map of the world, and each significant place in the world (be it a civilization or a canyon or a river or a lonely house or whatever) was labeled by name. Some of those areas were now colored red. The Highlands, Ironlock prison, half of West Forest, most of the so-called "Jungle of Doom", Skull Mountain... All were places that had fallen to the Nocturnians already.

New areas on the map lit up, colors shifting to red. Southsend Military Base. Area 52. Aquatic Mine. Scrap Valley. Even Area 99, the military base where Omega worked. There was no word yet on how many casualties these places were looking at... but Sonic feared the very worst. It made sense, however, that their enemies would go after some of these places. The highlands, "Jungle of Doom", and Skull Mountain would provide the Nocturnians with key bases of operation in the north, equator, and south, respectively, and those places were all very difficult to reach and/or treacherous. The three military bases made sense, too, since taking over those would give the Nocturnians access to weapons and vehicles of all kinds, as well as intel on places (which would be helpful to the Clan, given how vastly the world had changed), certain important people, and so on. Even Scrap Valley made sense, what with that being a massive dumping space for metal parts of all kinds. Perfect for salvaging parts to build your own crap. Other places, however, made little sense for the Nocturnians to take over. Why bother with a mostly abandoned prison, a forest with no people, and a mine that hadn't been operational in something like two hundred years? It just made no sense.

One new red light suddenly appeared on the screen. Shadow canyons, a dark and mysterious place outside of Mazuri, just west of the Gigan Temple where Jet had found so many once-lost Babylonian artifacts fairly long before the war with Ivo had ever ended. Why were the Nocturnians there, in that barren place? _Why_? Where they just taking over everything just for the hell of it, just so they could say these places belonged to them? Somehow, Sonic doubted it would ever be that simple. There had to be another reason... didn't there? He was almost afraid to know. _No matter what they're planning, we have to stop them,_ Sonic thought grimly. _They're having way too much success so early on... We're horribly outnumbered... but we have to do something. _

Biting his lower lip, the blue blur began typing on his communicator to send a message. They needed a damn _plan_...

 **~台風の目~**

 **584 words this time. Sorry this is so short, but it's still important and all that. Just a warning now, though, there may not be a chapter up tomorrow. If there is, it will also be short. If I get a chapter up on Monday (which I plan to), it'll likely be up later in the day than normal. The reason for all of this is that I'm helping to take care of my two-year-old cousin until Monday morning and as such have little free time for writing. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 5:30 a.m.) 10-08-16.**


	29. Key to Everything

**Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 21: Yeah... he did. And I agree... ;_;**

 **Your review to Chapter 22: Haha, yes, she did. XD No, it was Jet's scarf. Remember, I said it was blowing around in the wind. Locke can't do that very well. XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 23: Yes, I did! :D Yeah, it was somewhere around there. Anyway, I'm glad you liked it! And I disagree, respectfully, with that last point. :P**

 **Your review to Chapter 24: Yes, he is! D: We likely will later, don't worry! Yes, he will join eventually. :)**

 **Your review to Chapter 25: That's awesome! :D Well, Kath having a Scottish accent would be interesting... but I imagine his and Jet's accents being British when they speak English and just being Babylonian when speaking their native tongue or the Universal Language. :) Dude, that sword would be so awesome to have in a game. XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 26: Yes, he has... ;_; And, coincidentally, that was mentioned in Chapter 26. I hadn't noticed that until just now. XD AUGH, I'M SO TEMPTED! Quite possibly gonna do it, too.**

 **Your review to Chapter 27: Yeah, I get it. :) Welp, I forgot to answer a couple parts of that question when I PM'ed you about that question. Anyway, the names of the past Guardians are no longer known by just about _anyone_ , as they all died just _that_ long ago. It's just important to know that they were the protectors of the universe. Also, those six that were mentioned were not the specific types of Guardians that I mentioned to you who are soldiers who fight the Darkness. Those guys were guardians. The five former protectors of the universe are _the_ Guardians. Hope that makes sense. And none of the Guardians were/will be related to Sonic, sorry. However, a guardian (as in the soldier kind) _will_ be related to him. :)**

 ** **Your review to Chapter 28: ...I get the feeling I need to listen to this song now. I can't remember it at all. XD Yep, they certainly are... I will do my very best, Pyro-kun! Thanks!****

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Key to Everything"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _"Daddy, Daddy, you have to catch me!"_

 _Piercing blue eyes followed little six-year-old Hannah as she ran around one of the grassy courtyards in the palace. Nine-year-old Lucas was with her. Jet smiled at the pair of them. "I don't know," he responded, pretending to be uncertain of the idea, "you might be a little too fast for me."_

 _"Come on, Dad!" Lucas pleaded, running up to him. He tugged on Jet's arm. "Please come play with us? Please?"_

 _Hannah ran over, too, and tugged on Jet's hand (the one on the same arm Lucas was holding). "_ _Please_ _, Daddy?" ]_

 _That alone very nearly made Jet cave in. The final nail in the coffin, however, was when Ten (who was eleven) suddenly poked Jet's left shoulder and audibly grinned as he said, "Tag! Now you have to chase us! You're it!" __Huffing out of amusement, Jet finally got up. Just like that, his kids all scattered._

 _In that moment, the peaceful dream (which was really a memory that had worked its way into his mind in his sleep) suddenly turned dark. The once bluer than blue sky turned dark, dark purple and black clouds swirled in it. His kids vanished as though they had never existed, as did everyone else who had been anywhere on the palace grounds. Then the palace itself faded away, leaving nothing but a vast, desolate, and profoundly evil landscape in its place. He felt every muscle in his body tense, and his smile had vanished the instant the dream had changed. His calm mask was firmly and immovably in place, and his aura revealed absolutely nothing that the enemies would want to pick up on. Still tense but appearing to be perfectly relaxed as though none of this bothered him at all, he silently looked around without moving more than his head and eyes._

 _Then, suddenly, the voices that had whispered so incessantly at him, Sonic, and the others from the rock the day before began speaking again. The language the voices were speaking in were certainly Nocturnian... but they were so similar to the Syxan language that he was able to understand it. The whispers filled his head and seemingly every spare inch of available space around him in this dark landscape. "Future is now..."_

 _"Future is now..."_

 _"Future is now..."_

 _There was no real telling at this point what the voices meant by what they were saying, and he could barely focus on trying to figure it out, anyway. The voices continued to fill his head, and it was giving him one of the worst splitting headaches he had ever experienced. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself a frown and nothing more. He hid his pain from his expression, from his aura, from his posture... but he still felt it. It was nearly excruciating. Then the words began to change. New sentences were said to him without warning, and he remained hard-pressed to make sense of their deeper meanings at the moment. "Our future is now..."_

 _"The vessel will secure our future..."_

 _"The pure aura will be the key..."_

 _"Night will consume day... the Light will fall..."_

 _"The Light will fall...!"_

A rustle of leaves in the trees from a late-night breeze prompted Jet to open his eyes. He wasn't sure at first what had roused him from his sleep, but then he realized what it was. Sitting up, he took a brief moment to habitually fix his scarf, then jumped out of the tree he had unintentionally fallen asleep in. No one else was awake right now, as Analia had created a barrier around the camp that would keep them all safe for the night. She couldn't do this often due to how difficult it was to maintain a barrier while asleep, but it worked well for tonight. But that wasn't what Jet was concerned with at the moment. Moving silently across the grass of the small wooded area they were camped in, he approached Hannah and Lucas, who had fallen asleep next to each other. Hannah was whimpering in her sleep, and her aura was giving away her distress. He wasn't the only one having bad dreams tonight.

Sitting down beside her, he gently pulled her blanket back over her, then occupied himself with gently combing his fingers through her hair. This was always something that relaxed her, and it did the trick this time as well. Still, he continued doing it for a while even after she had calmed. His eyes remained on the sky for a time, then they drifted toward his only biological son. Lucas was sleeping peacefully for the most part, though he was frowning in his sleep for some reason. Getting back up, Jet walked around Hannah, knelt down briefly, and covered the boy up as he had done with Hannah earlier. This seemed to be enough to get Lucas to begin sleeping more peacefully. With him and his sister taken care of, Jet stood again and turned to Suri, who was very close by in a makeshift crib Jet and Tammy had together fashioned out of aura energy. It would disappear when they allowed it to, and not before. As such, it provided a perfect bed for the sweet baby. Checking the time on his communicator, he found that it was nearing two in the morning, which was one of the times when she tended wake up for a feeding. After gently brushing his fingertips over Suri's soft little cheek, he went to go prepare a bottle for her before she woke up. As he set about this task, his youngest daughter's aura remained easily within his range of senses. Some of the words he had heard in his dream haunted his thoughts.

 _"The pure aura will be the key..."_

 **~台風の目~**

 **985 words this time. I considered making this longer, but... meh. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, and I promise to be back on my usual posting schedule now. Posted (at about 2:00 a.m.) 10-11-16.**


	30. Blossom

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yes, very bad scary dream. And rather prophetic, don't you think? XD Oh, no, not that bad at all. Those are worse, but those are the only headaches he's ever had that have been worse than the one in the dream.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Blossom"**

 **~台風の目~**

Lia watched with a distinct pout as she watched Hannah and Lucas used their wind powers to constantly float a leaf around in the air. "Why can't I have powers?" she complained as she sat in the grass by the campfire. It was barely six or so in the morning, and she had only just gotten up. She held her precious stuffed unicorn tightly in a hug against her chest.

"You do have a power," Shadow reminded her calmly as he knelt in front of the fire, working on making her some breakfast.

"Nuh-uh!" Lia argued plaintively, ruby eyes focusing on her father as her pout grew.

"Yes you do," Shadow replied, still calm and remaining mostly focused on the food. "How do you think you can run so fast?" That gave Lia some pause, giving her tired father a couple minutes to cook in peace. But, as he'd anticipated, it simply wasn't destined to last.

"That doesn't count," Lia finally decided aloud. "You can't beat the bad guys just by being fast."

While this was true in part, there was something she was missing, something she needed to learn. So he corrected her. "No, but speed coupled with intelligence can be more than enough. If you use your head, Lia, you can do far more than you think. This would be true even if you didn't have powers." When she started to argue, he cut her off. "How do you think your uncle and I won so many fights when we were younger?" he asked her turning briefly to look at the child. "We were limited to speed years ago as far as powers went, but we also had our heads. We won many fights with just those things, those very same things you have."

Looking down, Lia appeared to give that some thought (if her frown was any indication), then she said, "But now you guys have fire and can teleport and do lots of other stuff and stuff. I can't."

Choosing not to argue with her (this time) about how poorly that first sentence had been worded at the end, Shadow instead opted to say, "You're young yet," as he turned back to the food. "You have plenty of time to discover other powers as you continue to live. But, even pretending you never find any others, it isn't something to be upset over. Your speed alone is far more of a gift than you realize, Lia."

There was some silence, then Lia asked quite suddenly, "Was my mommy fast, too?"

Shadow sort of tensed up at the mention of literally the only woman he had ever dared to try to love, but then he forced himself to relax. Mari was in the past now, and there was no reason to get worked up about what was now nothing but a collection of memories. Besides, it wasn't as though Lia was trying to upset him by bringing her up. The child had every right to be curious, and he didn't fault her for it, nor was he upset at her about it. So, pushing away the memories, he focused on providing an answer to her honest question. "Yes, she was. Not as fast as you, but she could run faster than most average people can."

This seemed to finally appease Lia, and the formerly somewhat grumpy girl finally began to smile again as she typically did. "Okay, Daddy."

Pleased that she had gotten over her random mood, Shadow handed her the freshly finished food. As Lia began to eat, Shadow turned his head to see young Kimmy trotting over to sit beside her cousin while they ate. It was normal for the two of them to spend practically every waking moment together (he swore that they were nearly as close as Sonic and Jet had once been), so he really thought nothing of it. As the kitten ate her poptart and Lia ate her bacon and eggs, Shadow focused on getting some things done. He hadn't eaten yet, but he figure that there were other things that were more important for him to be doing for the moment. On that thought, he stood up and walked over to the twins, neither of whom had been fed yet because Analia was helping Blaze with something and Kaden had only just woken up. "Go eat," he told his younger half-siblings. "There are bacon and eggs leftover."

Sen, being as Analia-like as he was, was quick to smile and voice his thanks while he got up to get the promised food. Sarai, meanwhile, was much more like Kaden and therefore seldom felt the need to be polite. As such, she simply nodded, got up, and followed her twin sibling over to the campfire. With that matter taken care of, Shadow turned to check on what everyone else was doing. Analia and Blaze had finished up whatever they had been doing and were both now working on beginning to pack up things (such as blankets) that people no longer needed this morning. Silver and Amy were quick to begin helping them while Sonic and Tails (who were both by the Tornado) talked quietly about something they were looking at on Tails's communicator. Kaden, who was rather near Shadow himself, stood up and began to start packing up his and Analia's items. Meanwhile, Wave was packing up her own things not too far away from Hannah and Lucas, and Rouge walked past her toward the campfire to start working on breakfast for her small family. As they did this, Locke and Knuckles worked together to keep young Jason entertained near Shadow's ship. Charmy, Cream, Cheese, and Bokkun was playing a small game of tag (their favorite game) not too far from the three echidnas, and Vector and Espio were standing close by to keep an eye on the four of them. Farthest away from everyone was Jet, who was leaning against a tree and feeding baby Suri a bottle. Everyone seemed to be making themselves useful in some way, which was good as far Shadow was concerned. He made no attempt to interfere with any of it, and instead turned his attention to his communicator.

Upon opening the map, he took note of all the new places the Nocturnians had taken over since the last time he'd checked. _East Forest, Turtle Bay, Skoal Island, Demon Isle, Mandrake Swamp, Dark Swamp, Drood Henge... Tch. They even tried attacking my Sky Rail... fools._ His crimson eyes trailed over the map, taking note of the very few other places that the Clan had tried to take but failed. Pyramid Cave was the first one he saw. As was the case with Sky Rail, he didn't doubt that it was all the hidden traps and secret weapons and whatnot that had kept the Clan away. Other places, however, had no clear reason that he could think of to indicate why the Clan had been unsuccessful in taking them. He supposed that maybe other Mobians were putting up a fight, but that was likely not the only reason, if it was even a contributing factor at all. _Gigan Temple, Wood Village, Shrine Isle, and Moon Cave..._ Unsure what to make of this, Shadow opted instead to search the map one more time to ensure that there was nothing he had missed. Not for the first time, his eyes fell upon Area 99, the military base that the Nocturne Clan had taken so recently, and the place where Omega worked. There was still no word on whether or not the robot had survived the assault, and Shadow secretly worried... if only somewhat.

"Hey, um, should we be worried?" Silver suddenly asked from somewhere behind him. Turning, Shadow saw his half-nephew (whom Jet was now also looking at) also looking down at his communicator. The aptly-named silver hedgehog didn't seem to have been talking to anyone in particular, just asking his question out loud in general. Noticing that at least two people had heard him, he looked up and, glancing between the pair, said, "Look, the Nocturne Clan is trying to attack Kingdom Valley." As he said this, both Shadow and Jet walked over to him. "Isn't that that ancient burial ground from South Island?" Jet inclined his head just enough for it to be visible. "So, should we be worried that they're messing with it?"

"It's a graveyard," Shadow dismissed. "They cannot do much with dust and bones."

"You underestimate our enemies," Jet murmured, voice and expression as unreadable as ever. When Silver gave him a confused look, Jet seemed to resign himself to talking more than he usually seemed to want to and explained, "A large number of the Clan is capable of wielding Dark Magic. In even its most basic form, Dark Magic can be used for the purpose of necromancy."

Given his very, very limited knowledge on the subject of magic, Shadow hadn't been aware of this at all. Provided that Jet was right about this (and Shadow supposed that there was little reason to believe that the young king was, in fact, wrong), then it seemed that the answer to Silver's concerned question was a sort of overwhelming yes. Picking up on this fact rather quickly, Silver turned around nearly full one hundred and eighty degrees, then called out, "Hey, Gramps! We need you over here!"

Now wearing one of his fairly usual small frowns, Kaden walked over. "Nani?" he asked. Though he'd unintentionally slipped into Japanese for the small second to ask that question, the word was such a basic one that they all understood what he'd said. ...Except Suri, of course, but it wasn't like she would have cared, anyway, at her age. So Shadow brushed that off. ("What?")

As Silver quickly filled Kaden in on what the map was showing and what Jet had said, Shadow occupied himself by looking at the map once again. They had fled far too the south when The Highlands had been attacked as were now camped out about two miles from the shore of Great Lake, a large body of water approximately a two day's journey from the Sapphire Sea. The forest they were in was almost too small to be considered such and had no particular name and, as such, wasn't on the map. Still, he knew where they were. Once he'd settled on approximately where they were in relation to the lake's western border, his gaze traveled to the high northeastern portion of the map. The _massive_ , treacherous, and steep mountainrange where Chun-nan's ruins lay covered all of the northeastern corner of the land portion of the map, and directly to the south of it was Kingdom Valley. In order to get there from where they were, they would need to travel in a straight line over Scrap Valley, over Great Canyon, over the flat grassy lands between Great Forest and Leaf Forest, over the thick woods surrounding the city of Marasia, over the city itself, then over a vast frosty grassland before finally reaching their destination. It was the quickest route, but it would still take at least a week or better to get there at their usual rate of speed. That was simply too long.

Apparently Kaden and Silver had been thinking along the same lines, for they were discussing possible ways to get the group there quicker. Silver started to suggest teleporting everyone there, but then cut himself off. "No," he sighed, "that can't work. Anyone who tried that was exhaust themselves pretty badly, which wouldn't be good, especially if we end up getting into a fight once we get to the valley."

"I'll do it," Jet told him, as calm as ever.

"We can't afford to get you exhausted either, though," Silver replied with another sigh.

"Dad teleports through space all the time," Lucas (who had apparently been eavesdropping) called over to them suddenly. "How else do you think we get from Babylon to here and back? Taking us and all the ships up north from here is easy compared to that."

Silver seemed to mull this over, but ultimately decided not to argue about it further. "Alright," he said instead. "So let's get packed up, then." Without another word, he and Kaden walked off to resume their word, and Jet headed back toward his kids. With nothing left to do, Shadow returned his own child. He refused to leave her alone for any longer than was necessary, even in camp. Life was far too dangerous for that.

 **~台風の目~**

Less than ten minutes before the group was due to leave, there was a yellow flash, then a fairly loud thud as Jet was flattened to the forested floor by his oldest (and adopted) child. Huffing under his breath, he lightly shoved the fourteen-year-old off of his back, then stood up. Turning, he knelt down briefly and pulled Ten to his feet as well, only to scold him immediately afterward. "What were you thinking?" he asked (or, rather, demanded) as he lightly whacked the boy on the head.

Undoubtedly knowing he was in trouble, Ten rubbed the back of his head with a sort of sheepish expression. His chocolate brown feathers and naturally a tad windswept hair were both a bit ruffled from his fall, and the look in his amber eyes appeared to be something between apologetic and not apologetic at all. "Well, I was done visiting grandfather, so I figured I'd go to where you were."

"I told you to _call_ me," Jet responded pointedly, though his overall tone was as calm as it usually was. That did nothing to change the fact that he felt annoyed now, though, and he also felt a small sense of fear knowing that Ten had so recklessly teleported her from Babylon by himself.

"I was careful," Ten mumbled. "And it's not like I was going somewhere I wasn't familiar with. We've been to this world lots of times, and we've been to this forest, too."

That last part was true, but Jet rather strongly disagreed with Ten's first statement. _If he had been careful he would have stayed put like I told him to._ Sighing internally, he silently reflected on the fact he should just start to expect situations like these. Ten was, after all, being raised by _him_ , for better or for worse. Not that that meant Ten wasn't at fault here for disobeying, but the younger hawk was saved from further lecturing by his baby sister, who began to cry when she decided that she no longer wanted to be held by Tammy. Giving Ten that "don't-think-you're-off-the-hook" look for just a second and earning another sheepish smile, Jet turned away to retrieve Suri.

At about the same time, Sonic called out to him from next to the X-Tornado, "Hey, we're ready to go!" Emerald eyes briefly looked to Ten in surprise, but Sonic said nothing about it for now. Jet hoped that Sonic had managed to figure on his own that Ten was, in fact, Ten. That would be nice, if only because it would prevent the hedgehog from asking later.

Choosing to not focus on that any longer lest the idea of being questioned yet again begin to annoy him, Jet instead focused on the task ahead. Shouldering his old grey backpack from the Ruined Future, he gathered his energy and released it, all in the span of about four seconds. The instant he released that energy, the four ships and everything in them, along with every single person here, vanished with him with a brilliant flash of his heavenly blue aura. Not even a quarter of a second later, they all reappeared with all of their belongings in Kingdom Valley. As everyone prepared to really get moving and search for wherever in this truly massive area the Nocturne Clan currently was, Jet glanced around. Something didn't feel right to him, though he wasn't sure straight away what it was. The feeling he had wasn't one of dread, though it could perhaps be labeled as unease. There was just something off, something that seemed wrong to him but that he couldn't consciously pinpoint. He'd been in similar situations before, which had prompted Kath to point out to him that he clearly picked up on things subconsciously all the time, things that most others simply never sensed. The problem lay in figuring out how to train himself to _consciously_ pick up on those things. It was really an annoyance that he hadn't yet been able to do that.

While some of the others, mainly the Mobian kids, started to climb into the ships, Jet scanned the area one last time, forcing himself to pay as close attention as possible to every tiny detail of what he was seeing, hearing, feeling, or otherwise sensing in any way. He took great pains to not miss a single thing, lest he end up missing something _important_ rather than something irrelevant. That was when his eyes finally saw what one of his other more mysterious senses had been picking up on: a ripple through the air that very much seemed to be some sort of borderline-invisible barrier of some sort. Turning slowly in a circle, he realized that this barrier had them utterly surrounded. It was then that he understood what was really going on here. This barrier was almost certainly covering all of the valley, and it was designed to collapse wherever their group happened to appear in the area. The Nocturnians had been expecting them to arrive, and _specifically_ by teleportation. They were hiding behind those barriers _at this very moment_ , undoubtedly preparing to attack.

Every muscle in his body tensed and his right hand (the one not holding Suri) swung down toward his left hip to grab his sword. However, he never had a chance to actually even touch the handle of Alkarus, for the Clan struck in the very same instant that he had begun to move. An explosion of pain blossomed in the back of his skull, robbing him of nearly all of his senses. He felt himself crumple to the ground, somehow managing to land on his knees and right hand in such a way that it prevented Suri from hitting the ground. It took him a long moment to pull out of his daze and realize that he could hear Suri crying and Ten shaking him while saying, "Dad!"

Somehow, Jet managed to bite out, "I'm fine," in a tense voice as he forced himself to stand. He could feel warm liquid running down the back of his neck. The wound felt, for the most part, deeply numb. Still, he was coherent again, and that in and of itself was a miracle of some kind, he was sure.

Not that he had ever really believed in miracles.

Passing Suri off to Ten, Jet quickly sent the two of them off to the nearest ship to take shelter. Then, turning back to the enemies silently, he finally drew his sword like he'd been trying to do minutes before. Everyone else was already fighting. A good portion of the others had formed a defensive position around the kids and, thus, the ships, and he noticed that some of them had also formed a defensive position around _him_. When he realized that, he was struck by random memories. Memories involving a deep trust in these people that he struggled to feel nowadays. When had that trust fallen away? He wasn't exactly sure, nor was he sure why in the world those memories had hit him so suddenly. He blamed it on his fresh wound. Now, however, was not the time or place to waste energy contemplating it. Instead, he fixed his grip on the handle of his sword and joined the fight. They would not fall here.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,563 words this time. Edited and reposted (at about 8:04 p.m.) 04-20-17.**


	31. The Lost Prince

**Hello, StarryMoon33! Yeah! I'm super happy you're liking it! :D**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Your first review to Chapter 30: Ruined what? I'd very much like to say what you were going to say. XD**

 **Your second review to Chapter 30: No worries, I understand. :)**

 **Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Chapter 29: No, not Hannah. Remember, one of the last lines said his _youngest_ daughter's aura was the one he was focused on. That's not Hannah. ;) Anyway, yes, that target is a key. As for what will happen to her... you'll find out! XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 30: Yes, it was a glimpse into the future. However, Jet wasn't the one who was caught. Remember, he's not the one with heavenly blue eyes. It was another adult hawk we know... ;) I'm sorry the scene confused you and all that, but I'm nonetheless pleased that you liked it overall, along with the rest of the chapter! :D ... _Maaaybe_ it is! XD I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Lost Prince"**

 **~台風の目~**

There was always something horribly thrilling about a good fight. There was almost nothing else that could create adrenaline rush as powerful as the kinds created by a good ol' fight. Still... in every fight, there was a strong element of fear. Fear that the battle would be lost. Fear that you would die. Fear that loved ones would die with or instead of you. Fear the innocents would be targeted, fear that they too would meet their ends before the conflict could be resolved. But there were also other fears that some had, fears of weapons, of certain enemies, of certain elements...

It was that last fear that drove Tammy's eyes to swing to her right to look Jet's way. As always with war-like battles, everything seemed to go in slow motion to her senses, allowing her ample time to react to the things she saw. Her gaze swung back to her opponent briefly and parried the male-like being's sword with her own. She threw the attacker back, then spun her head around again to look at her friend. She watched as he, still as though in slow motion according to her senses, moved back with Alkarus in hand as a wave of bright orange fire tore through the battlefield barely a foot in front of him. The rush of air blew his hair and scarf around. She could see the fire reflected in his perfect blue eyes, could see the way his grip tightened on his sword, could see the subtle traces of something bordering on terror that had entered his eyes. But then he blinked, and it was all gone. His mask returned, and he ceased to look at the fire. He turned his back on it, on his fear, and resumed fighting along with all the others.

With nothing left for her to do, Tammy returned her focus to her own portion of the battle. Her grey aura ripped through the hordes of Nocturnians, but she could never bring herself to kill. Those whom she's injured either fled or continued fighting, preferably to be killed by someone else. She was an inventor, not a soldier. She could never take a life... but she knew that someday this would likely have to change. So long as that day was not today, she hoped she could come to terms with the idea. Just not right now, and probably not soon. That did not, however, mean that she was willing to let any of these enemies take _her_ life away. She dodged their attacks, parried their swords, returned their gunfire, and did whatever she could to prevent them from coming anywhere near a victory on this day.

All around her, the Mobians also fought, as did the one Mobian-born Babylonian of the group. She hadn't learned all of their names yet, but she did know their faces, and she picked out all of those faces in the crowd, if only to make sure that they were all still alive and well. As she watched, Sonic, Tails, and Amy unleashed a devastating attack together, one that was a combination of fire, electricity, and psychic energy. Silver and Blaze together kicked down a huge Nocturnian creature that fell with a horrible roar. Locke and his son punched their way through the enemies while the bat alternated between throwing knives and kicking. The orange and white cats used beautifully executed martial arts moves to fell their foes while Espio used a combination of his stealth, speed, and ninja training to get in close and take his opponents down. Vector punched an enemy straight in the face while the black and red hedgehog let loose the full fury of his machine gun on various other enemies in the group. Wave, like Amy, used her psychic powers to blast the enemies and take them down. Kaden and Analia fought side by side as always, perfectly combining their opposite powers in a display of deadly beauty that wiped out countless foes. And yet, still more came. She didn't understand how the Clan could possibly have this many members... but now wasn't the time to contemplate it. The fact remained that they _did_ have this many members, clearly, and it needed to be dealt with. Right now, there was nothing more to it than that.

But, as it tended to, their luck chose the worst possible time to change. A gruesome looking creature entered the fray. The orange cat made to stop it, but was swiped away as though he was little more than a bothersome fly. Vector was stomped into the ground, and Tammy swore she heard at least a few bones crack. The black and red hedgehog's ship was grabbed by the wing in between the beast's teeth, then flung powerfully across the frosty grassland, children and all. The only thing that saved them was someone reacting fact enough to teleport the kids out of that ship and into Kaden's. The beast then whirled around suddenly and slashed at the black and red hedgehog himself, tearing him open and sending him flying back. It's tail lashed out at the group, smacking Silver and stabbing his leg with one of its spikes. He managed to pull free just as the beast lashed its mighty tail a second time. This time, it was Locke who was hit. He was stabbed in the side, but that only seemed to incite his anger. It was he who finally put a stop to the rampage by grabbing the creature by the tail, spinning it around, and slamming it into the ground with enough force that it created a wind that blew his hat off of his head and Tammy _felt_ the impact. The creature simply never got back up, but there was still more danger yet to be dealt with here.

The Nocturnians clearly had no intentions of giving up. Having seemingly sized up their opponents by now, they began to fight even harder, ferociously punishing the heroes for daring to fight back. The cut, slice, hacked, shot, burned, and simply did whatever else they could to try to kill their enemies and win the fight. Nearly everyone was in some way injured by this point, including Tammy, but they all continued to fight. Truly, none of them felt like they had any other choice. However, things were only getting worse for them by the moment. Their only saving grace at this point was that none of them were in any way weak enough for the Clan to kill quickly... but the same could be said for the Clan members themselves. In that sense, they were all evenly matched. Not that that helped anything, she reflected as she swung her sword again and knocked her opponent's gun away. The black and red hedgehog was quick to snatch it up and begin firing. She winced as her opponent, along with multiple others, fell to the ground lifelessly. Then the hedgehog ran out of ammo and he was knocked back along with Sonic and Tails by an explosion. Though she had lost track of most of the others by this point, she could sense most of them. They were all still fighting, all still struggling against the seemingly endless tide of enemies.

A wicked laugh drew her attention to the far right, and she looked over just in time to see a Nocturnian raise a dark and mighty axe, prepared to swing it down and shatter the gravestone below it. The reasoning for this was unclear to her, but as the axe began its descent, she saw the name on the gravestone. It read, "Satsuno". Almost at the same instant she read this, there was a powerful wave of energy that exploded of energy that exploded outward from somewhere in the crowd near where the axe-wielder was. The energy recoiled briefly as though whoever had unleashed it was trying to call it back, but then it exploded outward again, this time wiping out every single Nocturne enemy in the area. All... except for one.

The axe-wielder had been knocked back onto the ground, and his weapon lay broken some feet away from them. As Tammy watched, Kaden marched over to the man, hands balled into tight fists. He grabbed the enemy by the front collar of whatever shirt-like article of clothing the man was wearing and hauled him to his feet. His words were lost to Tammy due to the distance separating them, but the man couldn't _not_ have hear them. "Do _not_ touch my father's grave." He roughly threw the man down then and walked away, allowing the man's wounds to slowly end his life. Without a word, he returned to the group, only to pause midstep when he and everyone else sensed a dark portal beginning to open up behind him. Still full of cold anger and more than ready to fight again if need be, Kaden turned toward the portal just as it became visible. Out of it hovered two Nocturnians whom he knew by face from legends. Imperator Ix and Shade the Dark. Scowling, Kaden demanded of them immediately, "The hell do you want?" Analia hurried over to him, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him back from the enemies a few feet. She had done this at times with other enemies in the past as, while he had a very strong sense of self-preservation and all that, he also had rather problematic tendency to not feel endangered or worried for his own safety even when he needed to. As such, she kept a firm hold on his arm to prevent him from simply pulling away from her and going back to where he had been.

As she frowned at the newly arrived enemies, Ix slowly grinned at the pair. "Hello... 'heroes' of Mobius."

Kaden unexpectedly snarled, but Analia shushed him. "Hush," she whispered gently, and he irritably silenced himself.

Sonic stepped forward, sword still in hand. However, before he could speak, Ix did. "We have waited far too long for this meeting." His grin slowly died down until it was more of a dark smirk as his eyes scanned the group. "It would seem that nearly everyone of importance is present. The Child of Night," Kaden's scowl deepened, "the Will of Light," Analia gained a small frown, "the Disciple of Night, the Disciple of Light," Ix looked over at the Tornado where some of the kids were, "the future sixth Guardian," dark eyes locked briefly with Jet's, "and, of course, the Child of Light." This time, Ix looked at Sonic. "The only person missing is the Soldier of Light, but that matters not now."

"What do you _want_?" Sonic asked harshly, repeating his father's question.

"That should be rather obvious by now," Shade responded, speaking up for the first time. She, like Ix, was smirking quite wickedly. "We want this world, as well as this universe. And what we want, we shall obtain."

"We won't let you," Tammy muttered. "Not one of us here is going to just sit back and _let_ you do this."

"And where would the fun be in that, anyway?" Shade questioned lightly. "I much prefer it if you fight back. It makes killing you so much more satisfying." Her eyes swept over the group. "All of you _will_ die. Even the Immortal king. Every single one of you will fall, and then this pathetic world will be ours. From there, the rest of the universe awaits."

"You won't take a single damn planet," Knuckles growled at the evil woman.

"Just watch us," Shade responded with a grin.

"Not one planet will fall to you," Kaden murmured darkly, "least of all _this_ one."

"And who pray tell, is going to succeed in stopping us?" Ix questioned him. "You? That concept is rather laughable."

"There is nothing _funny_ about this," Kaden shot back. Analia had to tighten her grip on his arm to prevent him from moving forward.

"Oh, but there is," Shade cut in, smiling. "The idea that you think you can succeed where your forefathers so utterly failed... I seem to remember slaughtering a number of your ancestors myself, actually, and I rather doubt that you are as powerful as they thought themselves to be."

"Bastard," Wave muttered under her breath. Jet glanced at her, but said nothing, as Kaden snarled again.

Ix suddenly swung his bright yellow staff around so that it was pointed directly at Kaden's face. "Heed my words, Prince of Mobius." Sonic, Amy, and nearly everyone else besides, Analia, Locke, Marthal, Jet, and Kaden himself seemed to freeze with shock. "If you truly care for your people and do not wish for them to suffer, surrender and we will ensure that their inevitable deaths will be much less painful than yours will be. Otherwise... Let us just say that the sun will be the _only_ light left to be found on this world."

The snarl that had been continuously escaping Kaden began to build, growing louder all the while Ix spoke. When Ix finished, Kaden was barely able to speak around the rumbling in his chest and throat. His teeth were bared, revealing perfect white fangs in an instinctive display of aggression and hostility. "I will never take orders from the likes of you."

"So be it, then." The staff swung again, this time visibly charging with energy that was due to unleash upon the whole group. In that moment, Analia acted. Light blasted forth from her palm, and the illusion vanished. Ix and Shade were gone.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,293 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this _huge_ reveal! :D Posted (at about 4:30 a.m.) 10-13-16.**


	32. Truths Uncovered

**Hello, StarryMoon33! YEEESSSS! IT WAAAS! I'm super happy you think so! :D Also, remember that revival thing we were discussing? ...I'm probably gonna do it. ^-^"**

 **Hello, PyroShockZ! Yeah! The big reveal has finally happened! :D Well, Jet didn't actually know. He just wasn't showing a reaction. XD Well, we'll see some reactions here in this installment. Hope it's satisfactory for you. :) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Truths Uncovered"**

 ** **~台風の目~****

"' _Prince_ '?" Silver asked in shock a full minute or so after Ix and Shade vanished. Kaden said nothing, merely growled, as he spun around on his heel and stalked off. Analia, of course, hurried after him, and Marthal wasn't far behind.

"...King, technically," Locke said after a long moment of no one really responding to Silver's question. The young hedgehog's shock remained, as did the confusion just about everyone here was feeling. Even Jet was feeling those things... though he was making no attempt to show it.

"Okay, okay," Sonic cut in suddenly, eyes closed and fingers pinching the bride of his nose, "let me get this straight... Dad's _royalty_?"

Red arms crossed lightly. "Yes," Locke sighed.

"Explain this," Shadow muttered, voice tight with pain. Espio was helping him remain standing, and Shadow was clutching at his wounds. He, more than a good portion of the others, really needed medical attention. As such, Locke resolved to make this explanation as quick as possible.

"He, like you, Jet," Locke began slowly with a glance at the young hawk, "was born into an unbroken line of royalty. His family has never _not_ been in power. However, he never _wanted_ be the ruler of anything, which is why he doesn't ever mention it to anyone. Analia and I didn't even know for a long, long time."

"Wait, I thought Gramps never knew who his parents were," Silver interrupted. "If that's true, then how could he ever know that they were royalty?"

"He didn't know who they were for a very long time, no," Locke admitted, "but he did learn at some point or another."

"How did he not know who they were, though?" Wave inquired with a small frown.

This time, when Locke sighed, he did so much more heavily. "He was kidnapped the day he was born, from what I understand. Specifically, the elders of Chun-nan took him and kept him hidden away from his parents and everyone else who was ever looking for him. They also kept his lineage hidden from him. They spent _years_ raising him to believe that his parents had been nobodies and nothings who had abandoned him because of how 'evil' his power is. I don't know how much of that he ever believed, but the fact remains that he didn't learn the truth for a long time."

"If he is the king..." Blaze started slowly, "then why did Ix call him a prince?"

"Because he never officially claimed the throne," Locke responded. "He technically became king when his parents died, but it will never really be _official_ unless he actually properly claims the throne. ...Which he probably won't do."

"Locke, please," Sonic muttered. "The whole story, start to finish." He wanted to clearly understand this, and Locke seemed to understand that. And, thankfully, the echidna obliged.

"The day Kaden was born, his mother was weak and exhausted from her labor and needed rest. His father needed to stay with her to make sure her health didn't decline during the night, so baby Kaden was put into his room with a midwife. The room was guarded, but this didn't prevent at least two if not all six of the Chun-nan elders from breaking in and stealing him away. No one knows for sure, but people highly suspected that the guards were paid off, which would explain why they never raised the alarm or tried to save Kaden or the midwife. The midwife was murdered, and the elders took Kaden to Chun-nan. They had planned from the very beginning to raise him as an emotionless killing machine, a weapon they could use to gain control of the hedgehog kingdom and all the other kingdoms. They told him whatever they could to try to dissuade him from ever being interested in knowing the truth about who he was and who his parents were. However, their attempts to wrest control of him and his abilities only caused him to grow more and more rebellious. He deliberately did just about everything they tried to command him _not_ to do, including, at some point, researching his heritage. Even once he discovered that he was the long-lost son of the king and queen Satsuno and Seiko, he refused to accept it. Having seen so many examples of authority figures, such as the elders, abuse their power, he very firmly resolved to never be a part of that if he could avoid it. And, as you could probably have guessed, that resolve remains with him to this day."

There was a very long moment of no one speaking. The silence within the group was absolute. However, it wasn't truly meant to last. "So that's the reason why they're going after Kaden?" Tails asked quietly.

"A large part of it, yes," Locke nodded. "However," his eyes swept over the group, "he's not the only one they're after."

Sonic frowned slowly in thought. _The Child of Light, the Will of Light, the Disciple of Light, the Soldier of Light the future Sixth Guardian, the Child of Night, the Disciple of Night... What the hell do all of those titles mean?_

Having apparently followed the same train of thought, Tammy asked Locke that very question. Locke seemed to give that some thought before replying. "Analia is the Will of Light," he finally said. "She understands what it is that the Light seeks to do in our realm of existence, and she helps communicate that will to others and carry out said will. The Child of Light is you, Sonic. Or, at least, you're the most recent one. You were born of light, as was your mother, her father, his father, and so on and so forth. The Disciple and Soldier were as well. Because you can access the Light you were born of and wield it in battle, you are considered a Child of the Light. The Disciple of Light is a person who seeks to understand and obey the Light. They are, in a sense, the Light's student. The Soldier of the Light is the person who uses the Light in their mind and heart to aid them in their battle against the evil side of the Darkness in the universe. The Child of Night is the very same as the Child of Light, just with Darkness instead of Light. That Child is Kaden. The Disciple of Night is the same as the Disciple of Light, just its opposite. The Child of Night and the Disciple of Night are never in anyway associated with the evil side of Darkness, by the way."

"And what about that 'sixth Guardian' Ix mentioned?" Sonic questioned with a glance at Jet. Jet responded with a one-shouldered shrug.

"That, I don't really know much about," Locke admitted. "Your parents might, but I don't. I never learned very much about that bit of history."

Slowly, Sonic nodded. Then he glanced at his parents. His father, thankfully, seemed to have calmed down for the most part by now, but not fully. Sonic thought it best not to bother him right now. So, with a sigh, he said to the others, "We should get moving... it's clearly not safe here."

"Where do we go?" Amy asked him quietly. "Nowhere is safe."

"I don't know," Sonic muttered, looking down. He thought hard for a long moment, then said, "Well, we're near the mountains where Chun-nan is. Even the Nocturne Clan can't traverse that mountain range easily."

"No one can easily get through a mountain range with something like two thousand peaks," Silver agreed with a small smile.

"Give or take," Sonic agreed. "Anyway, if we go there, theoretically we should have at _least_ a few days of peace."

"Works for me," Rouge said. "Even just _one_ full day of respite would be nice."

Nodding, Sonic turned to Jet. "Can you get us there? Not all the way to Chun-nan, since I don't want anything happening to the ruins, but somewhere in the middle of the mountains." Jet nodded once, so Sonic quickly said, "Okay, great. Everyone, get back to the ships. Shadow, I'll get yours."

"Whatever," Shadow muttered, irritable from his pain, as everyone began to move.

Not wasting any time, Sonic jogged over to Shadow's wrecked ship and teleported with it back to the other three ships. Once everyone and everything was gathered together again, Jet teleported the group for the second time that day.

 **~台風の目~**

Late that morning saw everyone in a makeshift camp deep within the dense forested wilderness of the unnamed high northeastern mountains that had hid Chun-nan from the world for so many years. There, Analia and Amy were busy tending to everyone's wounds, starting with the worst injuries before all the others. Of course, one of the worst injuries anyone had sustained today was Jet's head injury. He still seemed a touch out of it, even now that Analia had his wound more than half healed. Sonic knew that would go away, though, so he didn't worry about it. He did, however, worry about the brutal nature of the attack, as well as all the attacks against Shadow, Vector, and even the kids in Shadow's ship, not to mention everyone else. _That attack was a lot more violent than I expected it to be..._ It seemed that a hundred years of life without conflict had softened him up too much. That was further proved by the fact that really on Jet had detected the incoming threat. Not even Kaden had. That century of war had, in that sense, done the hawk some good. But as for everyone else...

He was beginning to fear that it may have been asking for too much to hope that they would all make it out alive.

Closing his eyes, Sonic did something he hadn't done since sometime long before even the fall of Dark Oak and the Metarex. _Hey, Voice... you still there?_

Unexpectedly, he was actually given an immediate reply. _"I have not yet left you, child."_

Secretly relieved in some way, Sonic allowed himself to relax a bit. _That's good..._ he murmured in his mind. Some silence passed between them before Sonic spoke again. _Listen... I have a really important question to ask you, and I actually want a straight answer this time, not some damn riddle like you always used to do._

Once again, the Voice surprised him. _"As you wish."_

Though he didn't doubt that the Voice already knew what it was he was going to ask, Sonic asked, anyway. _I know that I can revive people with the Master Emerald... but Mom, Dad, and Locke have all already been revived once before. If someone dies more than once, can I still revive them?_ It wasn't so much that he fear that those three would die specifically, but... what if someone in this group _did_ die more than once? What was he supposed to do then?

 _"You may revive any one person twice, maybe three times,"_ the Voice responded. _"However, as you well know, reviving a person even once requires a great deal of Light. It is no easy thing to do."_

 _I know,_ Sonic murmured, now much more completely relaxed. _But so long as I can bring people back if someone should fall during this war... that's the important thing._ His words earned no reply this time, but that was okay. He had gained he information he'd wanted, and that was all that mattered to him at the moment. And, besides that, all this talk of revival had given him some ideas...

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,978 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this brief but nonetheless important chapter! Posted (at about 2:30 a.m.) 10-14-16.**


	33. Heart (Miracles)

**Hello, PyroShockZ! THAT IDEA NEVER ACTUALLY EVEN OCCURRED TO ME! XD Anyway, sadly, no... that's not correct. It can't be, since the Voice has always said before that it will "cease to be" when Sonic no longer needs it. We can't just have Sade "cease to be", now can we? ;) The Voice is actually pure Chaos that has created a sort of entity within the emerald with the sole purpose of aiding Sonic in whatever way he needs. _That_ is what the Voice truly is. :) Super glad you enjoyed! Oh, and that already happened! Remember the dream at the end of Chapter 4? ;) I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

 **Hello, Reviewer 94! I'm so sorry, but it's happening again... I can't see this review for some reason, nor did I get an email notification for it, but the review counter is showing that it's here. I just can't view it, and I apologize for that. I'll give you a proper review reply whenever this problem gets fixed. :(**

 **Hello, Sun Demigod! Man, I almost couldn't give you a reply here. Your review showed up on my review counter thing, but it wasn't letting me see it. Thankfully, I got an email for it, unlike with the one above. :l Anyway, I do, too! The Voice is fun to write. :D**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Heart (Miracles)"**

 ** **~台風の目~****

Late into the evening, around eleven o'clock, Rouge and Knuckles began to quietly talk as Sonic listened. "I just wish things don't get too crazy," Rouge sighed. She was laying on her back in the grass during one late evening. The X-Tornado, Shadow's ship, and Kaden's were, in a sense, "parked" not far behind her. Espio's ship was a bit off to her left. She closed her eyes. "But, then again, these enemies seem pretty damn determined to kill us all off. I guess a whirlwind of craziness is fairly inevitable."

Knuckles walked over and sat down beside her. He'd been rummaging through an ice chest and was now carrying a can of soda. "If you ask me," he replied as he popped the dripping can open, "they seem way more focused on killing certain members of the group rather than the group as a whole." He took a drink of his orange Fanta and Sonic silently reflected on the fact Ix had _told_ them his seven specific targets. Rouge may not have heard that, he supposed, but Knuckles had been there. Maybe the echidna was just so tired he'd forgotten. He supposed that was a possibility.

A thoughtful hum served as Rouge's only reply for a long moment. After that, there was a period of silence. After about three minutes, she spoke again. "I wonder why that is," she murmured.

"There are a lot of reasons, I'm sure," Knuckles shrugged. At about the same time, Sonic was pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed that Jet had unexpectedly fallen asleep under a tree. The hawk hadn't even seemed tired, but he was sound asleep now. It was chilly tonight, so Sonic stood, grabbed a spare blanket, and walked over to his friend. Moving very quietly in an attempt to not wake the young hawk, Sonic laid the blanket over him. Knuckles's violet eyes watched this, then he subtly gestured to the two old friends with his right hand. "It's not really that much of a wonder that those two are two of the biggest targets. Besides Kaden and Analia, their the biggest threats to our enemies."

"Hence the reason those four are being targeted more so than the rest of us," Rouge agreed.

Knuckles didn't immediately reply as he watched Sonic silently walk away from their estranged friend. However, he couldn't restrain his sigh forever. "Let's just hope that the enemy doesn't get brave an try anything right now."

Rouge frowned. "Agreed."

That was about the time that Sonic chose to tune them out. Reclaiming his earlier seat beside Amy (who, like most everyone else, was also asleep), Sonic closed his eyes and reached out to the Voice for the second time that day. _Hey, Voice?_

There was a good long period of silence, then the Voice chose to answer him. _"Yes, Child?"_

 _I want to know more about this revival thing,_ Sonic responded in his mind. _I think it was all explained to me before, but I don't recall anything for sure. Will you explain it again?_

Once again, the Voice made him wait for a short while, then answered. _"As you wish."_ The mysterious entity then began to do as it had been asked, and Sonic made sure to listen carefully to everything it had to say. _"Whenever members of your family or your close friends perish, their souls enter the Master Emerald. The same applies for their close friends and their families, hence the reason people such as Pyros can be found there in spite of not being your personal friend or relative. Each person whose soul goes to the emerald can be revived by the emerald a maximum of two or perhaps three times. Even after then, however, their souls are not confined to the emerald. Their souls are free to travel to the realm some know as heaven or the Endless Meadows, and they are also free to manifest as so-called 'ghosts' and travel the world freely as many other souls do. They can return to the emerald at any time, and they must be in there at any given time in order to be revived. If there soul is not in the emerald at the specific time you try to revive them, it will not work."_

To signal his understanding, Sonic inclined his head just slightly. _Okay. That all makes sense. But... Do I have to know more than a person's name to revive them? Like, pretending I wanted to revive Queen Laralei, for example._

 _"You do not need to know anything about a person to revive them, provided you know they are in the emerald,"_ the Voice answered. A small pause, then it chose to add, _"You cannot revive the former queen at the present moment. Her soul has not been in the emerald in some years."_

 _I was just using her as an example,_ Sonic replied. He took a second to wonder where the hawk's soul was, but ultimately brushed it off as being irrelevant at the moment. _Oh, and I have one more question._ The Voice didn't ask what it was, so he merely continued. _It's about the whole Chaos and aging thing. I know that my Chaos makes it so that everyone stops aging at age seventeen or, if they were older than me, whatever age they were at before. And I also get that the Chaos makes it so that the kids age at weird rates, hence some of them being a good deal older than they should be after only a century. But there was something that was never explained to me, if I'm recalling correctly. The death and revival thing affects the friends and family members of my friends and family, even if I don't personally know those people. Is the same thing true for the aging?_

The Voice's answer was very simple... but it told him everything he needed to know. _"Yes."_

Pleased, Sonic allowed himself a very small smile. _Thanks._ Not expecting or waiting for an answer, he laid down beside his wife and finally settled down for sleep.

 **~台風の目~**

Early the next morning, Silver approached his "uncle" while said "uncle" was busy feeding young Suri her bottle. "Hey, Uncle Jet?" Jet looked up at him silently. "You have a camera, right?" Frowning ever so slightly, perhaps out of confusion as to why he was being asked this (not that any real indication of his feelings was given), Jet nodded once. This answer, unspoken though it was, made Silver smile. "I was kinda hoping I could borrow it?" he asked hopefully. "The camera on my communicator has been broken for ages, and there are a lot of cool things out here to photograph."

Piercing blue eyes briefly glanced around the area, a silent indication to Silver that Jet very well might have agreed with him. Then the young hawk looked back down at his youngest child and said simply, "It's in my backpack."

"Great!" Silver said happily. "Thanks!" Without waiting for a reply he had learned by now to not exactly expect, he walked over to the old grey Ruined Future backpack that was resting across the camp near the X-Tornado. Kneeling down beside it, he open the main pocket and began digging around. To find the desired object, he had to pull out Suri's stuffed rabbit and two pacifiers, Jet's communicator, a black flip phone (when Jet had gotten that, Silver had no idea), the journal, and a few other things. It was amazing how spacious the bag was on the inside, and Silver briefly wondered if there was a magical charm of some kind on it. _How else can he fit so much stuff in here? And without making it look very full, no less... _Finally, his fingers grazed the perfectly smooth side of the very slim camera/video camera/audio recorder/whatever the hell else this thing was. It clearly wasn't Mobian in any way, which only made it seem that much cooler in Silver's eyes.

Pleased that he had found the camera, Silver pulled it out, closed the bag, and jobbed up to his dad. "Okay, I'm ready to go on that walk now." Going on morning walks together was something they had discovered about twenty years ago that they loved to do while camping, regardless of where they were. This morning was no exception, and they were going to take advantage of the temporary reprieve from danger while they could.

Noticing the camera, Sonic sighed. "Please tell me you didn't just take that from his bag."

"Nope," Silver smiled, actually looking and sounding proud of himself as they started walking away from camp and through the dense wilderness. "I actually got permission."

"Shocking."

"I know, right?"

As they walked, Sonic watched as Silver fumbled with the device, inspecting it and turning it around and around in his hands for whatever reason. "What are you doing?"

"How do you turn this thing on?" Silver asked in return.

Reaching over, Sonic took the camera carefully from his son's hands and looked it over for himself. Eventually, he located a button that had been crafted into the device _so well_ that it was nearly invisible. Pressing it, he was surprised to see a screen appear on the device where, previously, there hadn't been one. It was entirely holographic, too, which made it all the more impressive. After playing around with the device a bit more, he figured out how to take photos, how to take videos, how to record audio, and even how to switch the camera to what Amy commonly referred to on any camera as "selfie mode" (a mode which she personally never used). Satisfied that he knew how to use it now, Sonic turned to his son with a small grin and snapped a photo. "Gotcha."

Laughing, Silver peered over his shoulder. "Let me see it! God, I bet my face looked hilarious."

"Guess we'll find out, huh?" Sonic replied in amusement as he tapped on the holographic touch screen to view the photo. Sure enough, Silver had managed to pull a truly strange face the second his photo had been snapped, and the two of them practically busted a lung each laughing at it.

Wiping a tear away from his eye about a minute or so later, Silver said through a lingering chuckle, "That was amazing."

"Truly," Sonic agreed with a small grin as he tapped a button on the screen that he though would take him back to the camera mode. Instead, it took him to a page that showed numerous albums of photos, videos, and sound files. A number at the top of the screen indicated that there were, in total, 14,376 files on the camera at this very moment.

The sheer number of files indicated by the number prompted Silver to let out an impressed whistle. "Dang. He was busy."

Not saying anything for the moment, Sonic selected a file entitled, "Ei'ana te lo Babylonia". Of course, he had no idea what in the hell that translated to, but he _did_ know that "Babylonia" _most likely_ meant "Babylonian" or "Babylon". As such, it caught his interest, prompting him to open it. Immediately, he and Silver were met with over a thousand photos from what genuinely appeared to be the war. He saw photos of starry night skies, of battlefields, of weapons, of people... One photo he saw showed a young man smiling a bit at the camera. He was sitting on a rock in some desert. The young man looked a lot like Tammy, and the photo's title was the name, "Luko".

Clearly curious about what all had been photographed and saved into this album, Silver clicked on one photo in particular to enlarge it. It was a photo someone had taken of Jet himself, sitting in a chair, leaning forward, and reaching his hand out to pick up a book off the carpeted floor. Also in the photo happened to be Jet's communicator, which was resting on the floor beside the book. It was resting at such an angle that, when Silver zoomed in on it, he could see the screen. Displayed on it was a photo depicting a vast battlefield. Running through that battlefield was a horse with icy blue flames in place of hair. The beautiful flaming mane and tail flowed backwards, illuminating pure white skin and icy blue eyes. The horse was like nothing that had ever existed on Mobius... and it was one of the most stunningly beautiful creatures Sonic had ever seen. Still, there was so much more to look at in these photos, he was sure. With that in mind, he closed that photo, scrolled around a bit, then selected a new one.

In this photograph, they saw a gorgeous night sky. In it was not one, but two moons. The white moon was at least twice as large as the Mobian one, and the soft blue one to the left of it was only about a third of the bigger one's size. Below that beautiful night sky was that grand palace-like building neither of them had ever seen before. That palace, however, was not the main focus of the photo, nor were the sky or moons. Instead, the focus of the photo lay in one of the palace's many vast courtyards. Shown there was a lush, grassy hill covered in in blue flowers (the likes of which simply did not exist on Mobius) that seemed to glow softly in the equally soft moonlight. Amongst the flowers at the very top of the hill was a lonely gravestone. Upon zooming in to get a better look, they saw beautiful and elegant engravings in Babylonian on the gravestone. There was only one word in the Universal Language there and, therefore, only one word that they could read. It read simply, _Selene_.

Suddenly reminded of the ideas he had been having since the day before, Sonic closed that photo and began looking through the others while Silver asked, "'Selene'? Wasn't that the name of that girl Jet wrote about in his journal? The one who died?"

"Yeah," Sonic nodded, eyes still on the screen. "That was her."

There was a moment of silence as the two of them passed under a cluster of low-hanging branches, then walked around a rather large rock that was sticking up out of the ground. Silver peered again at the camera. "Um, what are you looking for?" he asked his father.

"A picture of Selene," was Sonic's simple answer.

Now Silver frowned with confusion. "Why?"

"Curiosity for curiosity's sake," Sonic lied easily with a casual shrug.

Thankfully, Silver bought it, hook, line, and sinker. Bless his poor, sometimes naive heart, Sonic supposed. "Oh, okay." A pause, then the younger pf the two hedgehogs suggested, "Try finding a search bar. Some cameras here have those now. They let you search for photos and videos with titles containing the keywords you search for."

This was a promising idea, so Sonic gave it a try. It took a good long while to figure out how to follow through with the idea but, once he did, he watched as hundreds of files with the name "Selene" showed up on the screen from any and every album they were in. They were all neatly organized on the screen, photos on the top, videos in the middle and, surprisingly, music on the bottom. There were no other types of file specifically labeled with her name, so Sonic focused on what had shown up. To start with, he began flipping through the photos. By now, he and Silver had both stopped walking so as to focus more on the camera and what it contained. Looking together, they opened the very first photo. In it was a woman was a woman with softly blue colored feathers and beautiful greyish-blue eyes. Her hair was long and her bangs were covering her right eye. She was smiling softly at the camera, which she seemed to be holding, as she pulled a surprised and confused looking Jet into the frame. Satisfied that he now knew her face, Sonic closed the photo.

It was Silver who opened the next file. This one was a video, and the two of them stayed quiet to watch it. The camera was resting on a table or some other flat, steady surface while the two of them lounged in a sitting room of sorts, just chatting and engaging in some friendly playful banter. They traded teasing remarks, sarcastic comments, and so on for the duration of the video, and it was just so nice to see them relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Sonic smiled as the video ended. "That was actually pretty adorable, if you ask me," Silver commented. He, like Sonic, was also smiling.

"Mm-hm," Sonic agreed softly, his eyes traveling down the screen. He scrolled down, and soon his gaze fell upon some music files. Clicking on an icon on one of them, he saw some information on it. The file was made about sixty years ago, was entitled "Heart", and was from an album entitled "Miracles". There was even a short description shown, and through that Sonic discovered that this was a song Jet had made in tribute to his lost friend, Selene. When he played the song (which had no lyrics), he was struck by how powerful and emotional it felt. There was so much pain, so much grief, but also so much joy, so hope, so, much awe, so much genuine _love_... It only further strengthened Sonic's resolve, and he closed the file.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,008 words this time. For those of you interested in knowing, the song described is a real song by Two Steps from Hell. It's real title is "Heart" and it really is from the album "Miracles". I highly recommend listening to it! In this story, it works both as Jet's tribute to Selene and as a theme song for Selene. Plus, it's a very, very great song that I think is well-worth the listen. :) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 3:00 a.m.) 10-15-16.**


	34. The Real Game Begins

_**IMPORTANT NOTICE!**_

 _ **So, it's happening again, guys. Yesterday, I had 92 reviews. It jumped to 95, but I could only see one on this website. I got an email for that one and one other, but not the third. Today, I now have 98 and can't see any on this website. I got an email for one, but just the one. I'm so sorry that this is happening again, and I've sent a help request email to whoever runs the help section thing for this website. Hopefully this will get resolved soon, but I can't make any guarantees. Until then, I can only reply to the few reviews I've been managing to get in emails. If you review during this period and I don't reply just know that I'm sorry about this. I'll do all the missed replies whenever this problem is resolved. Sorry again.**_

 **Hello, StarryMoon33! YES! HE IS! XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Real Game Begins"**

 ** **~台風の目~****

At around eleven in the morning, Ten and the other kids (save for baby Suri, of course) found themselves all feeling incredibly bored. All eight of them began to complain to their parents about that boredom, but Locke (who was leaning against a tree at one edge of the camp) stepped in and offered the lot of them an activity that they could do. "You can play a game to pass the time," the echidna suggested.

"But games like tag and hide and seek are stupid," Lucas muttered, crossing his arms.

"And boring," Lucas sighed. "They're too easy to win."

"You can play a verbal game like Truth, then," Locke responded with an easy smile, arms casually crossed.

"What the heck is Truth?" Jason asked with a frown.

"Oh, I've heard of it!" Kimmy said happily. "Mommy and Daddy told me about it one time!" She paused, then pouted. "I dunno how to play, though."

"Well, there are two ways," Locke explained to them. "One way that people tend to consider easier is that a person sets a topic and everyone has to give an answer. For example, if it's my turn to set a topic, I can say something like, 'favorite color'. I have to give an answer first, so I'd say 'red'. After that, everyone else takes turns answer. Basically, everyone is sitting on a circle and the person to my right goes after me, then the person next them goes, and so on. Then, when everyone is done, the person to my right sets a new topic. You can have everything go to the left if you want, but otherwise those are the rules."

"That seems pretty simple," Ten said with almost Silver or Marthal-like happiness. "I'd like to play. Anyone else want to?"

"Me!" Kimmy and Lia exclaimed together with bright smiles.

Lucas sighed heavily, but ultimately agreed. Locke wasn't surprised by this. _That kid is a lot like his dad. They're both constantly starved for mental stimulation and challenges. _He smiled. _This game might be good for him.  
_

By the time Locke finished thinking this, the kids had all agreed to play the game. They walked to a somewhat quiet area and sat down in a circle. After some debate, it was agreed that Ten, being the oldest, would go first. "Hmm..." the adopted hawk murmured thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, "Okay, favorite animal. Panda bears."

Hannah, who was sitting directly to his right, went next. "Bunnies," she smiled.

"Dragons," Lucas said, sounding bored.

"Parrots," Jason said after a small moment of thought.

"Kitties!" Lia beamed.

"Puppies!" Kimmy exclaimed immediately afterward.

"Snakes," Sarai said. "...Or lizards. I guess both."

Sen was quiet for a moment, then said, "Maybe wolves."

With that round completed, Hannah set a new topic. "Favorite memory." A slight pause, then she smiled. "The first time Daddy started teaching me how to ride horses."

"The first time Dad let me ride his Extreme Gear," Lucas said without hesitation.

"My first time treasure hunting with Mom and Dad," Jason said, finally showing a smile.

"The day Uncle Sonic took me to the zoo for my birthday," Lia said happily.

"When I got my goldfishy pet for my birthday that one time!" Kimmy exclaimed.

"The day I started learning how to play Daddy's flute," Sarai said after a moment of thought.

"The first time Mom and I went to the beach together," Sen said, feeling quietly happy.

"The second time Kath and I went traveling together," Ten smiled.

Now it was Lucas's turn to set a topic, so he did. "Favorite activity." He thought about that for a moment, then said, "Flying on my board or exploring. I can't choose."

"Treasure hunting," Jason said immediately.

"Running!" Lia exclaimed.

"Um..." Kimmy trailed off, thinking, then decided aloud, "Coloring."

"Running," Sarai said simply.

"Traveling," Sen said, voice quiet as it always tended to be.

"Spending time with Kath in his observatory," Ten decided.

"Watching movies with Daddy at night before bed," Hannah smiled.

Jason took a short while to choose a topic to set. "Least favorite food," he said. "Sushi."

"Kale," Lia said, pulling a face.

"Salmon," Kimmy reported, also making an _ew_ face.

"Tomatoes," Sarai mumbled.

"Brown rice," Sen said after a small moment.

"Mariyoki," Ten said with a small laugh. "I don't get why Dad loves them so much."

"Cabbage," Hannah said.

A small moment passed, then Lucas made a decision. "Brown beans."

Eventually, Lia chose a new topic. "If you could have any power, what would you want? I'd want to be able to talk to animals."

"I'd want fire like Mommy!" Kimmy smiled happily.

"I already have speed, but that's what I'd choose if I didn't have it," Sarai said.

"I'd like to be able to fly," Sen admitted.

"I think I'd want to be able to read minds," Ten grinned.

"I'd like to have magic," Hannah said with a small smile while Lucas gave their older brother a sort of, _Don't you dare_ look

"I'd want to be able to fly of my own power," Lucas said after looking away from Ten.

"Having teleportation would be cool," Jason shrugged.

Kimmy selected a new topic straight away. "If you could have _any_ wish granted right now, what would it be?" she asked happily. Then she gave her answer. "I'd wish for a puppy!"

Sarai gave that some genuine thought, then said, "I think I'd wish to be as smart and powerful as my parents."

"Same," her twin agreed. "Definitely the same."

"I'd wish to have mom back," Ten admitted. "Not Jade," he added quickly when his siblings looked at him, "but Selene. You know, Dad's old friend who helped raise me when I was little."

"My wish would be for Kath's wife to come back," Hannah said quietly. "He seems so sad without her."

Lucas gave his own answer some thought, then said, "I'd wish for this stupid war to be over."

"I'd wish to be a famous treasure hunter," Jason grinned, "just like Mom, Dad, and Grandpa."

"I'd wish to meet my Mommy," Lia said quietly, voice uncharacteristically quiet. The mood soon faded, though, and her smile returned.

Sarai set a new topic. "Hm... Favorite place." After glancing at the hawk kids, she amended, "Favorite place on any world you've been to." A small pause, then she chose, "The ruins of Chun-nan."

"Holoska," Sen decided quickly.

"Eino'kan," Ten grinned. "The Crystal Forests of Babylon."

"The Meyari Falls," Hannah said with a wistful smile, as though she was missing the place. "They're on Babylon."

"Green Forest," Lucas said without hesitation.

"The Pyramid Ruins in Shamar," Jason said.

"White Jungle," Lia said. "...When it's not raining too hard."

"The beaches at Apatos," Kimmy smiled.

For whatever reason, the topic Sen chose was, "One memory you don't like. The time Dad got hurt when he was sparring with his friend."

"The day I learned that my biological parents really are dead," Ten reported sadly.

"The day my first pet died," Hannah said quietly.

"The day Jade tried to hit Suri," Lucas muttered angrily.

"The time Mom got so sick she had to go to the hospital," Jason mumbled.

"My first time getting lost," Lia decided after a moment.

"The time I got lost with Lia," Kimmy said immediately.

"My first time seeing a ghost like Dad can do," Sarai said.

After that, nearly every topic chosen was a happy one. The kids played for over an hour, trading stories and answers, learning more about each other, not bugging their parents, and forgetting all about the boredom that had been plaguing them before. Only when lunch came did they take a break, but the break was short. They were eager to resume their game and continue their good fun, and Locke patted himself on the back for a job well done.

 **~台風の目~**

Kaden was laying in a tree about twenty feet away from the camp, unintentionally dozing as the warm sunshine beat down upon him through some openings in the canopy above him. As he dozed, memories came to him unbidden. The vague recollections he somehow retained of the day he was kidnapped from his parents, his memories of the many horrible things the elders had put him through growing up, the fantasies he'd had as a child of how much better his life could have been if it had been Saran or even his own parents raising him instead... but then the memories faded away and he opened up his eyes. Sitting up on the branch, he bent his left leg at the knee and allowed his right leg to dangle in the open air. After a short while of just sitting there, not looking at or thinking about anything in particular, he turned his attention to his right hand.

Lifting up his hand a bit, he used his left hand to pull the glove off of his right. On the back of his hand was a birthmark of some kind, a patch of black in his fur that formed the shape of a backwards crescent moon. It was the symbol of his family. The _royal_ family. The family that had ruled nearly the entire world. He was marked... unable to escape his heritage. He had managed to do so for the most part for many, many years, but he had never been able to escape that mark. It had always been there, and the knowledge of it had always lingered in the back of his mind. He'd always hated it. And now... now nearly everyone he knew and cared about knew the full truth of who he was: the Lost Prince of Mobius. He'd never wanted anything to do with that title, with that part of his past, but thanks to Ix he could no longer hide. That was something he hated as well, but there was no undoing the damage that had been done.

Scowling, he slipped his glove back on and once again covered up the mark.

 **~台風の目~**

Jet was sitting alone on a far side of the camp, just gazing out into the distance and thinking. His older kids were with the other kids within his earshot and Suri was with Tammy, so he was able relax a touch more than usual. He allowed himself to sit and think quietly for a long while. The subject of his thoughts shifted fairly frequently. They went from that wicked, evil rock to Kath and Azerel to his horse Neila. From there, his thoughts wandered to the horse races he used to have with Selene, then to Selene herself, then to Ten (whom she had been helping raise at the time), then to Ten's biological grandfather. His thoughts then wandered to the biological grandfather of his three biological children (namely, Ross). After that, he found himself thinking about their other biological grandfather, Jade's father Falkor. Such a cruel man he was... so he deliberately shifted his thoughts to something less upsetting.

Just as he started thinking about the new violin song he had been working on finishing before this war had started, he suddenly became aware of a very random headache that was suddenly hitting him out of nowhere. He tried to ignore it, but it quickly grew more intense. To make matters worse for him, it was accompanied with a really strange feeling that he couldn't describe (not that he was trying to at the moment, anyway). At the same time, he began feeling very weak and detached from himself. After that, he lost awareness of what was happening. The next thing he knew, Sonic was keeling in front of him, snapping his fingers and saying his name again and again. A period of confusion passed Jet by, but hearing Sonic helped Jet refocus. Once he did, he blinked several times and rubbed at his eyes a bit as the headache and strange feelings slowly faded. The weakness in his body faded with them, and the detachment he'd been experiencing gradually vanished. After a moment, Sonic spoke. "You okay?"

Another silent assessment, then Jet nodded and offered a simple, "Yes," in reply.

However, Sonic remained concerned. "Are you sure?" he asked. "You were out of it for close to a full minute and your leg was jerking." Jet looked at him, understanding immediately what had happened. Sonic seemed to as well. "Was that a seizure?" he asked. A second later, he explained himself. "You mentioned in your journal that you have them, but this one wasn't a grand mal like the ones you wrote about."

At first, Jet debated not answering. But, ultimately, he knew that this would mean being questioned again later. Deciding to just get this done and over with, he resigned himself to once again speaking more than he normally wanted to. " It was a seizure," he confirmed, "but not one caused by the PTSD." He hoped that Sonic would figure out for himself what had really caused it.

The hedgehog frowned in thought, thinking, but then remembered something. _Back during the war with the Metarex... Marthal gave me a list of Jet's autistic symptoms. Listed on it was petit mal seizures... which means Jet is at risk of seizures just from the autism alone. So... was this caused by that?_ With little other choice, Sonic asked his old friend if that was the case. When Jet nodded, Sonic posed a new question. "When did you learn about it? ...The autism, I mean."

Looking away further, Jet murmured, "About four days ago."

Nodding slowly, Sonic moved into a sitting position. A good few minutes or so of silence passed before he spoke again. "Do you have seizures often?" he asked quietly. "Not just severe ones, but... you know, in general."

Gradually, Jet weighed his options. Tell, or not tell. He silently went over the risks and benefits of both options. Eventually, he let out a small sigh and admitted, "Sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Sonic echoed.

"They can be frequent at times," Jet clarified simply, "but there are times when I don't have any for months."

With that question now answered, Sonic had a new concern. "What are we supposed to do when they happen? I mean, obviously Mom and Locke know, since Dad has seizures, too, but what if you have and, say, only I'm with you?" This whole reply had killed Jet's initial reply that at the very least Analia would know what to do. However, this didn't mean he wanted to _say_ everything that would need to be said in order to answer Sonic's question. So, instead, he chose the easier way. He turned on his communicator's screen and pulled up an old file from something like seventy-years ago or more. Without a word, he took the device off his wrist and lightly tossed it to Sonic, who caught it easily. Thankfully, Sonic didn't waste time with questions and instead just began to read.

 _ **When a person is having a seizure (esp. a gran mal), here are things you should do:**_

 _-Ease the person to the floor, then turn the person gently onto one side. This will help the person breathe._

 _-Clear the area around the person of anything hard or sharp. This can prevent injury._

 _-Put something soft and flat, like a folded jacket, under their head._

 _-Loosen ties, scarves, or anything else around the neck that may make it hard to breathe._

 _-Time the seizure. Call for medical assistance if the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, if another one begins soon after the first, or if the person won't wake up after the seizure._

 _-Stay with the person until the seizure ends and he or she is fully awake. After it ends, help the person sit in a safe place. Once they are alert and able to communicate, tell them what happened in very simple terms. They may be confused and disoriented and should not be left alone._

 _-Comfort the person and speak calmly._

 _-Keep yourself and other people calm. Also, have any bystanders give the person room._

 _-If once the seizure ends the person feels the need to sleep, allow them to do so._

 _ **Here are things you should not do:**_

 _-Don't hold the person down or try to stop his or her movements._

 _-Don't try to give mouth-to-mouth breaths (like CPR). People usually start breathing again on their own after a seizure._

 _-Don't offer the person water or food until he or she is fully alert._

Once he finished reading this, Sonic passed the communicator back. "Did Kath send this file to you?"

"Ako," Jet corrected. A second later, he added, "My doctor."

Nodding to signal his understanding, Sonic shifted and stood up. "Do you need anything?"

Though the concern was unneeded... Jet supposed it was appreciated. Still, he looked away again. "No."

So Sonic walked away.

 **~台風の目~**

Fresh blood spilled from the wound that had just been cut across Kath's stomach, and he whipped around, shooting once and felling his foe instantly. He _hated_ killing, but there were times like this where doing so was the only way to save lives far more innocent than those he was taking. His aura gun was a familiar weight in his hand, but he would have much preferred a sword. Not Alkarus, as he'd given that away to the new king years ago, but his Blade of Winter. However, that was in his bedroom, and he and Azerel were currently trapped in his observatory. Enemies were swarming the palace. Planet Babylon was under attack.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,001 words this time. Not my best chapter, but it did have some important information. And, of course, the ending scene is very important. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 8:05 a.m.) 10-16-16.**


	35. Mellow

_**THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE. THE EDITS TO EOTS ARE NOW DONE. I WILL BE POSTING THE STORY AGAIN FROM THIS POINT ONWARD. WHEN A CHAPTER IS REPOSTED I WILL BE LEAVING PARAGRAPHS UP HERE IN BOLD TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT WAS DONE OR IF I LEFT IT ALONE. PLEASE READ THESE MESSAGES, AS THEY ARE IMPORTANT.**_

 **This chapter and all following ones have been edited to remove Selene. I wanted to try including her… some people wanted me to, others didn't, and I tried it regardless. I don't feel that it worked out, and that's fine. I simply needed to make adjustments accordingly, so I did. For this chapter, I took out the original bottom scene and re-wrote it entirely. Sorry for those few of you who might have actually enjoyed her being in the story. Also, this chapter isn't great, but I left it as-is simply for the fact that it highlighted some pretty decent interactions between Sonic and Jet. Those are important. Lastly, I am aware that the review replies that used to be in this chapter and all subsequent ones were lost… I apologize deeply for that, but I'll make new replies as they become necessary. Lastly, this chapter was formerly known as "Well-Intentioned".**

 **SPECIAL NOTES: The original Ch. 36, the one entitled "Eiko'tei", was removed in it's entirety. The same goes for the original Ch. 37, the one entitled "Final Reunion". The original Ch. 38, the one entitled "Misdirection", was going be re-written, but I decided not to bother in the end and just deleted it. The one you guys will be seeing next time was the original chapter 39.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Mellow"**

 **~台風の目~**

When Jet got the emergency messages coming in to his communicator from many various people on Babylon, at first he had no idea what was going on. The messages were all brief and lacked the descriptive detail he needed. The written pleas for help were often worded as, _"We need help!"_ or _"There's an attack!"_ No details were given at all. Still, it spurred him into motion and he reached for his backpack, quickly shoving his things into his bag. People took notice of this and began to ask him what in the hell was going on. Knuckles even had the gall to ask, "What's gotten _you_ so riled up?" Jet resisted the urge to toss him a glare and instead tossed him the communicator, allowing the lot of them to see all the messages the device was still receiving.

Sonic audibly cursed, but it was Tails who spoke directly to Jet. "Do we need to get the Typhoon?" he asked quickly.

"No," Jet replied shortly.

Understanding that Jet intended to teleport, Sonic said, "Wait, hold on a second."

"What?" Jet asked him sharply as he stood up and shouldered his bag.

Without warning, the hedgehog grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him away from the group a bit. "We can't let you go by yourself!" Sonic whispered harshly at him.

"I am _not_ taking everyone with me!" Jet hissed, wrenching his wrist free.

"I never suggested that you should!" Sonic whisper-yelled back. This was the first time the pair had truly argued in a hundred years. "What I'm saying is that you need to let at least a _few_ of us go with you!"

"No!" Jet responded in the same tone. "There are too many people there as it is!"

"And how many of them are actually going to be able to fight?" Sonic questioned him pointedly.

A long moment passed, then Jet begrudgingly admitted, "Not enough."

"Exactly my point," Sonic said firmly. Jet didn't waver in his decision, though, so Sonic said, "At least let _me_ come, then!"

There was no time to waste at all, so Jet made a split second decision. "Fine!" he snapped, still not raising his voice. Without further warning, he teleported, dragging Sonic with him. They landed in the middle of a garden filled with _beautiful_ trees and flowers that Sonic had never seen before. Nearby was a large pond with koi-like fish swimming around in it. Directly in front of them but a good few hundred feet away was the palace itself. It was _massive_ , complete with towers and countless rooms and over two thousand windows and built of this gorgeous pure white material he couldn't even put a name to... Sonic swore he had never seen anything like it before, but there was no time left for him to gawk. Jet teleported a second time, straight inside the building, and Sonic quickly followed. The second they were inside, they found themselves in the midst of the battle.

Both of them drew their swords, and just like that their portion of the fight was on. Some soldiers and guards were in the same hall as they were and helping in the battle, but that only served to make things even more crowded. Jet seemed to grow sick of it very quickly, and he snapped some short order to them in Babylonian. They listened to him immediately and ran off down a different hall. A split second or so later, Sonic's ears reflexively flattened when he heard the echoing howl of a wolf somewhere nearby. Jet whipped around toward the noise and began running with no warning. Sonic ran after him just as multiple auras of different colors, including Jet's, ripped through the halls and took out every Nocturnian who came into contact with them. Sonic practically sprinted after him, down many halls, up many flights of stairs, and through a few open doorways. The whole time, aura attacks continued to rip through the Nocturnian forced somehow without harming a single other person or thing. It was amazing, but Sonic had little time to focus on that as he and Jet ran straight into some kind of futuristic observatory like literally _nothing_ Sonic had ever seen before. The Nocturnians in this room were a good deal harder to kill for whatever reason, but they were soon dealt with now that there were four allied heroes fighting in here. Sonic, Jet, Kath, and... a wolf. He decided to not even question it right now.

Sheathing Alkarus, Jet turned to Kath. "Ala nokal?" ("Are you okay?")

Though he seemed slightly out of breath, perhaps from the blood he'd lost from the deep wound cutting across his stomach, Kath nodded once and said, "Eitchal." ("I'm fine.")

That was when Jet abruptly switched languages. "How the hell did they get in?" he demanded quietly, tone less calm than it normally was.

"They disrupted the frequencies of the tei'lan and the barriers fell," Kath responded. "I didn't have a chance to repair it before they attacked."

Not bothering to say anything in reply at first, Jet sheathed his sword and glanced around at the damage in the room. After about four seconds, he returned his attention to Kath. He said something in Babylonian, earning a nod in reply, and they both teleported. Of course, Sonic opted to teleport after Jet. The two wound up outside again, this time in a grassy courtyard. Jet knelt down beside some device and began to work on repairing it (or something like that). Not really being interested in _that_ and also wanting to see more of his best friend's grand home, Sonic turned to him and asked, "Hey, um... Mind if I explore a bit?"

Jet, who had apparently decided to be more talkative today than usual, told him frankly, "I don't care what you do."

A brief pause, then Sonic decided the sarcastic comment that had flitted through his mind wasn't worth the argument it might very well cause if he voiced it aloud, so he just kept quiet and dashed off. While running he saw gardens and courtyards and perfectly circular swimming pools and gardens and stables filled with horses with light blue flames in place of manes and tails... Near the stables were a couple barns and beyond that was another grassy area and beyond that was a stone courtyard with a gorgeous fountain and statues and rows of stunning flowering trees, and even a couple smaller fountains. There were so many other things to see, _everywhere_ , but one thing more than the rest of them (as far as the things outside went, anyway) that really held the young hedgehog's attention. It was the hill he'd seen photographed on Jet's camera... the one with Selene's grave. Staring at it, the hero of Mobius was reminded of all the things he had learned about Jet and this woman recently… and how little about the last century he really knew. Deep in thought, he walked back to the friend who had once, many years ago, been as close to him as (if not closer than) a brother.

 **~台風の目~**

With the barrier-device-thing now repaired and the palace barriers standing strong once more, Sonic found himself standing outside the stables with the flaming horses while Jet did whatever he was doing inside the palace. He didn't truly hear or otherwise sense Jet's return more than twenty minutes after the hawk had gone back outside, but he was nonetheless certain that the hawk was walking up to him. "I called the others," he said, though Jet hadn't asked. "They're still fine, and I told them that everything was fine here, too. Mom says we can stay here a day or two if we need to. She and Tammy both offered to help watch your kids." Looking to his right, Sonic watched as Jet put his right foot up on the lowest rung of the high-tech metal fence and leaned on the highest rung with his arms. All he offered in reply was a small nod. "Are we going to _need_ to stay that long?"

The young king seemed to give that some thought. "Potentially," he murmured.

Now it was Sonic's turn to nod. Turning his head so that it was facing forward again, he found himself switching the subject and asking, "Are one of those horses yours?"

Unexpectedly, Jet actually answered. Pointing at a beautiful young mare, he said, "That one." Before Sonic could do anything more than smile, Jet did something unexpected again by jumping over the fence and into the stable. As Sonic blinked (perhaps in surprise), Jet let out a short whistle. Sure enough, the horse he'd pointed out responded. She trotted over to him and nudged him in the chest. He rubbed her neck gently and murmured something in Babylonian that Sonic heard but couldn't translate. "Shei shei, Neila."

Smiling a bit wider, Sonic jumped the fence as well and walked over to the pair. Taking a small risk, he laid his hand on the horse's side. The glance he received from Jet seemed far from disapproving, so Sonic began lightly to pet the mare. _Funny. I've never actually touched a horse before._ Any further thoughts on the matter were interrupted when the horse nudged him so hard that he fell over on his rear. He couldn't be sure in the moment, but... he thought Jet may have smirked just slightly for just a second. "Hey, don't smirk at me!" Sonic laughed as he got up. "You wouldn't be so amused if _you_ were the one who got knocked over!"

That very slight smirk returned. "Try getting kicked instead," he responded as his horse walked away.

Laughing some more, Sonic dusted himself off.

 **~台風の目~**

The next day was largely uneventful for Sonic. He hung around ate breakfast (which Jet skipped) with many random people in the extravagant dining hall, wandered around the interior of the palace (discovering an indoor courtyard, indoor swimming pools, and so on in the process), hung around the stables, explored the gardens, marveled at the statues and fountains, had lunch in the dining hall, went on a run around the massive property of the palace, returned and dared to venture close enough to the lonely pond to peer into it, called and talked to Amy for a good few hours, explored the interior of the palace, had dinner, then returned to the guest bedroom he had been staying in. He had nothing left to do but go to bed. Jet, meanwhile, had a far busier day.

Among many other things, Jet had spent hours in his office doing some of the paperwork neither he nor Kath had gotten to in recent days, had tended to the horses and other domesticated animals, attended a few meetings he would have rather skipped, checked on Kath to make sure he was healing alright, spent a while placing new devices to strengthen the barriers around his home, skipped every single meal due to being too busy find the time to eat... He was regretting that last one now, but it hardly mattered. Grabbing a small snack to tide him over for now, he returned to his office to resume his paperwork.

 **~台風の目~**

When morning came and breakfast passed, Sonic decided it was high time he sat down and talked with Jet properly for perhaps the first time since they had reunited. And he would have, too… had he not been sucked into a lengthy tour of the palace grounds by some couple who apparently were employed there. By the time he realized his mistake, it was afternoon and Jet was nowhere to be found. Off to some meeting or another that he simply had to attend, Sonic later learned. Walking down one of the many halls and into an indoor courtyard filled with all many of beautiful plants, he sighed. _Well,_ he told himself, _you know what they say about best laid plans..._

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,043 words this time. And... sorry that it took _so_ long to finish editing this beast of a story. Posted (at about 3:10 p.m.) 08-10-16.**


	36. Heartfelt

**_IF YOU DIDN'T SEE YESTERDAY'S REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED HEAVILY._**

 **Notes on the edits I did: The original Ch. 39, the one entitled "Change of Plans", was mostly deleted. The bottom scene, the one with all the spiders, was removed from "Change of Plans" and put into the original Ch. 40, the one entitled "Heartfelt". This chapter is the result of that work. And, yes it's a long one, but I don't think it's length was too bad overall.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Heartfelt"**

 **~台風の目~**

A small shriek, then a second one, distracted Kaden from the work he was doing to try to build Marthal some new hearing aids (as the cat, who was mostly deaf, had lost them at some point the night before somehow). He barely had a chance to set his tools down and look up before two small bodies slammed into him. "Papa!" Kimmy shrieked. "There's a creepy crawly!"

Torn between being amused, annoyed, and concerned (concerned, that is, that the bug was a spider), Kaden asked her, "What kind of bug?"

"A _big_ one!" Lia exclaimed dramatically. She, like Kimmy, was clinging tightly to him. He was uncomfortable with all the physical contact, but he allowed it for now.

Gently prying the girls off of him, Kaden stood up and walked over to the spot they had been pointing at. Sure enough, the "creepy crawly" they had been talking about was a spider. A small one, sure, but that made no difference at all. His heart began to pound harder at the sight of it, and he walked quickly away from the bug he was so irrationally terrified of. He was initially going to just try to ignore the arachnid, but he stopped when he saw another one. Of course, he moved to walk around it. However, there he found another one. Growing increasingly anxious, he turned again... only to find yet more spiders. Before anyone really knew what was happening, a wave of the horrible creatures was literally swarming the group. Kaden felt a stab of panic, most of the kids were screaming, the spiders were crawling and jumping and hissing... The next thing he was really aware of was being dragged into Analia's arms. She held his shivering form close to her, trying to ease him into a calmer state and prevent him from having a panic attack. No amount of hugging prevented him from being hyper-aware of the fact that the spiders were still swarming around them, though. He squeezed his eyes shut and just tried to breathe, trying to ignore the sources of his fear... but then the waves of spiders slowly died away.

Slowly uncovering his eyes, Silver blurted out, "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know," Sonic muttered. He was standing with Amy in his arms, as she was just as freaked out by spiders as most people were. "But what do you want to bet that the Nocturne Clan was responsible?"

"I'd bet everything I own," Tammy muttered back as Jet flicked a lingering spider off of Suri's blanket, which she was currently wrapped in.

"So I guess that means that we can't hide here any longer," Tails sighed. "They clearly know where we are."

"But where will we go?" Rouge asked no one in particular. She was currently sitting on the ground with her son, holding him in her arms.

"We may have to go into space," Sonic revealed. He cast a glance at Jet. "The clan was on Babylon. Who knows where else they've already spread to."

Analia sighed almost inaudibly as Kaden slowly pulled away from her. "We will need the Typhoon, then," she replied.

"Yeah," Tails agreed. "I can get-" Before he ever had a chance to finish his sentence, there was a dark flash and Silver, Blaze, Jet, Wave, Sonic, and Kaden all vanished.

They were gone.

 **~台風の目~**

With a surprisingly hard _thud_ , Sonic and Kaden landed together in a heap on a very hot sand dune. Coughing and waving his hand in front of his face to try to lessen the sand cloud a bit, Sonic pushed himself up and got off of Kaden's back, allowing Kaden to sit up as well. Only a single cough escaped Kaden as he too waved a hand in front of his face. Once he felt like he could breathe a bit, Sonic opened his eyes and started to look around, only to have his attention drawn to the sky when there was a minor flash. Wave and Blaze appeared in the sky when the flash vanished less than a second later, and they soon hit the ground just as Kaden and Sonic had done just moments before. Just as the girls sat up, there was a second flash, and Jet fell out of the sky as well (though he managed to land rather gracefully in a crouch on one knee). Before the hawk could stand, though, there was one last flash and Silver was quite literally dumped onto him, creating yet another cloud of dust to fill everyone's lungs.

Decidedly miserable at the dry and terribly hot conditions of this place, Sonic stood just as Jet shoved Silver off and also stood. Silver let out a groan of complaint, then mumbled, "Is this Shamar?"

"No," Jet muttered as he fixed his scarf by tossing one end of it back over the appropriate shoulder.

There was a soft shifting sound as Blaze, balancing carefully, dumped sand out of one of her shoes, then put said shoe back on her foot. "Then where are we?"

Wave's quick mind went to work, and she soon seemed to have an answer. Looking very concerned for reasons that soon became obvious, she asked, "Is this... the Badlands?"

 _The Badlands._ The horrible desert that Jet had written about in his journal. The place where he and so many others had been lost for so long, ill and starving and injured and just all-around suffering... Teeth gritting with newfound fear, Sonic's gaze swung to Jet just as Jet nodded. Though never one to peg his friends as liars, Sonic had to be sure that Jet was right. "How can you tell?" he demanded.

Turning his head, Jet leveled Sonic with a look that was so cool and calm that it was almost icy. "Try using your powers," he responded. "Any of them."

Frowing even more, Sonic tried to summon some of his fire into his hand. Silver tried to teleport. Wave even tried to call forth her psychic abilities. Kaden and Blaze just watched as the three of them failed terrifically. Well, Sonic supposed that this explained part of the reason why Jet and all those others had been trapped out here for so long (or at all, for that matter). Not that that made this situation any less terrible and unpleasant. "Okay... so now that that's been confirmed," he sighed, "what are we going to do?"

Of course, Silver immediately looked to Jet. But, before he could ask anything, Jet simply turned and began walking. Considering the fact that there was _nothing_ in sight out here save for sand (there were literally no landmarks at all), it didn't make any sense for Jet to be going this way in particular. Unless he had some sort of a compass. Which Sonic supposed was possible. Likely, even. Hell, Jet had probably programmed one into his communicator, knowing him. Deciding to just trust his old friend for now, Sonic followed after him, prompting the others to do the same. _We can't keep asking him to trust us if we don't show him the same amount of trust._ That didn't, however, mean that they weren't allowed to have questions. So Silver did just that. "Hey, where are we going, exactly?"

"Hakir," Jet responded.

"What's that?"

"A cave system."

After that, silence fell between everyone in the group. Sonic was already beginning to feel the immense force of the sun and heat in this place. Normally, he didn't mind the heat, and that was only partially because he was a fire-user. And yet, he was already experiencing the unpleasant sensation of just being _much too hot_. And if _he_ was feeling this bad, he could only imagine how bad his son and Jet must have felt. They were both very much creatures of the cold. They both loved winter, rain, snow, chilly winds, and so on. For Silver, it largely came from being a silver hedgehog, as that breed was one that originated in the far north of Mobius where it was cold and usually snowy. For Jet, it was just how he was. No particular reason for it, so far as Sonic knew. And yet, they were both doing alright for now, by all appearances. Taking note of that, Sonic decided to just suck it up and continued on.

The ground suddenly began to rumble faintly, causing all three sets of hedgehog ears to prick and Jet to still. Seeing him freeze, Sonic immediately also stopped moving. He started to ask what in the hell was going on, but was almost inevitably cut off when a creature suddenly burst out of the sand with a horrible shriek-like sound. Immediately, Sonic recognized the beast as a Turuk, the man-eating monstrosity that Jet had written about and even illustrated in his journal. When the shrieking died down and the three pairs of sensitive ears unflattened, Jet turned to face the beast that had popped up at his left side. The creature shrieked again, then unexpectedly burrowed back under the sand. Sonic didn't trust it for a second, and it didn't seem that Jet did, either. And, soon enough, the beast proved their worries correct by bursting back out of the sand just millimeters from Silver's right leg. Silver flinched away when the worm-like monster tried to twist around and grab him in it's terrifyingly sharp mouth, and Kaden ran forward. With a swift kick to it's head, he sent it fleeing back under the sand. When the creature popped up a third time, clearly drawn by terrible bloodlust, Jet whipped out his gun, fired twice, and it slumped over. Two perfect holes were visible in its head.

Looking shaken, Silver swallowed hard and said weakly, "So... Swell welcoming committee, huh?" This attempt at humor didn't hide his nerves from coloring his tone.

"Hn," Kaden murmured somewhat moodily in reply. It had been a long time since Sonic had heard his father make that noise.

"We should get going," Blaze said quietly to no one in particular.

"Yeah," Wave agreed. "There could be more of those things."

Apparently agreeing with that assessment, Jet put his gun back into his backpack, then resumed walking. With nothing left to do for the moment and not feeling too keen on the idea of being left alone with those sand creatures, Sonic and the others followed.

 **~台風の目~**

In the immediate aftermath of the disappearance of Kaden and the others, Marthal watched as the others interacted. He could smell the worry in each of their scents, the fear that some of the kids were feeling, and so on. His eyes flicked around the group, reading their lips in order to keep track of what was going on. They were trying to decide what to do, who should be in charge for now since Sonic was gone, why Sonic and the others had even vanished in the first place, whether or not the Nocturne Clan was involved, and so on. Marthal was almost certain that the best course of action right now would be to put Analia and/or Locke in charge (probably Analia) and leave the area. Obviously the enemies knew they were here, and clearly this wasn't a safe place anymore. The Nocturne Clan had taken away some of the strongest members of the group for whatever reason and were likely planning on screwing with the group in other ways as well. _This is a really bad situation._

A muffled noise to his left drew his attention that way, and he saw Keiri standing there with her back to him. She was talking to Locke, but he couldn't read what she was saying because her back was to him. It was an annoyance, truly, that he could only pick up on Locke's half of the conversation. _Yeah, they probably did, but I don't know why they'd bother._

 _I don't know. Maybe to distract us or something. That doesn't explain the spiders, though._

 _It's possible, I guess. It's not strange to think that they want to force us to leave._

 _Yeah, maybe. If we go now, we might be able to get to a safe place before they can catch up._

 _Well staying here is bound to be dangerous, too. Neither option is guaranteed to be safe._

 _If you say so, but I still vote that we leave today, not tomorrow. The kids can just rest in the ships. Besides, it's not that late into the afternoon, yet. We have plenty of time left in the day._

 _Yeah, sure. Let me know what she says, will you? I'm supposed to be helping watch Jason._

After Locke said that, Keiri nodded and the two parted ways. Keiri walked to Analia, and Locke returned to his small family. Marthal turned his head back to his wife, watching silently as she and Analia spoke. This time, he was able to see both of their faces and, therefore, he was able to pick up on the entire conversation. As he watched, the two women came to a mutual decision. Analia had sided with Locke on the matter of leaving sooner rather than later, and Keiri had eventually been made to agree with them both. They soon told everyone else that it was time to get packed up. Of course, being mostly deaf didn't mean the same thing as being helpless (god, Marthal hated people who thought otherwise), so the orange-furred cat got up off his butt to help. All the while, he kept an eye on the others, not wanting to miss it if someone said something important that he couldn't hear.

As he worked on packing up some cans of food and half-empty water bottles, he watched as the twins helped their mother roll up sleeping bags and blankets. The blue female hawk spoke quietly to Jet's kids as they helped her put bags into the X-Tornado. Suri squirmed around in her arm. Elsewhere, Lia ran literal circled around her father while he, like Marthal, packed up canned food. Rouge and Knuckles packed up a couple ice chests while Locke and Jason tossed a few bags into Kaden's ship. Amy and Kimmy (who had spent the last twenty minutes or so crying, the poor thing) made a game out of rolling up blankets in an attempt to cheer the kitten up. Keiri and Tails ended up working together to put bags into Shadow's ship. Things were so busy, but it all seemed so quiet to Marthal's ears. He worried that the Nocturne Clan was to blame. But what reason would they have for stealing his hearing aids, of all things? For that matter, why would they bother unleashing an apparently harmless wave of spiders on them? Unless, of course, that spider-wave was actually a natural but utterly freakish part of the nature in these mountains. But even still.

Filled with unspoken worries, he just tried to focus on packing.

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic supposed that it was amazing that they ended up finding shelter in the form of a strange rock formation in the middle of the desert. He supposed it was some kind of a miracle that none of them had been eaten yet. He couldn't stop noticing how _subdued_ Jet seemed now that he was trapped in this horrible place again. He couldn't not see how miserable Silver was in the heat. He was very aware of how wary Wave was of this whole place. He was unable to believe how calm Blaze had remained this whole time. He didn't understand why his father seemed so distant.

The group's overall plan was still to try to travel to the cave system Jet had mentioned to them over an hour ago. Hakir was likely their only hope of true, decent safety out here. However, traveling during the daylight hours was likely a death-sentence in and of itself. The heat alone was a killer. The Turuk were, quite possibly, even worse. And, of course, there was no telling what other monstrosities were out here. The blue hero just hoped and prayed that none of them were nocturnal. But, then again, what were the real chances of them being _that_ lucky? _Not high enough,_ he was sure.

Hours were spent with the six of them just sitting on the stone in the shade the pillar-like formations offered, just resting as best as they could. Silver and Blaze laid together, attempting to nap most of the time while Wave and Jet sat in opposite areas, both seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Sonic sat with his father, also thinking and not paying a great deal of attention to his surroundings. Particularly, his thoughts were focused on the very man he was sitting next to. His mind had drifted back to the discovery of just a few days ago. Namely, the fact that his father was a prince. Or, more technically, a king. He was royalty, and he'd been kidnapped as a baby largely for that reason. His broken childhood, much of it Sonic had already known about, had begun on the very day of his birth. He'd never had the luxury of experiencing the innocent of life that most others did. It was all so terrible. But, as the sky finally darkened and the stars and twin moons finally showed themselves, Sonic found his mind wanting the answer to a question, a question that embodied his hope that his father's past had contained some happiness in regards to this matter. Acting on that thought, he finally spoke up. "Hey, Dad?" Emerald eyes so like his own glanced to him questioningly. "The day we fought the Nocturne Clan in Kingdom Valley, Locke ended up explaining to us what that Ix guy was talking about." Kaden said nothing about it, so Sonic pressed on. "He mentioned your parents a few times." He felt Kaden sort of tense up, and he prayed he wasn't about to make a mistake. Turning his head, he looked at his father. "I was just wondering if you ever had the chance to get to know them."

There was silence at first, but it was eventually broken when Kaden sighed. That sigh seemed to rob him of all his tension, and he turned his head away, eyes closing. "No," he responded quietly. "After I was... _taken_ from them," he clearly didn't want to use the term _kidnapped_ , "I never met them." There was a significant pause, then he admitted slowly, woodenly, "I had the opportunity to meet them once, when I was your age... but I let fear dictate my decision in the end and instead chose to run as far away from my birthplace as possible and never look back." Something in his tone sounded so _broken_. So deeply full of pain and regret. "...Except... I did look back. Many times." A soft sigh escaped him, so soft that it was very nearly inaudible even to Sonic's sensitive ears. Then Kaden said in a voice just as soft, if not more so, "In a way... I still do."

Struck by the infectious sadness and pain, Sonic could only look up into the sky and pray that there would be a way to fix all of this... someday...

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,282 words this time.** Just a reminder, the word "Hakir" is pronounced "Hah-keer". Posted (at about 6:45 p.m.) 08-11-17.


	37. Threads That Bind

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This chapter is the original Ch. 41, the one that comes directly after the chapter you all read last time, and retains the original title of "Threads That Bind". It was edited here and there (mostly to take out Selene) but was largely left alone. Yes, I left in the bottom scene that has several OC's. Yes, some readers hate the OC's. Did I leave this simply because I like Kath? No. I do like Kath and all, but I left this scene because this exchange of dialogue is meant to be important later on. Not because Kath will save the day, though. That's up to our main characters like Sonic and Jet. So, for those of you who hate the OC's, I'm sorry but bear with me if you can, okay?**

 **Review Reply/Replies:**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Ha, yeah, that was a good one. I enjoyed using that idea. :) Yeah, I'm so glad it's finally time for me to start reposting! I'm stoked! Just sorry I made you all wait so long. ^-^"**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Threads That Bind"**

 **~台風の目~**

In spite of the late hour, the desert was still hot, quite horribly so. The sand burned. The wind was dry and much too warm (not to mention the fact that it felt like sandpaper). Nocturnal creatures howled and screeched in the distance. And yet... the stars twinkled beautifully. The two moons provided a soft, gentle light. However, very little of that actually held any measure of his attention. Yes, he was hyper-aware of the creature (as he knew those sounds and knew that the particular creatures making them were as savage as savage could be), but he paid attention to little else as he and the others walked. Jet had long since mastered the ability of paying attention while not actually doing so at all. It was how he was able to remain lost in thought without ever going off track as he led Silver and the others to Hakir.

As was fairly common, the subject of his thoughts drifted from here to there and elsewhere. At one point, he thought about his kids, then about Selene (a train of thought that hurt and was quickly cut off), then, strangely enough, about a pastry Arthr had once tried to bake. That last thought was rather short-lived and he brushed it aside, only to find himself randomly recalling the conversation that he'd overheard Sonic and Kaden having earlier about Kaden's parents. That thought shifted a bit to idle musings about what his parents may have been like. It then morphed into thinking idly about how many similarities he and the hedgehog shared, something he ordinarily wouldn't have pondered over much in a situation like this. However, the thought stuck. Suddenly, he was actually very aware of how many similarities he and Kaden had with one another. It was a bit odd, and something that had seldom ever occurred to him before. He'd never given it very much thought at all. Now, however, he was. And, for the sake of temporary mental entertainment as they walked, he organized the information his mind provided him into an internal list that he pondered for some time. After that, he finally lost interest in the subject. Even if that hadn't happened, he soon would have been distracted from his thoughts, anyway, as some creature he knew did not belong here started screeching horribly at them from the sky. Looking up he saw the eerie black silhouette of some monstrosity with a massive wingspan. The others, of course, noticed it as well. As they all stopped walking, Silver asked slowly, "Hey, Uncle Jet... what Badlands beastie is that?"

"No Badlands creature _flies_ ," Jet responded tersely, already drawing Alkarus. It was a familiar weight in his hand, comforting in its own way. He couldn't even count how many times this blade had saved his life (okay, so that was a lie and counting all the hundreds of times would have been easy), and he trusted that it would be up to the challenge again today. The sound of scraping metal met his ears, and he knew that Sonic and Kaden were drawing their own swords. That left three people with no weapons. Normally, that wasn't a problem, but here... there were no powers. Those three needed weapons. On that thought, he took his backpack off and, in a single fluid motion, grabbed his aura gun, his dagger, and his retractable steel staff. He tossed them all neatly behind him, landing each weapon in the hands of a person who could use each properly. Silver caught the staff, Blaze caught the dagger, and Wave caught his special gun.

The swallow gave him a confused look, her aura (and probably her eyes, not that he looked) showing clearly to him the question on her mind. _Why did you give this to me? I don't have aura powers._

Giving her a small glance, he gave her his silent, simple reply. _Try._

During this silent exchange, three more of those strange flying creatures showed up (of course they did) and the first one swooped down, talons outstretched, to try to kill one or all of them. Those wicked, oily-looking black talons slammed against Saika with a horrible metallic shriek, and Kaden was forced backward, skidding on his feet as he tried to fend off the creature. More of the creatures appeared, giving one opponent for each member of the group. Jet jumped up and slashed at the first bird thing that dared to try to maim him just as Silver extended the borrowed staff and slammed it rather forcefully into the head of another "beastie". Blaze unsheathed her dagger and cut a sizable gash through a bird-thing's wing just as Sonic very nearly lopped the head off of his own opponent. And yet, the thing somehow continued to live, and it still fought viciously in spite of the wound. Sick, disgusting globs of black blood spattered the sand.

Ignoring that for now, Jet dodged a fierce swap of talons just as Wave finally got over her internal debate or whatever was wrong with her and fired the gun. A brilliant and bright short burst of pinkish color, the very color of her aura, shot out of the gun as a sort of small laser. It hit her opponent square in the forehead. But, instead of dropping like a rock, the creature continued to fly and try to kill her. At least she'd proven to herself that she did have the ability to use the gun. So Jet didn't worry. Precious seconds passed the group by before a rather horrific shriek prompted both him and Sonic to whirl around. They watched as Kaden's enemy fell to the ground, headless and dead. Somehow, Kaden didn't have a spot of blood on him ( _Because he's often just badass like that,_ Sonic seemed to be thinking). The dark hedgehog joined his grandson's fight, and soon that enemy was dead as well. Blaze cut through the opponent one too many times not long afterward, and it too finally perished not very long before Wave shot her beast to death. Then Jet whipped and, like Kaden had, simply beheaded the creature he was fighting. Funny how they were all apparently being badass right now. No one had any of that disgusting black blood on them. That was probably a miracle of some kind.

The blue blur himself was the last to defeat his enemy. The last remaining bird-like-thing soared upward into the sky, perhaps attempting to flee, but didn't get up more than maybe about ten feet before Sonic jumped up after it, Caliburn's blade poised to strike. He stabbed it downward, and the creature let out some terrible noise as it's body jerked and twitched... then went limp and began to fall. As he ripped Caliburn free of the creature's heart, black goop splattered him and also rained down on several people down below him. In the end, Jet, Kaden, and Blaze also got goop on them. Silver made a face. "Ew," was the young hedgehog's only comment.

Disgusted but choosing to ignore it as best as he could, Jet simply sheathed his blade. Blaze tossed the dagger back to him with a grateful nod, and the staff and gun soon followed. Sonic landed neatly on the ground, appearing supremely grossed out. "What do you want to bet that these things were a present from the Nocturne Clan?" he muttered, flicking some goopy blood off of his hand. It hit Jet on the shoulder, and he flinched slightly in disgust, barely able to force himself to not otherwise show how disgusted he really was.

"I'd bet everything I own, if Blaze and I didn't need it all," Silver responded, making the universal _yuck_ face as he looked at the goop in his aforementioned wife's fur. To her credit, neither she nor Kaden seemed terribly bothered by the gooey blood. Hooray for them, Jet supposed. He, however, was severely grossed out. This was so nasty. "Seriously, though, why sick bird-things on us if those bird-things could be defeated so easily?"

Thus began a glorious (not really) debate between Silver and nearly all of the others, excluding Kaden. The debate created no answers, plausible or otherwise, of any kind, and Jet soon got sick of listening to it. Taking a seat in the sand and tuning their voices out, he unsheathed his dagger and focused on carefully scraping as much goo as he could manage out of his feathers.

 **~台風の目~**

Late into the night, Marthal and the others were speeding over the landscape in the four ships. With Kaden being gone, Marthal took over piloting his ship. Rouge was flying with Jet's kids. Other than that, however, everyone was more or less sitting or flying in their usual places. As always, the channel between the communicators was open so that anyone could hear the others at all times, just in case. Marthal had an app open on his communicator that would translate whatever anyone said into text that he could read, and his communicator was sitting on the dashboard where he could see it. As such, he took quick notice of it when a conversation started up between some people. Amy had started it, and she was expressing her worries over her husband, father-in-law, stepson, daughter-in-law, and two friends.

Soon, others joined in. "I think they'll be fine, but… I'm worried too," Cream admitted quietly.

"Honestly, I'm sure they'll be alright. Together, they have more than enough skill to take care of themselves," Locke responded after a short moment. "Each of them has been through plenty by this point."

"That's part of what really has me worried," Rouge said suddenly. "They've all been through a lot in their own ways, and there's no way that bad things aren't going to happen to them again, wherever they are."

 _Hardly a comforting thought,_ Marthal mused.

Tails gave a small sigh. "Even then, they've fared against much worse, and Sonic and Kaden are both really, really strong. Jet is a lot stronger, too. I think he might even be able to best those two in a fight, though maybe not easily." He paused for a few seconds, then continued with his train of thought. "Still, them being possibly on their own is worrisome by itself."

"It's even more worrisome since they don't seem to be on the planet anymore," Marthal murmured, speaking up for the first time.

"That's true… Not having them around scares me, too. All we can do is wait and hope they'll be alright, honestly. It's not like we can just completely abandon everything and go looking for them," Keiri said, mostly in response to Marthal.

"That's not good enough," Shadow muttered from the pilot's seat of his own ship. There was a fairly lengthy pause and multiple people glanced over at him. Finally, he spoke again. "They'll be fine," he corrected himself in a mutter. After that, he fell silent and said nothing more.

Knuckles, moving on from the topic that just entered everyone's minds, spoke. "Sonic can take care of all of them. I'm sure of it."

"And Jet is more than capable of lending his aid," Analia murmured, joining the conversation for the first time. "I am sure that he is more than willing, too."

"Chao, chao!" Cheese exclaimed, suddenly entering the conversation. "Chao chao chao chao chao!"

"Cheese says that he thinks they'll be just fine," Cream helpfully translated for everyone. "And that he agrees with Knuckles and Miss Analia both."

"Good to know," Vector chuckled.

As the adults continued this conversation, one of the kids opened up a new channel just for themselves and the other children. With that, a new conversation was born. The conversation started off fine, more or less, but then Kimmy began crying (the poor thing) because both of her parents were gone. Hannah was quick to jump in and try to soothe her. "I'm sure that they'll be fine, Kimmy," she murmured. "They're strong, just like my dad. They can handle any bad guys they meet, I'm sure of it."

"Yeah! All of them are really tough! They've beat up robots, fought crazy people, and even giant… thingies! They can handle anything!" Lia jumped in, trying to help Kimmy.

"B-But I miss them!" Kimmy wailed. "And Papa and Grandpa, too!" The sound of all this crying made Lucas uncomfortable (much like it would have with his father if Jet were in his place), and he found himself not saying a thing at the moment.

"Stop worrying already," Jason grumbled. "People already said that they'd be fine."

Ten refrained from sighing at Jason's response, and instead responded to Kimmy. "Kimmy, everything will be okay," he said reassuringly. "They'll be back before you even know it."

Sniffling quietly, Kimmy mumbled a small reply. "Okay…"

Sen gave a small smile. "Don't any of you worry. We'll be alright and so will they. All of us will see each other soon."

"Yeah, Sen is right," Sarai murmured calmly. "Everything will be alright in the end."

"Probably," Lucas agreed, finally speaking up. "Dad and the others wouldn't let anything too bad happen. They never would."

While the others kept talking, Cream found herself gazing out the cockpit and out over the innumerable stars. A small smile tugged at her lips in spite of it all. _Everything will be okay alright in the end. The villains won't win this time._

 _We'll all be okay._

 **~台風の目~**

It was still late at night and Jet and the others were still traveling as quickly as they could manage to the cave system Hakir. The goop had more or less hardened by now, creating a constant annoyance that prevented Jet from getting totally absorbed in his thoughts like he had been earlier. As such, he was pretty aware of the specific things that Wave and Kaden were saying as they talked. Likewise, he was aware of Silver and Blaze murmuring to each other as they walked at the back of the group. The only ones who were quiet right now were he himself and Sonic. He decided not to be the one to break that silence. _If he wants to talk, he can do so when he's good and ready,_ he thought, internal tone a bit irritated just because it was still hot and he hated that.

After a long, quiet couple of minutes, Sonic moved back a bit and walked beside Jet, prompting the hawk to glance at him. He quietly sought the right words to try and start a conversation with his old friend before speaking. "How far away do you think we are?"

Looking away again, Jet looked at the stars, which he had been using as his guide for quite some time now. "Over an hour," he eventually responded, keeping it brief. His tone didn't at all betray the poor mood this heat had put him in.

The blue blur gave a slow nod in response to this. "Are we making good time, then?"

The young king gave that some thought. "More or less," he answered. A small pause, then he added, "All things considered… we could be doing much worse right now."

"Very true," came the simple response. "I'm just glad we got out of that scrap without getting hurt."

"We didn't get hurt..." Jet agreed slowly, "...but you _did_ get us covered in sludge."

Sonic rolled his eyes a bit at this. "I didn't exactly mean to do that, you know." Jet just shrugged lightly, offering no verbal reply. "Anyway, past that, we're still going on well. Like you said, things could be much worse."

A second of consideration, then Jet hummed a small agreement. ... _I suppose so..._

Sonic looked up at the stars, deciding to change the subject. "Do you still like astronomy?"

This was such a random question that it actually caught Jet by surprise, though he didn't much show it. After a long moment, he conceded a nod, only to then ask, "...Why?"

With a small shrug, he simply motioned up. "Different stars are visible here, different moons, different planets, all of it."

"And?" Jet responded. He was so used to all of these different sights by now that he didn't quite catch where Sonic was going with this. It didn't help that he hadn't gotten much sleep in the past week or better. Plus it was still so damn _hot_ …

"I'm wondering if you've ever studied this or mapped it out like the genius you are." Sonic replied after a short moment, his gaze shifting back to Jet. "Have you?"

Internally, Jet felt himself sort of tense up at the blatant compliment. He had never been the best at accepting praise and the like, and the fact that he didn't _agree_ with Sonic in this situation didn't help him to accept it. But he made no outward comment on that. "Yes," he said instead, answering Sonic's question in lieu of another reply. "I have."

The blue blur smiled. "That's nice. Anything else interesting that you've been able to do?"

Honestly, Jet debated not answering, if only because he didn't feel like talking. And yet, talking was helping him to keep his thoughts off of his traumatic memories of this place. If only for that latter reason, he obliged the hedgehog and replied… sort of. "A lot of things," he said enigmatically with a small shrug. "Too many to list."

"Name something, then," Sonic responded. "Anything." For the moment, Jet stayed quiet, sort of hoping Sonic would drop it. But he was quickly proven wrong. "Do you still build Babylonian tech?" He asked, being less vague to help Jet along.

Finally, Jet gave in and gave a real reply (not that his other replies had been in anyway " _fake_ "). "Yes. ...A lot."

"What kind of things have you made?" Sonic lightly pressed, hoping his friend wouldn't close himself off.

"Weapons and defense technology, for the most part," Jet disclosed. He didn't bother going into detail about what else he'd made, specifically. Not right now, anyway.

"Nice," was Sonic's reply. He then thought for a moment on something else to say, since he didn't want to push too hard on his friend. "Anything else you've done?"

Thinking, Jet tried to come up with an answer that didn't require too much detailed explanation on his part. "I learned how to play more instruments," he eventually said when he couldn't think of anything else.

Sonic smiled at this, quietly remembering how much Jet loved music. "What's your favorite that you've learned how to play?"

Though he was honestly torn, Jet did end up making a decision. For him, it was a tie between two instruments (the piano being one of them), but he only mentioned one. "The Metola," he told Sonic eventually. "It's similar to a guitar."

"You'll have to show me sometime when we get out of this place. It sounds interesting enough," Sonic said with a smile.

A small shrug served as Jet's agreement to that statement. "You can likely learn how to play it fairly easily."

"Then maybe you should teach me one day."

"...Perhaps."

Sonic gave a soft chuckle in response, sighing softly. "You should. It'd be fun."

"That wasn't my concern," Jet admitted with a very slight sigh betraying itself in his tone. "The problem would lay in finding the time to take a break from work and whatnot."

"I understand that. I'd have to do the same, to a certain extent."

"Mm," was the noncommittal hummed reply. Sonic looked forward again, searching for a new topic. When he eventually came up with something, the conversation flawlessly resumed. Everything was so casual, but Jet seemed to sort of be feeling awkward about it all. Still, they were talking... and that was all that mattered for now.

 **~台風の目~**

 _Six-year-old Kath looked up at his mother with a subtle expression of confusion. "Felorn?" he repeated in question._

 _His mother, who was kneeling in front of him in his bedroom, nodded. "Yes," K'aria confirmed. "Have you heard of them before?"_

 _"Yes," Kath responded. "I read about them in that tome of ancient legends." He paused briefly, then added, "Oh, and they were briefly mentioned that book on the history of imperialism in the Selta Quadrant of space."_

 _"Did those books explain to you what they are?" K'aria asked him, very serious._

 _"They're beings corrupted by Darkness," Kath replied without having to give his answer any thought. "They allowed themselves to be corrupted by greed, power-lust, hatred, anger, and all manner of other things that the Darkness thrives on."_

 _"Who else does that sound like?" K'aria inquired, pressing him to make the connection._

 _He already had. "The Therians," he murmured._

 _"Yes." A soft sigh escaped his mother's lips. "The last thing I want is to burden you, sweetheart, but you're more than capable of understanding all of this. We both know you are." Heavenly blue eyes looked up at her. "Someday, Kath, this may be very important. Most likely within your own lifetime." She sat down on the floor and pulled her young son into her lap and arms. He didn't like to be held typically, but he allowed it... if only because this was his mother. Her fingers lightly combed through his hair, a gesture that was notoriously capable of soothing him. As such, he felt himself relax a bit. "Someday, the Nocturne Clan will likely be freed," K'aria murmured. "As with the last time they were at large, they will likely seek others like them to aid in their war. The Therians are, in many ways, worse than the Clan ever was. The Clan will be drawn to them. If an alliance is formed, it could spell the end of many, many worlds. Such a thing must be avoided if at all possible."_

 _There was a period of silence as Kath allowed this all to sink in, then he wriggled himself free of his mother's arms a bit, unintentionally ruffling his hair in the process. "If things come to that... Azerel and I will take care of it."_

 _The pup perked his ears and looked at Kath with a sort of 'What are you volunteering me for?' expression._

 _"Even if you two do not or cannot get involved," K'aria told her son, "you must at least pass this information on. It may very well be the key to the future of existence."_

 _Kath's eyes hardened with determination. "I will," he told her. A solemn promise. "I won't let it happen, Kacha. I'll do whatever it takes."_

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,891 words this time around. Much thanks to Blazing Winds, who helped me write a lot of this chapter originally. In the second scene, he wrote in all the parts for Locke, Tails, Knuckles, Keiri, Cheese, Lia, and Sen. In the second to last scene, he did Sonic. I kept much of his work here.**

 **Note: "Kacha" is sort of a play off of the Japanese word for "mother". In my made up Babylonian language, it means the same thing and is extremely respectful. It's pronounced "Kah-chah". For the record, I'm not entirely sure if "Kacha" is a word used in Japan, though I do know that some similar words are used. Posted (at about 8:40 p.m.) 08-12-17.**


	38. Nightmare vs Reality

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This chapter is the original Ch. 42 with the original title, "Nightmare vs Reality", which directly precedes the last chapter. It was heavily edited removed Selene from the first scene and remove a different scene with Kath in its entirety. This mainly leaves in the nightmare scenes.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **So, this chapter got dark. Remember that M rating on this story? It's very much still there. Why? Largely because of chapters like this. Yes, this could have been worse, much worse, but I still feel that this chapter is worthy of that M rating. You guys were warned. If you can't handle things like people nearly being drowned, being beaten, and so on, I suggest you gloss over the italicized scenes near the end of the chapter, especially the bottom two. So, yeah. Otherwise, enjoy.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Nightmare vs. Reality"**

 **~台風の目~**

Tails and the others flew for hours, going directly south from the mountains where Chun-nan resided. They passed over the Moon Cave, Kingdom Valley, and the ancient battleground (though it was barely recognizable as such nowadays) where Kaden and Analia had once battled Dark Gaia and died. From there, they started going southwest, passing between the city of Murasia and Leaf Forest. In the distance, the Great Forest and Great Canyon (both of which were outside Empire City). This journey had begun in the afternoon of the day before, and it was now somewhere in the very early morning hours of the next day. How they'd made such good time was beyond Tails, but that was hardly his big concern right now. His big concern was danger, though he had yet to detect any anywhere. That was a relief, he supposed.

Looking around, he took in where everyone was. He was in the X-Tornado, of course, and kids were his only passengers. Directly behind him were Cream and Cheese, Charmy was behind them, and Kimmy and Bokkun were sharing the final seat in the very back. Shadow was piloting his own ship, Lia was in the seat behind him, Lucas was behind her, and Jason was behind him. In Kaden's ship, which Marthal was still piloting, Keiri had the second seat (acting as his ears in certain ways), Sen had the third seat, and Sarai had the fourth. Espio was still piloting his ship, Vector was in the seat behind him, Hannah was behind him, and Ten was behind her. All the kids were asleep, as was Vector. Locke, Knuckles, and Rouge were all resting on the wings of the X-Tornado, possibly asleep, possibly not. Amy and Tammy were asleep together on one of the wings of Shadow's ship, and Analia was sitting on the wing of her husband's ship along with Jet, Ten, Hannah, Lucas, and Wave's Extreme Gear (all of which she was preventing from flying away by use of her magic). Little Suri was sleeping like a rock in her arms. Everyone (save for Sonic and the five others he'd vanished with) was here. They were safe. And yet, he still needed to find something to distract himself from his worries.

Everything was quiet. They had a lot of ground to cover. The flight was was long and for once rather peaceful, and Tails thoroughly enjoyed it... right up until the power to all the ships suddenly cut out.

 **~台風の目~**

It was somewhere around two in the morning according the Mobian time displayed on Sonic's communicator. He had no idea what time it was here on Babylon, but either way it didn't matter. Either way, it was still clearly very early or very late, and everyone was exhausted from spending so much time in such intense heat. Even Kaden, who normally did rather well in any weather that wasn't cold seemed to be feeling the unpleasant effects of the desert's natural climate. It was rather horrible, truly, but at least they had finally reached their destination. Sonic was grateful for that, if nothing else. Everyone moved into the cave wearily, dragging feet and sighing with relief at how much cooler this cave was compared to the outside world. Sonic and the others got as comfortable as they could manage on the ground... and soon they were all asleep.

Immediately, the spell went into effect.

 _The blue blur was the first to be struck with the nightmares, the most vivid of their kind he'd ever had. He was sitting in his house on his bed, listening to music, when he felt a very sharp prick on his arm. Recoiling sharply from the wholly unpleasant sensation, he turned his head to see what in the hell had happened. Much to his dismay, a syringe was floating in the air right next to where his arm had been mere seconds ago. A tiny drop of blood clung to the very tip of the needle. Instantly, he freaked out and jumped off of his and Amy's bed. For whatever reason, he found himself making a dash for the closet to try to take refuge inside. The needle chased him all the way, succeeding in stabbing him a second time in the process. Now both his forearm and his shoulder blade stung._

 _As soon as he reached the sliding closet door, he swung it open with so much force it slammed against the wall and quite possibly cracked it. Hundreds of needles swarmed out of the closet like an ungodly pack of furious bees capable of stinging more than just once apiece. Turning tail, he fled and dove under the bed as though that would actually be enough to save him. Throwing his arms up over his head and pinching his eyes shut as tight as they would go, he gritted his teeth and struggled to hold onto some semblance of the contentment he'd been feeling earlier. All the while, the needles relentlessly stabbed him in every imaginable place that they could reach... until they didn't._

 _He made the mistake of opening his eyes. Warily, of course, but he nonetheless did it. And, as luck would have it, that got the needles moving again. Hiding his face a second time, the hedgehog resumed his pitiful cowering, once again being continuously stabbed as he did so. It never once crossed his mind that this situation could get any worse, but fate was very clearly scowling down upon him at the moment, for things did get worse... and in perhaps one of the most terrible ways he could imagine. Amidst all the stabbing and the cowering and the hoping and praying that Amy or his mother or someone would find him and save him from this god-awful mess, things got worse._

 _When he felt the thin layer of water on the floor, he at first thought he was imagining it. Surely the odds of this needle attack being real were slim enough. What were the odds of his house suddenly flooding, too? But the water rose, growing colder and colder as he did so. A sharp, involuntary inhalation was his initial reaction, and he instinctively tried to jump away, only to slam his head on the bottom of the bed he was still attempting to hide beneath. That impact caused him to ungracefully face-plant in the water, only furthering his panic. Shaking, he rolled out from under the bed and leapt onto it. He didn't even care at this point that Amy would kill him for ruining her nice sheets. He just had to get away._

 _The water rose at a rate that seemed impossible. Before he could even register the fact that he had landed safely on the bed, he was up to his ankles in icy water. His panicked emerald eyes desperately sought a way to escape. Going down the stairs wasn't an option, as it was clear that it was fully flooded already. The hall and other rooms upstairs were surely just as flooded as this room was. His only hope seemed to be the bedroom windows, so he curled up and launched himself at one of them... only to bounce harmlessly off and splash into the water back-first. His head breached the surface with a gasp, and he tried a second time to break the window and launch himself into freedom. When this didn't work, he tried the other window, but to no avail. More desperate than ever, he turned his attention to the hall and attempted to Spin Dash down it in an attempt to make it to the front or back doors, only to bounce off of some invisible wall or something that shouldn't have been there._

 _Staring in disbelief at what had been his last hope of escape, he clamped a hand over his mouth and felt the water rise above his head._

(-)

Blaze was the next to have a nightmare.

 _The young mother watched with a small smile as her husband and daughter ran around a little ways away from her. The two of them were playing a game of tag, and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh when their little kitten squealed as she was not only tagged, but also tickled. Silver released the child shortly thereafter, and the game resumed, taking the pair further and further out of Blaze's field of vision. When she lost sight of them fully, she decided it would be best to start heading their way. After all, if she didn't keep them out of trouble, who would? Taking a moment to look up at the sunny sky, appreciating its beauty, she allowed herself a small smile, then began walking._

 _...Except... they wouldn't move. Frowning in confusion, she looked down at her legs. Save for some slight bending at her knees, she couldn't move them at all. She struggled regardless, though, determined to free herself and her legs from whatever was holding her captive. However, they and her feet seemed for all the world to be super-glued to the ground. It was so, so strange... and some terrible feeling was slowly starting to enter her heart. She didn't know what had happened to the peace and joy from moments before, but an unparalleled sense of dread was washing over her without any explanation. Looking up quite suddenly, she saw that the sky was now filling with a thick blanket of suffocating black smoke. Her legs continued to refuse to move. A deafening roar, the likes of which she'd never thought she'd hear before, suddenly ripped through the air, all-but deafening her as she remained unwilling rooted to the spot. Her amber eyes widened, then shot up to gaze into the monstrous face of her most feared enemy... Iblis._

 _Without even giving her a chance to try to make sense of how this beast was here, Iblis shot a massive fireball in the direction that Silver and Kimmy had gone. A terrified scream that could only have been Kimmy's met her ears. Her mouth opened to scream back, to call her precious family back to her, but no sound escaped. All she could do was watch in horror as a second fireball followed the first and crashed into the same place. The screams were cut off. Tears spilled down her cheeks, the flow only intensifying when it truly sank in what had happened. Silver wasn't in the air fighting. Kimmy wasn't screaming or running away. They were... dead. An agonized sob was ripped from her, and she still found herself helpless to watch as Iblis turned it's attention on her and her alone. A giant clawed hand swung down at her, prepared to crush her beneath its mighty bulk, only to be stopped when they both heard a roaring sound that most definitely wasn't animalistic in nature._

 _Opening her eyes, as they had squeezed shut when she'd flinched in preparation for the blow that never came, she turned her head in the direction of the roar, praying that whatever was making the noise would somehow manage to save her from this horrible fate. But, to her horror, a tidal wave of water of truly impossible size was hurtling toward them. Sobbing openly all over again, she fought once more to free her legs from the spot where she was still stuck, but nothing she did saved her. The wave crashed over her and Iblish with so much raw force that she truly felt as if she might have been crushed. Her legs finally unstuck from the ground, however, so she forced herself to move in spite of her newfound physical pain. In pure desperation, she followed the bubbles she saw rising in the darkness, already aching for the air they too were racing toward. High above her, her eyes spied a faint light. That was her hope, her only chance. But then an invisible force wrapped around her ankle and dragged her down, dooming her._

(-)

The next nightmare was Jet's.

 _Immediately upon waking up in his dream, Jet found himself stripped of everything he normally had on his person, save for his socks, and he was laying on a cold metal table in a very dark room. Cuffs imbued with powerful magic kept him trapped there, unable to free himself. The cuffs were secured tightly around his wrists and ankles, trapping him utterly. His heart began to pound as he realized where he was and what was going on. His treacherous mind almost tried to convince him that he'd never actually left, that he'd never escaped. Any internal debating on that matter was ended before it could begin, however, as two of the Syxans who had spent so long making him suffer entered the room, slamming the door behind them. That alone made him want to panic. The tools they'd brought with them made him wish he was dead. Permanently. At least then he wouldn't have to go through this again._

 _They started with fire, as they always did. No amount of struggling could save him from the source of his current agony and terror, and it was all he could do to just try and breathe. Blades eventually replaced fire, slicing and cutting and stabbing in all of the most sensitive places any person had. Blunt objects and fierce beatings followed, continuing on longer than he even knew. The next thing he was really aware of was the cuffs being detached from the table without ever being taken off of his person. They continued to drain his power and strength, leaving him unable to fight back as he was dragged to a different part of the room. He tried to struggle. He tried not to let them take him. But he failed, and they simply did not. This was how it always was._

 _The cuffs on his wrists were attached to a thick post while the cuffs on his ankles were attached to the ground, trapping him unwillingly in a sitting position with his arms on either side of the post. He knew full well what was coming, and he was so numb with pain that he thought he might pass out before the next bit of hell began. The first crack of the whip against his back snapped him out of that state and he arched toward the post in agony, teeth tightly clenched and eyes squeezed shut. More blows rained down upon him, one right after the other on and on and on until he very nearly truly blacked out from the severity of his pain alone. However, he was left alone long enough to wake back up again... and then the torture resumed._

 _Without any mercy being given, he was brutally beaten within an inch of his life. Bones were broken, his right arm was severely crushed at one point, he was whipped some more, at at some point or another he was even branded in between his shoulder blades with who knew what goddamn Syxan symbol. Then, just as he was again about to black out, he was removed from that position, cuffs still in place on him, and unceremoniously thrown into a pitch black room where he was then locked in, alone. The room was already tiny and therefore terrifying... but then the walls began to literally close in on him._

(-)

It was Kaden's misfortune that he be the one to have the final nightmare.

 _Straight away, Kaden found himself alone in a tiny, filthy cell that he normally could have broken free from easily, if not for the magic-imbued cuffs shackling his wrists behind his back. He stood up, trying to figure out how in the hell he was here, only to abruptly freeze when something occurred to him. He was up to his knees in water, and that water was rising. Fast. His heart literally missed at least a beat or two as he risking shooting a glance down at the water that was now already climbing up to his waist. Remembering that Kathros, the bastard behind him being locked in here in the first place, was found of illusions and mind games, he struggled to recall how in the hell to break this illusion (if it even was one, and he prayed that it was)._

 _As though doing so would somehow help him, he backed up until he felt his back hit the cold stone wall. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to ignore the feeling of the water reaching his chest and continuing to rise even after that. Mere moments later, at reached his neck, and he found himself trembling lightly against his will, tilting his chin up as if that would actually prevent it from getting wet. Within no time at all, his face was covered in water, and he was holding his breath. Though he tried to keep himself calm, he could feel his body struggling,.._

 _The next thing he knew, his head was being forcefully yanked out of the large bucket it had been being held under. His wrists were still shackled behind his back and the cuffs continued to drain him of his powers and strength, leaving him helpless to do anything but gasp for air now that he finally had the chance to do so, at least for a few precious seconds. But then his head was shoved back into the water without warning, causing him to inhale some water without ever meaning to. He coughed hard against his will, causing more water to enter his mouth and lungs. Not for the first time in his life, he was terrified he would drown, and he struggled. The reward for his struggles was nothing short of a brutal punishment._

 _Even while his head remained so painfully submerged, he was beaten. He knew not by what, but the blows only made him cough harder against his will out of sheer pain. Then his head was again yanked out of the tub, and he coughed and gasped for air, even as he was continually struck by some blunt object or another. Kochei continued to grip him tightly by the hair, ready to dunk him again at any moment while Ynche beat him and laughed like the maniac he was. Kathros merely watched, darkly pleased, and Kaden could hear the man's low chuckling. Then he was struck in the side of the head, leaving him dazed and reeling. A sort of terrible agony on the side of his right knee snapped him out of his daze, though he wished it hadn't. He started to go limp as he was beaten yet more, and a third blow to his head nearly made him crumple to the floor. His vision was blurry... but he didn't need to see to know that his head was once again being pushed down to the water._

(-)

Without any warning, Sonic jolted awake, his gasp being more than loud enough to startle light sleepers like Kaden and Jet awake as well. Blaze woke mere seconds afterward. The first thing Sonic became aware of was how much he ached. Looking down at his arms, he was rather shocked to see that it was covered in puncture wounds, like that caused by needles. His throat burned, too, as if he'd really inhaled water like he'd dreamt he had not so long before. Utterly confused and deeply concerned, he looked around slowly to see Blaze coughing into her hand, Jet slowly sitting up and cradling a badly broken arm, and Kaden also coughing as he tried to put pressure on a gushing head wound. Now afraid and still not understanding what in the hell was going on, Sonic got up and ran over to his father while Silver dragged Blaze into his arms to check her over and Wave dared to hurry over to Jet and offer him help.

Both Kaden and Jet seemed really out of it, not responding very much to anything anyone was saying or doing. They flinched severely when people tried to touch them in an effort to tend to their wounds, and it was really, really difficult to get any answers out of either of them. Eventually, however, Sonic was able to confirm one crucial detail that would likely prove itself to be the key piece in this messed up puzzle. He, Blaze, Jet, and Kaden had all had the most vivid nightmares of their lives, nightmares that had done nothing but torment them with their worst fears and, in the cases of Jet and Kaden, the equally horrific memories that went along with some of those fears. How they had all ended up wounded in real life and not just in the dreams was beyond him, but at least this explained why his father and best friend seemed so _traumatized_ , even when they'd been fine earlier. Sonic gritted his teeth. He knew he needed to act. There was only one person he could think of to try to call for help, but to call them required him to use Jet's communicator. Spinning around to face his friend, he asked (or perhaps even demanded) to know where the device was, as the hawk simply _never_ seemed to be wearing it. Thankfully, Jet responded immediately this time. "I-" He cut himself off when a quaver betrayed itself in his voice, took a slow breath, then tried again in a much calmer tone, "In my b... backpack." Sonic didn't miss that brief stutter.

Grabbing Jet's communicator out of the hawk's truly ancient grey backpack, he turned the screen on and flipped through the surprisingly long list of contacts until he found Kath's name. As he hit call, he couldn't help but wonder what in the hell had happened to them tonight... and whether or not it was really truly over.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,702 words this time. Posted (at about 4:10 p.m.) 08-13-17.**


	39. Even Myths Leave Bones

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This chapter is the original Ch. 43 which no longer bears the old title, "The True Target?". This one was mostly left alone as it was almost entirely fine. A very minor OC character named Ako spoke briefly with Jet, yes, but he only had about two lines and I don't expect him to crop up much (if at all) in future chapters. Selene was mentioned in one spot, but her name was edited out. Lastly, this chapter is a short one but was still very important (mostly due to the last scene) so I left it be and didn't try merging it with another to increase its length. Besides, as "Hero" showed, some chapters are just meant to be short.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Even Myths Leave Bones"**

 **~台風の目~**

"A broken arm, broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, lacerations, burns... what in the hell did you _do_ , Jet?"

Jet gave Ako, his doctor and friend, a look that, while subtle, could have still passed for exasperated. "The fact that I'm injured doesn't mean it's my fault," he pointed out. He was feeling much less shaken up now than he had been earlier. It was so much easier now to keep his mask on, to make himself appear calm even when he was truly anything but.

"It tends to be," Ako muttered as he worked on bandaging up a particularly large cut that ran down the length of his left shin. He turned his attention to the arm Jet was gently cradling, his right one, next. Both of them knew what was coming, but that didn't quite prepare Jet for the white-hot explosion of temporary agony that was caused by Ako snapping the bone back into place. The young king had little experience with broken bones, so it wasn't like he was used to such pain by now. His other wounds were a different matter, however. He was able to ignore those for the most part to varying degrees, but... The burns bothered him greatly. The memories of the fire from his dreams still terrified him. It had all seemed so _real_... If these wounds were any indication, maybe it had been.

Seeking to distract himself from that, Jet turned his head to the left to look at Kath. It was thanks to him (and pure luck) that they were here now. The luck had come in the form of _miraculously_ getting a signal on his communicator long enough to even call Kath in the first place. Once they had done that, the old hawk was able to pinpoint their location and teleport them straight here. Yet another reason to owe the older hawk his life. He could never properly express just how grateful he was to Kath for everything he had done, and now wasn't the time to try. Thanks to the pain medicine Kath had been given earlier, he was barely even awake at the moment. His eyes would occasionally flicker open just slightly when Azerel, who was laying on the bed with him, would move, but other than that he was almost out like a light at this point. The time to talk to him would have to come later at some point. Turning his head to the right, Jet briefly glanced over Sonic, Blaze, and Kaden. Kaden had a badly fractured knee and a pretty bad head wound, but was otherwise alright. Sonic and Blaze were barely hurt at all by comparison. Not that that was something to complain about. And, of course, he wasn't one to outright complain, anyway.

He was just thankful they were alive.

He'd seen so much death in that desert. So many people had died there, many of them in his presence. It had been and was still _so_ hard to bear it, and he really hadn't even known most of those people. But _these_ people... These people he did know. He knew them, and he knew them very well. To see them die would have been... _Terrible? Horrible? Horrific?_ He was too tired to come up with an appropriate adjective, if one even existed. For that matter, he was too tired to argue about whether or not he was going to take any medicine for his injuries. When Ako handed him the special red drink, he simply accepted it and drank the bitterly-sweet liquid without complaint. Because, again, he simply didn't complain.

Or at least certainly tried not to. He definitely _shouldn't_ have. That much he knew. He had a lot to be thankful for, overall. His kids were all growing up beautifully and, for now, they were safe. His friends (even the ones he was estranged from) were all safe, at least for the time being. No one was too badly hurt, and everyone was going to recover just fine. Those were all good things. Very good things, in fact. After all, things could have been much, much worse at the present moment. For one thing, people could be dead, but they weren't. So far, everything was going alright. But that "so far" was the part of that thought that stuck with him. It weighed down on him for one simple reason: for all the good things in his life right now, there were just as many (if not more) terrible things going on.

Hyale had fallen, his allies there scattering to the high winds. The Nocturne Clan had the means to somehow pass through this world's planetary barriers and attack it. The Clan planned to kill anyone who was not with them, even if those people were innocent children. They almost certainly planned to go into space, and soon, and they seemed keen on the idea of keeping their enemies separated from each other. They had unknown plans with one or more of the graves in Kingdom Valley, and would undoubtedly return there in spite of having been foiled in their plans once. They planned to conquer Mobius, Babylon, and every other planet they came across. With their powers, resources, and so on, they could very well succeed. Even if they didn't, there was no telling just how many people they would still succeed in killing. And Suri... Sweet, innocent little Suri was almost certainly one of their main targets. The one with the pure aura. That alone was terrifying to consider. Really and truly terrifying. He didn't want anything to happen to his baby. He loved her far too much to want anything less than great happiness bestowed upon her.

"Hey, Uncle Jet?" Turning his head to the right again, Jet looked at Silver just as the young hedgehog asked, "Are we staying here tonight?" A slight pause, then he apparently felt the need to elaborate. "As in, here. In this room."

Shaking his head once, Jet stood off of the bed Ako had been having him sit on for the past half an hour or so. Without a word, he walked past rows of beds toward the double doors leading out into the hall. Thanks to that medicine (the taste of which would, unfortunately, linger for hours, he knew), his more minor injuries were already healing. Within about six hours or so, all the wounds would be healed. Kaden and the others had been given the same, vaguely slimy drink and would also all be healed by tomorrow. Kath, who was still recovering from the wound he'd sustained the day Sonic had come to Babylon for the firs time, had been the only one to refuse to drink it.

As Jet passed the sleeping elder's bed, he gave the grey hawk a small glance. _Thank you. For everything._ With that, he pulled the doors open and stepped out into the hall.

 **~台風の目~**

"I seriously think that the Nocturnians are just messing with us," Knuckles was grumbling. It was around six a.m. now, and the matter with the ships had been dealt with (albeit with some great difficulty). In the aftermath of that, the group had exhaustedly set up camp somewhere right in between Central City and Future City, directly south of the southwestern "corner" of the Great Canyon. Right now, Knuckles, Locke, Tails, Marthal, and Analia were the only people awake. They were all standing at the very edge of the camp, right by where the ships had been left for now. Thankfully, they were all standing in such a way that Marthal was able to see their faces and, thus, read their lips. Everyone else was sound asleep, and had every right to be so. "I mean, spiders, tiny bursts of dark energy cutting out power to the ships, Sonic and the others vanishing..."

"Don't forget my hearing aids," Marthal pointed out, grumbling. What few knew was that the cat was actually mostly deaf and relied upon special hearing aids (which Kaden had crafted for him) in order to be able to hear. It was why he'd been reading the text of people's conversations on the communicator before the ships had nearly crashed earlier, rather than listening in. Because without his hearing aids, the extent of what he could hear was just sort of muffled… noise. Without those hearings aids, well… all he could really do was read lips and hope that when he spoke he wasn't accidentally speaking too loud. "They're probably responsible for those going missing, too."

"But it doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Tails replied, ears slightly low and a worried frown on his face. "I mean, it makes sense why they'd want to take Sonic and the others... wherever they took them, and it makes sense why they'd want to try to make the ships crash, but why do those other things?"

"Attacking us, in a way, with spiders was a direct play off of one of Kaden's fears," Locke said slowly. "I don't know what they were trying to accomplish by it, but they seemed to have some sort of reason behind doing it."

"And taking away my hearing aids will likely make me more of a liability in battle than I otherwise would have been," Marthal added with a small sigh. "So that part makes a bit of sense."

"Okay, but what's their big, main goal here?" Tails asked no one in particular. "There has to be _something_ that they're trying to accomplish, right?"

"Whatever they're trying to pull, it isn't good," Knuckles muttered, crossing his arms. "It's almost like they're trying to keep us busy or something, like they don't want us to notice something else they're doing."

Marthal grimly nodded his agreement just as Locke looked to Analia. "Hey, you've been awfully quiet," the echidna murmured. "Got something on your mind?"

It wasn't like the almost ethereal hedgehog to be so serious. She gazed down thoughtfully at the grown with a small frown, arms loosely crossed, and didn't speak for a long moment. "In ancient times," she started slowly, "it was believed that, through various means, people with particular traits, such as so-called 'pure auras', could be used as vessels to house Darkness. It was said by many that using such a vessel for that energy would allow it to fester and grow into something more powerful. Still others believed that such a method could even be used to create nearly unlimited Dark energy and power, whether evil or not. These beliefs, while never proven, could never be _dis_ proven, either."

Immediately, Marthal frowned. _Where are you going with this, Analia?_

"Yeah, and?" Knuckles challenged, made fairly grumpy by lack of sleep. "Those were just legends, weren't they?"

"Even myths leave bones, son," Locke told him quietly. "Just about every legend has at least an inkling of truth in it somewhere."

"And," Analia murmured, "what do you suppose the Nocturne Clan," her gaze drifted slowly over to Suri's small, sleeping form, "is inevitably going to try to do?"

As the reality of her words sank in, one by one everyone else slowly froze.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,908 words this time. My apologies for the delay in posting this. I actually just forgot to do it. A quick citation, Locke's quote from the last scene, "Even myths leave bones," was not of my creation. That is a Fae Proverb from the Xbox 360 game "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning". Now, I know this chapter is short and may not seem to accomplish much, but trust me, it was important. Besides, later you all may very well come to miss shorter and mellower chapters like these.**

 **Side note, I got my copy of Sonic Mania today! Is anyone else stoked for this game?!**

 **Posted (at about 2:30 p.m.) 08-15-17.**


	40. Spiritual Assault

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This is the original Ch. 44, which no longer bears the title of "Evil at Work". It was edited to remove a scene with Kath and Azerel (as I changed some minor details in the story by removing a different scene with them, rendering this scene useless now). Selene was removed from the small bottom scene and replaced with Tammy. I would have used a different character to further appease those who don't like OC's, but only she made sense to use there. Also, this is another one that was short but simply needed to be so.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Spiritual Assault"**

 **~台風の目~**

When Kaden awoke close to eight full hours after he'd gone to bed (it was somewhere right around ten now), and was pleased to find that the room was still nice and dark. Not that it was dark outside, though. It almost certainly wasn't, in fact. Jet had just been nice enough to give him a room with thick curtains. Still, dark in here or not, he knew it was getting close to noon, which meant he should probably get up. However, he really didn't want to. He wanted to sleep some more. There hadn't been any nightmares this time, and he had been enjoying his rest. Besides, it had been too long since he'd slept this well. It certainly helped that the bed was so damn comfy. Comfier than his own bed, actually. He'd have to remedy that at some point. But now now. Later, after he'd gotten some more sleep and after the war was over and after he finally got to go back home with his family. But who knew how long it would take for any of _that_ to happen.

His eyes had only just closed again when he sensed movement in the room that he couldn't actually hear. Opening his eyes with a frown, he turned his head toward the far right-hand corner of the room. Immediately upon doing so, he very nearly froze. The... _thing_ he saw was little more than a deeply ominous and foreboding misty black shape that only very vaguely resembled the form of a person. Though it had no eyes that he could see, he could _feel_ that he was being watched, and very intently. The feeling that that unseen stare gave him was so deeply unnerving that it made an involuntary shiver run up his spine. Evil and wholly malicious intent flowed from that dark form in horrible waves. Just sensing them made him sick to his stomach, in a way. A few random flashbacks of his childhood hit him then, reminding him of how afraid situations like this had once made him. And it was with good reason that he'd felt that fear. After all, there was a _reason_ he didn't like seeing ghosts.

Moving slowly in the (perhaps vain) hope that doing so wouldn't provoke the spirit in any way, Kaden pushed the blankets aside and stood, forgoing putting on his shoes like he normally would in favor of just trying to make it to the door. Normally, he would have just teleported, but that would require him to know where in the hell he was going (as was the case for the vast majority of people). He knew absolutely none of this place, a fact which wasn't helped at all by the fact that he'd been in a pretty heavy daze the night before. He certainly wasn't teleporting back to that desert, which was the one place on this planet he _did_ know (even if only somewhat). So he just edged toward the door and prayed that nothing would happen.

However... he'd never had much good luck in his life.

Out of nowhere and with no true warning, the spirit was suddenly spurred into action. Before he could even think to react, it lunged forward with some terrible shrieking, wailing cry that instantly flattened his poor, sensitive ears to his head. Within a fraction of a second, it had slammed into him. The impact brought with it so much physical force that he was thrown backward into the wall, creating enough pain that he was coughing by the time he hit the ground. The impact to his spine made his skin tingle unpleasantly, and he sucked in a few breaths of air. For eons he'd been able to count on the fingers of one hand how many times the wind had ever actually been knocked out of him since he'd reached adulthood. Next time, and he'd have to use his other hand. But... at least that horrible, loud, wicked spirit was gone. _...For now._

Jumping to his feet, he sped back over to the bed he had been so contentedly resting in mere moments before, snatched up his shoes, then all but fled from the room. Sleep be damned, because he was not spending another second in any room that happened to house evil spirits of any kind. Especially when those evil spirits were willing to outright attack him, and _especially_ not when those same spirits had auras that felt exactly like the kind most Nocturnians possessed. It just wasn't gonna happen.

 **~台風の目~**

Tammy was lightly bouncing little Suri on her knee as she looked at Tails with an expression of confusion. "You want to know about pure auras?"

Tails nodded as he sat down cross-legged in front of her. "Uh-huh," he nodded. "Can you tell me about them?"

"Why do you want to know?" the sparrow asked him in turn, still wearing that confused look. "How did you even learn that they existed?"

"Analia mentioned them earlier," Tails explained with a glance in the busy mother's direction. She was so absorbed in the task of making food for her kids that she didn't notice his gaze. "That's basically why I want to know more about them, more or less."

Though she could undoubtedly tell that he wasn't telling her everything (a fact which was evident in her eyes), Tammy did oblige him soon enough. "A pure aura is an aura that is significantly stronger than a regular aura. It can be used to see the spirits of others with a pure aura, create temporary objects out of aura energy, something regular auras can do with more difficulty, and so on." She looked down at Suri. "She has one," she murmured, "and so does Jet."

As he digested this, Tails opened his mouth to say something... but was cut off by Lia's terrified scream. Whipping around, he was just in time to see a Nocturnian's wicked smile... then the threat and Lia both vanished.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,033 words this time. Once again, I know this is short, but trust me when I say that you'll probably come to miss these shorter chapters later. Besides, this one was important despite not seeming like it.**

 **Now, as for why I vanished again... Well, let's just say that I was dealing with some pretty serious medical issues and was in and out of the hospital for a little while. Everything seems to be resolved, though, so I'll be posting regularly once more.**

 **Last note, and this one is a fun one! Guys, I have a Discord account now! I'm really, really hoping to connect with you guys there, since I can very easily share things for the stories there! I can share pictures, music files, chat, and all kinds of things! I'll start posting the details at the top of each chapter, starting with this next one. If you want to connect, send me a request and tell me in a PM or a review or something on this site so I know who you are!  
**

 **Posted (at about 7:22 p.m.) 08-21-17.**


	41. Into Ashes

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This is the original Ch. 45, which still has the original title of "Into Ashes". It was left entirely alone.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Into Ashes"**

 **~台風の目~**

Black mist and even darker clouds swirled about the area, preventing any light from the sun or moon that dared to even _attempt_ to penetrate the darkness of the area from ever succeeding. Figures just as dark moved in the shadows. Laughter, dark laughter, echoed about the stone walls and ground, as wicked and menacing as the beings creating the sounds. There were spats of fierce disagreement and physical confrontation, coupled with yet more cackling laughter filled with malicious glee. The beings populating this area were joined by dead and dying plants of many kinds that further darkened the area. Nothing here lived but they who had so utterly tainted and poisoned this land. And it was cold. So cold. Amidst it all sat the leader of this utterly malevolent collection of people. Imperator Ix watched over his subordinates, the pawns in his great game. They were all so wicked and evil and yet so, so dispensable... All, except for one. One whom he did not ever doubt could easily defeat him no matter how hard he fought. The other members of their clan, however, were often much too weak for his liking. They lacked in the raw power he required of them, they tended to lack genuine intelligence, and typically had little else going for them beyond simple yet evil intent. They were mostly worthless, and held as much value to him as true garbage.

But Shade... Shade was different. She was genuinely evil, much like he was. It was thanks to her that his plans to take over this pitiful world had been so largely successful. Hyale, Ironlock Prison, half of West Forest, most of the so-called "Jungle of Doom", Skull Mountain, Southsend Military Base, Area 52, Aquatic Mine, Scrap Valley, Area 99, Shadow Canyons, East Forest, Turtle Bay, Skoal Island, Demon Isle, Mandrake Swamp, Dark Swamp, and Drood Henge had all been taken over. It was thanks to other random members of the clan Sky Rail, Gigan Temple, Wood Village, Shrine Isle, Moon Cave, Pyramid Cave, and Kingdom Valley had been lost. Granted, yes, Sky Rail and Pyramid Cave were protected by surprisingly powerful weaponry and traps and the other areas were protected by various forms of magic, but that was absolutely no excuse. He very much planned on sending Shade to those places at a later time to correct those failures.

At the moment, he merely used his magic to watch as she and her troops launched violent assaults against various new places in the world. One by one by one, they fell. Sevel City, a pathetically small settlement. Tel City, an equally small and pathetic city. Holoska, the barren snowy south pole. Blizzard Peaks, the frozen mountains up north. Speed Highway, the main connection between Empire City and the city of Sharis. Metro City, a technologically advanced city that would prove useful in various ways. Grand Kingdom Ruins, the ruins of an ancient civilization that would likely yield useful artifacts for the Clan to use. It was all thanks to her that these places were falling, and he was pleased with her work. However, there was so much more that he needed to accomplish. For one thing, the misdirection of the "heroes" needed to continue. His people had made a few small attempts at this (namely the theft of some strange hearing devices that the male cat wore and the little spider assault) and one larger attempt (the one that resulted in Sonic and five others being sent to that huge desert on New Babylon). After that, he had a bout of good luck and was able to dig up much more detailed intel on his enemies. It had been a sort of... miracle, really.

In response to this, Shade had created a sort of serum (a poison, actually) and injected it into the blood of four Nocturnian beasts that were then sent after Sonic and his five companions in the desert. Everything went according to plan, and now Sonic, Jet, Kaden, and Blaze were all afflicted by the special poison. It wouldn't kill them, but the nightmares they had begun to suffer through were severe enough that they could be considered akin to psychological torture. That alone was wonderful. And then there were the wounds, both psychological and physical, that were being inflicted upon the so-called "heroes". There was no doubt in his mind that they would eventually begin to forgo sleep in an effort to avoid the dreams. They would be injured, exhausted, traumatized... and the threats they posed to the Clan would lessen by the day. And, to make things even better, the threat of death was now hanging over their heads much more often than before. The poison wouldn't kill them, no... but the nightmares very well _could_.

It was all so perfect. Shade was almost too intelligent for his liking, but in this situation it was a very good thing. However, there were more to his plans than just that. There were more things he needed to do, for one thing, to distract the "heroes" from seeing what was going on around them. Looking down at the cage on the ground below the rocky outcropping he was sitting on, his eyes fell upon the limp and unconscious form of the child one of his soldiers had taken less than two hours ago. Children just like this little black and red hedgehog girl would make for fine distractions indeed. They were so weak and therefore _so_ easy to capture. Almost none of the children Sonic and his little friends were toting around could actually fight, and even those few that could were incapable of surviving a real battle alone. They were disgraces, truly. A Nocturnian would have done such a pathetic child (and not to mention the whole of existence) a _favor_ by ending said child's miserable life and making room for stronger offspring. But these Mobians were different, a fact which played right into his plans right now. Those plans entailed so much more than just these few things, but no matter. His eyes returned to the disc-like "screen" his wicked magic was creating in the air in front of him. Dark though it was, it could still be seen in the dreary Shadow Canyons he and his clan were calling home for now. He watched the events unfold right before his eyes and smiled, a small and malignant grin hat betrayed his amusement. He had so much to do, but... for now...

He was content to sit back and literally watch portions of the world _burn_.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,103 words this time. Another short one, but you should know my spiel on that by now. And, hey, we got to see into Ix's head a bit, so that helps this to matter more. Anyway, h** **ere are a few quick aids in pronunciation.**

 **1.) "Imperator": "Imp-err-ae-tur"**

 **2.) "Hyale": "High-ale"**

 **3.) Henge: "Hen-j"**

 **4.) "Skoal": "Skole"**

 **5.) "Gigan": "Gee-gihn" (hard "g" sounds)**

 **6.) "Holoska": "Hoe-lah-ss'kuh"**

 **7.) "Sevel": "Suh-veh-ll"**

 **8.) "Sharis": "Shah-rih-ss"**

 **Posted (at about 1:40 p.m.) 08-22-17.**


	42. The Fear of the Dark

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This is the original Ch. 46 but no longer bears the original title, "It's Never Too Terrible". It was mostly left alone, though Selene's name was edited out of the fight scene.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Fear of the Dark"**

 **~台風の目~**

It was very, very early in the morning when Wave awoke. Her mind was very intent on tinkering that morning, which she normally would have done after breakfast every morning while at home, but there was no tech for her to work with here. At least, none that she had any permission or business to be messing with. However, her mind being how it was, this caused small problem for her that grew rapidly. Namely, the problem was that she was getting _bored_. This prompted her to push the blankets aside and crawl slowly out of bed with a sigh. It seemed that she wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon, and she had no desire to lay here bored for hours on end. So she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, slipped on her shoes, and walked quietly out of the guest room she had been resting in.

Thus began an hour of aimless wanderings through the palace. It was still mind-boggling to her that Jet, who had grown up in slums and ghettos and on the streets and in simple towns, now lived in such a grand and extravagant place. It was utterly amazing, truly, but the fact still remained that it was shocking, to say the least. Thoughts on that matter consumed her for a long while as she wandered down halls, up stairs, through rooms, and past random people she would likely never get to know. Climbing the stairs once more, she found herself heading up to the top floor and wandering through the western and then the eastern wings of the massive building. She passed by the doors she recognized as the ones leading into the medical ward, then past doors leading into sitting rooms, small libraries, a very large workshop she suspected might belong to Tammy (and which she was instantly both very jealous of and very curious about), and so on.

A while later, she happened upon a new hall and headed down it. Toward the end of the hall, she passed by ornate double doors. Beyond them, she sensed the (thankfully peacefully) sleeping aura of the king himself. Somehow, this brought a smile to her face, but she didn't linger. Instead, she continued on to a different set of beautiful double doors at the very end of the hall. These doors faced her, rather than facing one of her sides as every other door or set of doors in this hall did. The doors were also open. So, being both bored still and now also curious, she dared to poke her head into the room. The room she was met with was a huge one-room observatory. In the center of the room was a white table that seemed to glow softly in the moonlight being allowed into the room by the open glass balcony doors opposite from her. There were only two chairs at the table, on at the head of the table (to the left, from her point of view) and one that was pushed in neatly with its back to her. Books and papers and journals and various tech devices she didn't recognized could be found throughout the room in a manner she could only describe as pure and perfect organized chaos.

Seeing that the observatory was empty, she took a small step into the room. Immediately, she was struck by the feeling that she shouldn't be here. However, she knew curiosity to be a powerful driving force. It prompted her to walk very slowly across the smooth floor to that lone white table. Upon reaching it, she looked over it's contents. There was an open journal with neat cursive writing. She happened to see the word "T'alo" mentioned on the left page as she glanced it over, then looked away. Nearby was a strangely beautiful black pen, a few closed books with hard covers that were neatly stacked on one corner of the table, a tablet-like device similar to one she'd seen Jet use before, some sort of almost flip phone-like device that was resting on top of that pile, a few pencils, some papers with all kinds of sketches and writings covering them, and a special device that she immediately recognized to be a Babylonian photo album

Ignoring for now the logical portion of her brain that warned her to not pull a Silver and snoop in someone else's belongings, she very gently picked up the device and turned it on with a gentle tap on the screen. Immediately, she saw countless photos of the large wolf she'd seen with Kath in the medical ward earlier, Tammy, the two moons of this world in the starry night sky, and so on. There were also some pictures of Jet. And some of the pictures were moving much like a video would (though, unlike videos, these couldn't be paused or rewound or whatever and they were in an endless loop). Overcome with curiosity, she lightly tapped one of the moving photographs. It suddenly enlarged as a hologram and began to play with sound like a video would have. Somehow, in spite of her sadness over the fact that, beyond potential friendship, her future with Jet was gone, she managed to smile as she watched her old friend in the photo-video running around and roughhousing with the wolf, laughing and smiling all the while.

Still smiling to herself, she looked over more photos, seeing Jet and some friend of his with chocolate-colored feathers making goofy faces at the camera, Tammy playing with Hannah when the child was very little, a young man who looked a lot like Tammy giving the camera a small smile, Ten and Kath sitting in this very room together and apparently talking as the photo was snapped… That was when her logical mind finally kicked back in and she fully realized that she was basically trespassing. According to what all these photos were telling her, this was Kath's observatory. The man came off as being almost sort of… cold in her opinion, something that Sonic had agreed with when she'd quietly mentioned it to him the night before. He's insisted that Kath was incredibly kind and trustworthy, but that didn't mean the old hawk would take kindly to her being in his observatory.

In response to that thought, she moved to put the digital album back down. Just as she removed her hands from it, however, she caught sight of another video-like photo. After a fierce internal debate, she gave in and enlarged the file. Just this one last file, then she would leave. Or so she told herself. With the file now enlarged, the sound turned on. As she watched, Kath spoke to a woman who appeared to be around his age, perhaps just a bit older. They seemed comfortable with each other, as though they were friends, and both appeared to be getting rather up there in age. The woman seemed to have said something just before the moment was captured and, as she sat in a wooden chair beside Kath, he gave his reply. "Life is a series of strange and often beautiful coincidences." With that said, the file closed again.

Spirits somehow lifted in a way she couldn't describe, she quietly left the room and felt herself finally begin to smile again.

 **~台風の目~**

Slowly, Lia re-entered the waking world. As consciousness gradually returned to her, she became aware of a pain in her head that was worse than any headache she'd ever had. A whimper escaped her lips, and she already felt like she was going to cry. Her mouth opened again as she made an effort to speak, but she found her voice to be hoarse and croaky. Her throat hurt, too. She was terribly thirsty. Ruby eyes opened and she sat up, hoping to see her daddy so she could go over to him and ask for a drink and maybe convince him to hold her for a while, as she was almost _certain_ she had had some sort of terrible nightmare while she'd been sleeping. But when her vision focused, the very first thing she saw was the bars to a cage directly ahead of her and some thick dead bush just outside of it. Those ruby eyes widened.

Filled with dread at the idea that her memories may not have been from a bad dream at all, she very slowly turned her head to the left. What she saw was nothing less than a collection of all the most terrifying people she could ever imagine. Glowing evil eyes stared into her cage, wicked smiles grinned malevolently at her, dark bodies she could barely make out in darkness of the area surrounded her cage… Trembling suddenly, she scurried backward, only to be roughly jabbed by sharp fingers through the cage. With a small shriek, she jerked away and pressed her back to a different part of the cage that was against some stone canyon wall, putting the bush to her right. Tears streamed down her face, and the most horrible laughter she'd ever heard filled her small ears. Still trembling like a leaf with the almost instinctive knowledge that she was in more danger right now than she'd ever been before, she hugged her legs up to her chest and buried her face in her knees. Sobbing out of pure terror, she silently begged for _someone_ to come find her and save her.

She didn't want to die…

 **~台風の目~**

Jet awoke suddenly from his dreams and sat up in his large bed. A random glance to his left showed that the two glass balcony doors were still wide open. The floor-length lavender (the shade of the color nearest to light purple) curtains were shifting subtly in the breeze. But that wasn't what had awakened him. Instead, it was his dream itself that had roused him from his sleep. With the dream still weighing heavily on his mind, he pulled aside the blankets and stood. He walked over to his large wooden desk (which was covered in papers, books, small inventions, and so on), and sat down in his chair briefly to slip on his boots. After doing that and fixing his scarf, he walked out onto the balcony and leaned against the white stone railing. It, like the late-night breeze, was cool and felt good. It helped him to relax a bit. And yet, he couldn't relax fully. Not with that dream still playing through his mind so vividly.

Piercing, icy blue eyes slowly scanned the sprawling courtyards, gardens, pools, and so on stretching out around the building nearly as far as the eye could see, even from this great height. However, though he was looking at all of this, he wasn't really seeing it. Instead, he was reliving the dream. Calling it that wasn't entirely correct, though, as that term implied that what he had seen hadn't been real. However, he knew it was. This was not the first time he'd been visited by his grandmother in his sleep, nor was it the first time he'd been given the message she'd relayed to him again tonight.

 _Beware the darkness..._

All these years, and he still had no idea what she meant by that. He'd asked her, of course, but it wasn't like he'd ever expected a straight answer. And, as luck would have it, he hadn't been given one. He needed one, though. He wasn't in a position where he could often take the time to just relax and think like he was doing now. He had so much else to deal with right now, including but not limited to the many evil soldiers that wanted to kill him and everyone he knew and held dear. And he had a feeling that that warning he'd been given, one he'd first heard when he'd gathered the Arks of the Cosmos the first time, was directly tied to those enemies and their leader. But what did it _mean_?

A small chime akin to a melodic bell drew his attention out of his thoughts. Turning, he walked back into his large bedroom and back over to his desk. Sitting there was a black Mobian flip phone that he had altered to be more like a Babylonian cellphone-like device. A Babylonian "phone" was known as a leila. Surviving leilas that had traveled with Laralei and her people to Mobius had actually inspired the invention of Mobian cell phones in much later years. But that thought soon drifted out of his mind as he grabbed his own device and read the simple message displayed on the screen. It was from his father. He and his father were by no means especially _close_ to this day. However, they had developed an okay relationship as time had passed over the last century. Particularly, they had rebuilt some of their relationship back during the war when Jet had infrequently called Ross, seeking _someone_ familiar to talk to. But that was in the past now, and he had a message to reply to.

 _"Be there soon, Okeisha."_ His reply was simple, direct, and to the point. He reflected briefly upon the fact that the word he'd used for "Dad", while not quite disrespectful, was very borderline so. However, he chose not to care at the moment as he closed the phone. He went to put the phone down, then had a thought. Re-opening the phone, he added as an afterthought, _"If I can. I have things to deal with."_ With that, he closed the device again, set it down, and existed the room. He had sensed about seven minutes ago that Kaden was now awake, as were Silver and Blaze. Wave and Sonic had already been up by the time he'd awoken, and they all needed to get back to Mobius soon. So he headed out into the hall and walked toward them.

He came across Silver and Blaze first and, after trading just a few very brief words with the young couple Wave saw them and approached. Saying nothing more, he sent them back to their homeworld. He soon found Kaden, who seemed slightly shaken up but outright refused to speak of whatever was wrong. Sonic walked over just as Kaden shook his head in mute refusal to speak. Then there was a dark flash none of them were responsible for, and they each vanished.

 **~台風の目~**

Fear was not an emotion he had had been overly familiar with in any recent years. It had been one of his closest and only companions as a child, but since then the emotion had been all but a distant memory. Ivo and his bloodthirsty robots had pissed him the hell off, never frightened him. Monsters like Dark Gaia and Chaos had been mere nuisances in his opinion. The Biolizard and the Eclipse Cannon on the Space Colony ARK had shaken up some old and rather terrible memories, but they too had failed to frighten him in any way. Even the Metarex scourge had never brought him any measure of fear. Concern, perhaps. But not _fear_. Never fear.

But, back then, he hadn't been a father.

Parenthood, he had come to learn, was full of fears. He felt like a paranoid worrywart nearly all the time because of his child. She was so young yet, and still she'd gotten herself into so much trouble that he found himself struggling to keep up, yet alone keep her _safe_. She'd nearly electrocuted herself as a baby with a little fork and a power outlet, she'd wandered off with no warning in the _middle_ of Empire City when she was three, she'd run out onto Speed Highway by herself when she was five, she'd somehow nabbed a gun from what he'd _thought_ was a locked safe (and it was a _loaded_ gun, to boot) when she was two… the list just dragged on and on. She'd scared him half to death during those incidents (a fact he would never admit to aloud, ever), but none of the fear he had felt on those days could hold any sort of a candle to the fear he felt _right now_ as he ran full-speed through the thick, dark jungles he had once hated so deeply. Cutting through White Jungle was a useful shortcut to get to where he needed to go, so he ignored the mud and the rain and the snakes and whatever the hell else was here. He just needed to _go_.

Desperation made his heart pound. Not exertion. Desperation. Fear. If he didn't find his child soon, he could only imagine what sort of horrors would befall her. Torture, terror, agony, death, or worse, much worse... That was something he'd never wish upon _any_ child. He knew first-hand how dark life could become when trauma became a driving force in a child's life. It wasn't a fate he had ever wanted for his daughter. And yet, he had failed once already to protect her from it. She had been there and gone in an instant, kidnapped before his very eyes before anyone could react. Lia was in grave, _grave_ danger, and it was because of that that his fear mutated into pure _anger_.

He ran, and he ran hard. He was rushing, which was unlike him, but the deep frown marring his expression was fairly characteristic of how he normally looked and betrayed none of his earlier terror on Lia's behalf. The rage he now felt was powerful enough that it gave his crimson eyes a dangerous sort of glow and ripped a low growl from deep within his chest. Previously, he had mostly just been severely irritated by the Nocturne Clan. Now, he detested _every single one of them_. It was that newfound hatred that prompted him to pull out his favorite pistol (a powerful little thing, it was) and clutch it tightly in his right hand as he tore off through the jungle.

Shadow had every intention of making those bastards pay.

 **~台風の目~**

The battle that ensued after Lia vanished and Shadow took off was terrible right from the very start of it. It was as fierce as it was violent. The sheer brutality the enemies displayed shook up even those in the group who had survived true wars in theirs pasts. It was even harder on the children. Especially young Suri, who was far too young to understand what was happening. All she knew was that it was loud and that bad auras were filling the area and she hadn't been with her daddy in over a full day by this point. She was horribly distraught but, even in the midst of battle, Rouge did what she could to soothe the poor little thing. She kept her voice calm and quiet as she spoke over the child's cries, singing the only lullaby she knew in an effort to help little Suri feel at least a bit better. As the song continued, Suri's wails gradually lessened into truly pitiful little whimpers and sniffles. She was by no means truly feeling _better_ , but at least her young and innocent mind was focused on something other than the fierce combat taking place around her. Left with little other choice and genuinely wanting to help the baby, the bat continued to sing, even as her husband let loose a fearsome blast of fire at the closest enemies.

Meanwhile, in the very literal middle of the fight, Cream and Espio were both suddenly struck with visions, hers of the future and his of the past. Incapacitated as they were, they were greatly susceptible to attack. Vector fought to keep enemies away from the two of them as well as Bokkun and Charmy (who were both in the Chaotix's ship behind him), but there was only so much he could do alone. Seeing the struggle taking place near him, Tails rushed in to help. A brightly colored metal body swooped down from the air and rushed into the fray by Tails's side, and he glanced at the robot in shock. He would have stared longer, but a minor explosion forced him to focus on the battle for now.

With great accuracy and power, he and the formerly missing Omega blasted enemies away from The Chaotix, Cream, and Bokkun. Cream recovered from her visions first and rejoined the fight, letting loose a psionic blast as soon as she was able to. Espio recovered last, seeming slightly dazed by whatever he had seen. But instead of giving himself a chance to recover, he just shook it off and resumed fighting. Cream kept an eye on him all the while. Knowing that he was still a tad out of it, she did her best to defend him.

At about the same time, Silver and Blaze reappeared on Mobius, right in the midst of the fight. Not wasting a second, worked together to try to keep the tide of enemies back and away from the ships while said ships fled into space. Cyan and orange attacks lit up the night sky, the only source of light on this moonless night. They were quickly becoming surrounded, but neither was giving up any time soon. They had far too much to lose in doing such a thing. They had far too much worth living for. They had something far too precious that they so desperately wanted to protect. They wouldn't give up. They wouldn't die. Not now. Not here. Trading a look, they both new instantly what the other was planning to do. Both smirking suddenly, they returned their attention to their enemies and unleashed massive attacks of pure power. Cyan psychokinetic energy intertwined with bright orange flames, melting into the fire and giving it new life and power. The attack hit its intended target and exploded with a deafening roar. Their enemies couldn't even find the time to blink before they were vaporized.

On the very opposite end of what had become their battlefield, Analia fiercely attacked a rather large and brutish enemy that had literally just tried to obliterate her husband's ship and their two young children within. She was furious right now, an extremely rare mood for her, and she wasn't at all ashamed of it. She had every right to feel the way she did right now, and she damn well knew it. If only for that reason, she had no qualms about using her sacred Light to blast the savage Nocturnian away into nothing in a single swift movement. For once, even if only for now, she felt no sympathy for her enemy. The Nocturnians were more monsters than people, especially if they were so willing to try to brutally murder innocent children. It infuriated her, and she whipped around to blast another foe.

 _Those who show no mercy do not always deserve to be shown it themselves._

 **~台風の目~**

When Jet crashed into the frigid ocean, he wasn't bothered at all by the temperature or about the fact that he was now thoroughly soaked. He wasn't even entirely bothered by the fact that he was alone. The thing that bothered him straight away was his discovery that he was on some unfamiliar world, one that apparently was cloaked in a planet-wide no-power zone (as they were so aptly named). Meaning he couldn't access his powers. Which, of course, was just _great_. That meant he couldn't teleport or fly or do anything he normally could have. He had no teleporter device on him, either.

His first reaction was, of course, to mutter a vaguely irritated comment under his breath. But minds rarely changed, and his continued to work mostly in binary and musical notes and language rather than in real words, so the only words he came up with in that moment were someone else's. "That's one of the remarkable things about life... It's never so terrible that it can't get worse." He quoted people so often that it seemed a sort of minor miracle to him that he could ever create his own dialogue. But he pushed that thought out of his mind for now and just focused on swimming.

About a minute later, there was a splash. Then there was sputtering. More splashes followed suit. Panic filled the aura of the one who had just landed in the water behind him. He bit back a sigh and masked his slight annoyance as he turned around in the water. He tried several times to get his "drowning" ally's attention and snap the guy out of his panic, but not one of those attempts was met with success. The panicking and splashing and spluttering and just general freaking out quickly grated on his nerves, which were already a bit frayed due to unspoken worries over his kids. When one last attempt at calmly getting the hedgehog's attention failed, he found himself snapping, " _Sonic_! Get a _grip_!" Thankfully, that seemed to have done the trick. Closing his eyes briefly, he took in a soft breath, then instructed simply and much more calmly, "Swim straight. There's land."

The hope he'd held that mentioning land (which he'd seen when he'd fallen here) would give Sonic something else to focus on and prevent the blue blur from panicking again was, amazingly, not a hope held in vain. The hedgehog quickly began moving in that direction as best as he could (he'd been a surprisingly good swimmer, once, but now seemed a bit rusty at it), and Jet stayed behind him, mainly to ensure that the idiot (who really wasn't an idiot, granted) didn't _actually_ start to drown in his haste. Curbing his lingering annoyance for now, he silently guided the friend he'd once been so close to toward the island in the distance.

 **~台風の目~**

Marthal and Keiri sat down together under a tree in the immediate aftermath of the fight. Voices lowered, they quietly discussed the brutality of the attack as their eyes watched the movements of their friends throughout what had once been their camp. Their eyes lingered on the badly-damaged Omega, but neither cat was truly paying it or anyone else any attention. It wasn't like the two of them to appear so bothered, let alone feel that way, but they had every right to. It was so early into the war, and yet the Nocturne Clan was already becoming so bold and violent. Granted, the worst injury anyone had sustained this time was a horizontal slash Rouge now sported across her left shin, but that wasn't the _point_ and they both knew it.

The Nocturne Clan had been a threat serious beyond words straight from the beginning. That was no secret to anyone. And yet, the Clan had barely shown any of their true colors so far. Instead, they had seemingly been _toying_ with everyone for some reason or another. Locke insisted that Ix almost certainly had some truly horrible reason for it, and _he_ of all people seemed deeply concerned and frightened by the prospect. If even someone like Locke could be afraid of these foes, then that was something serious that needed to be acknowledged, never ignored. The echidna, like Kaden and Jet, was simply not someone to fear anyone or anything irrationally (the one exception being Kaden's phobia of spiders). And yet, the Clan made Locke afraid. That wasn't something any of them could brush off.

The honest-to-god truth was that every single person here was afraid in their own ways. Everyone here feared their enemies in some way or another. The reasons for those fears varied, yes, but fear was fear regardless, and that emotion was and always had been a contagious one. Everyone here was afraid… but Ix remained darkly confident and self-assured. It was a terrible combination… and Marthal honestly feared just how little he and his friends would be able to do about it.

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,772 words this time. I meant to post this earlier in the day, but meh. Posted (at about 6:00 p.m.) 08-23-17.**


	43. Leap of Faith

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This is the original Ch. 47. It not longer has the original title of "A Risk Worth Taking", but otherwise was left alone as I didn't notice any mentions of Selene outside the context of the memories in the italicized parts. If I missed it and it's there, let me know, please.**

 **Review Reply/Replies:**

 **Hello, PyroShockZ! Your review to Ch. 35: Hey, Pyro-kun! Aw, don't be sorry! I know that things were hectic as hell for you. You explained as much to me before, and I understand. :) I don't know what GSCE is, but I hope your scores were good! Yeah... I know you supported the idea. I really liked it for a while as well, but it really just didn't work. I am excited for the way the story is now, though, and I hope you and everyone else like it! I'm glad you like Ch. 35. :) As always, I will do my very best, Pyro-kun!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Leap of Faith"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _Somewhere around twenty-eight years into Jet's involvement in the war on Planet Babylon, something new happened that he had never before experienced. A political event the likes of which he had never even considered before was held at the palace, more as a social obligation than as something Kath (who, at the time, was still ruler of Babylon) had actually wanted to do, what with his strong social anxieties and all. The event was public, of course, and consisted of many people and numerous tables of food and beautiful, beautiful music... It was the music that had actually convinced Jet to attend the gala. Princely duties be damned, he simply wouldn't have gone otherwise. No amount of pleading from Arthr or anyone else would have made a difference to him. ...Though he had to admit that, if Selene had been the one pleading, he likely would have caved in and gone along with the idea much sooner._

 _However, he doubted she would even be going to this event. Suki, a close acquaintance of his and the only other person besides him who had survived that failed Badlands mission years earlier, was supposed to be there as well, but he hadn't stayed much in contact with her over the years and he was rather certain she would be with her actual friends and possibly her family. He wasn't counting on her for any sort of casual company. Arthr, for all his begging and pleading, wasn't even going to be there. That wasn't his fault, though, and Jet knew it. The other hawk had been planning on attending the gala initially, but his squadron was needed for an aerial raid on the Syxans farther east on the same night. So there went that option. He couldn't even look forward to Jade, another fairly close acquaintance of his, being there. When he'd asked her earlier in the day, she'd informed him that she had family matters to attend to and wouldn't be going. And this all added up to one conclusion: he was going alone. Not what he'd wanted, exactly, but at least it gave him an excuse not to talk to anyone._

 _It was ten o'clock at night when the gala began. Honestly, it was the first time he'd ever set foot in the palace's ballroom, and he had to admit that it was rather pretty. Gorgeous, even. He could admit that. But it wasn't like he was going to say such things aloud. Instead, he just walked over to a table, grabbed a glass of Yuekeir (a type of Babylonian wine he'd discovered recently that he adored), then leaned against the wall beside the table, arms lightly crossed as he watched the hundreds upon hundreds of other people mill about and interact. He didn't see Kath anywhere, but that wasn't a surprise to him at all. He'd never doubted for a second that the much older hawk would skip this event himself. Still, he would have enjoyed his mentor's company. It was always nice talking with someone who could so deeply challenge him mentally, someone who could understand and share his artistic passions, someone whom he was able to trust so utterly. But it seemed he was destined to spend this night alone, even while surrounded by people. Such was always his fate, it would seem._

 _Three sips into his wine, he found himself so deeply engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to notice when someone approached him. That is, until a familiar voice dragged him back into the outside world. "I never pegged you as someone fond of drink, Jet."_

 _Eyes focusing on his closest friend on this whole potentially-doomed world, Jet raised an eyebrow. "I'm not." He glanced down, swirled the colored liquid in his glass, and amended, "...Usually."_

 _A small smile, one of those rare beauties he never saw on her serious face most of the time, graced her lips. "Is the prince fond of dancing, too?" she asked him, tone almost uncharacteristically light. He somehow managed not to miss that note of teasing in her voice, a sound so familiar to him now that it often haunted his dreams for reasons he didn't dare contemplate._

 _A thoughtful hum, at first, acted as his reply, then he said, "It depends on the music, I suppose."_

 _"And does this music suite your tastes?"_

 _A one-shouldered shrug and he repeated, "I suppose."_

 _Two hands gently pried his glass from his hand and set it on the table, then dared to grab his own hand. "Come with me, then," Selene murmured. "You need to relax. It's like you've forgotten how to."_

 _That nearly made Jet scoff, a fact which he mentally focused on so as to avoid reminding himself that he wasn't pulling his hand away for some reason. ...And her hands were warm. "I haven't forgotten," he retorted calmly, pretending to be unfazed by the comment. The truth was, though, that he sometimes felt as though he had forgotten, or at least would in the near future. In his own defense, though, how was he even meant to relax during a war like this? But that was a thought he strove to cast aside._

Now a hint of challenge sparked faintly in her aura, shifting her smile into a soft smirk and arousing his own competitive nature on an almost instinctive level. "Show me, then." She lightly tugged on his hand, and he found himself offering no resistance. He was taken onto the shimmering dance floor, an all-too-willing captive of this trained warrior of the world... this beauty of the night.

Jet's eyes opened at the first hint of light, and he found himself laying on the cold, hard-packed dirt on the mysterious island of the equally mysterious world he and Sonic had been tossed upon. Sitting up, he saw the ocean shifting quietly no more than a few hundred feet away. Slowly, the haze of his dreams (or, rather, his memories) faded away, and he recalled that he and Sonic had stopped here to rest, made rather exhausted from hours of swimming. Not that that really mattered right now. Standing, he walked over to the sparse tree where he'd hung up his scarf before laying down the night before. He'd hoped it would dry overnight, but it was still damp. Water had never bothered him, however, so he put the scarf back on regardless. With that task complete, he walked over to Sonic, bent down very briefly, and (for once willingly) initiated physical contact just long enough to shake the hedgehog. "Get up." No sooner than he'd finished speaking, he'd removed himself from Sonic's personal space and begun walking without bothering to wait up.

The combination of touch and voice served to quickly rouse Sonic from his sleep, and he was soon on his feet and sleepily jogging after his friend. "Where are we going?" he asked through a yawn just as he slowed to a walk by the hawk's left side. Jet didn't respond, and Sonic quickly clued into the truth of this situation. "You don't know what world we're on, do you?" The Babylonian king didn't answer that, but Sonic knew that that lack of denial was all the answer he needed. If he had been wrong, Jet would have communicated that in some way, guaranteed. _Well... this is a problem._ Without bothering to ask if Jet had tried to do so yet already, Sonic turned his attention to his communicator and searched it for a signal. He had one, but they were much too far away from the others to be able to contact them. So, with a sigh, he admitted defeat on that front. "I don't suppose you have some sort of device that can reach out to the others for help from here."

"No."

Okay, so it seemed that Jet's talkativeness (if it could even be considered that) from the last few days or so was completely in the past now. He was back to using short, almost too-simple sentences, when he bothered to speak at all. This fact made Sonic nearly want to sigh, though he refrained, if only because he didn't want to accidentally irritate his friend (not that Jet was likely to show it in any way if he did start to feel irritated at any point). Part of Sonic wanted to try to strike up a conversation to lighten the strange tension that had once again settled between them, but nothing readily came to mind that he could say. He honestly hated it. Once upon a time, they had been able to talk about anything and everything together, and the prospect of irritating one another was more often cause for amusement, not for secret worry. Things had almost always been light and casual and tight-knit between them. Now, however, everything was tension and secrecy and silence and some sort of wariness and a gap that existed between them that seemed unbridgeable.

Even pretending that that gap could be closed and all of these problems could be resolved with the right actions and enough effort, Jet seemed to have little to no interest in trying to accomplish such a thing. It hurt, in a way, knowing that someone he'd once been so close to seemed to be so intent on never letting him get closer than arm's length now. It felt like their friendship was dying... or perhaps already dead. It wasn't something Sonic had exactly contemplated or taken great notice of before, but now the reality was hitting him like a freight train. Amy had told him once that his bond with Jet wasn't dead, and he'd believed her initially... but how was he supposed to continue to do so when all evidence now suggested that their bond _was_ possibly broken after all, and quite likely had been for a while?

There was so little trust between them now. Things weren't like they were before. Jet was so unwilling to rely on anyone but himself and, to a lesser degree, the friends he had made during the war. Maybe the war itself was to blame for this behavior, but behavior was different than feeling, connect though the two often were. He seemed to feel no trust for nearly anyone these days. Granted, he trusted Sonic and the others to be allies and to not attack him and basic things like that, but that sort of trust would never be the same as the trust friends displayed with one another. That trust seemed to have dissolved in Jet's heart sometime ago. And maybe Sonic was just misreading the signs, but... how could he ignore what he had already seen? Jet didn't behave as though he really trusted anyone around him, not _anyone_ beyond a select few. It pained Sonic greatly, but what could he even _do_ about any of it? Nothing he'd tried to do so far seemed to have done a damn bit of good. Everything had remained the same between them. That was something he found himself hating.

A soft sound roused Sonic from his thoughts, a faint echoing sound caused by a pebble being lightly kicked into a spacious metal room. Blinking once, his eyes focused on the gaping maw that had once been the side of some huge ship like one he'd never seen before. "The hell kind of ship is this?" he muttered to himself almost under his breath, emerald eyes scanning the clearly very ancient ruins.

Surprisingly, as Jet fearlessly walked inside, he provided an answer, albeit a vague and simple one. "Therian."

The hawk disappeared into the darkness. Suddenly frustrated and unable to explain why, Sonic called after him, "What's a ' _Therian_ '?" No answer. With a quick but heavy sigh, he turned back briefly and selected a tree. Snapping a fair sized branch off, he used a survival skill his mother had taught him and started a fire without the use of powers. With his makeshift torch prepared, he turned back around and made his way into the ship after Jet. Immediately, he saw just how barren the interior of this vessel was. Someone or something had largely swept it clean, and it didn't seem to have been the elements. There was far too much dust for this place to have been bothered by much weather over the years. Jet was already exploring the ship, seemingly searching for something that Sonic couldn't even begin to guess at, and Sonic decided to just let him be for now. In light of his own sudden and random frustration, he thought it best to not interact with the hawk at the present moment. The last thing he wanted was to unintentionally start some sort of an argument.

Returning his focus to the ship, Sonic wandered in the opposite direction than the one that Jet had gone in, gazing at the ruined machinery and bits of debris and even the random junk that covered the floor. It didn't take more than a moment to realize that a majority of what covered the floor in this area was a surprisingly large amount of paper. It was practically _everywhere_. Almost hoping that they could provide some clues as to what had happened here, he knelt down and sifted through the dust with his free hand. What he uncovered at first was far from what he'd anticipated to see. The page he'd revealed had not words on it, but art. Detailed drawings of _eyes_ stared back at him. Some were normal... and some had pupils elongated vertically like that of some feral creature. Undeniably creepy though the page was, he had a strange sense that this might be important... just as he once had when he'd found pages on of data on the Chaos emeralds in one of Gerald's abandoned bases during his childhood so, so long ago. In silence, he picked it up and folded it a few times so as to take it with him. Maybe his parents or Locke could make some sense of it.

Sifting around again heedless of the filth, Sonic uncovered more and more papers, these ones all covered in writing. None of them seemed any different from any of the others to his eyes, so none of them really caught his interest at first. The same was true when he moved over to a new spot nearby and uncovered more papers over there. He repeated this process a further three or four times, sifting through layer upon layer of dirt and dust, before finally discovering a page he knew was worth his notice. Judging by the way the words on the page were arranged, it seemed to him that this page, and the many pages surrounding it, were all part of some detailed list. Many of the words, however, were very clearly written in different languages and by different hands. Confused, he looked over some of the other pages of the huge list and found that some words here and there had been written in the Universal Language. Only then did it become clear what this list contained. _...Names...?_

More confused than ever, he picked up and looked over yet more pages. Countless languages seemed to be present on these withering papers, but he didn't recognize any but the Universal Language. At least, not until he dug even deeper into the layers of paper. Only then did he begin to see names in another language he did recognize. Pages upon pages of names written in Babylonian... Neither he nor his communicator could translate that complex and beautiful language, but there was someone here who _could_. Turning his head, he called out, "Hey, Jet!"

Looking up from the fragments of shackles and chains that he had been kneeling over and examining with his eyes, Jet turned his head in Sonic's direction. Seeing the hedgehog gesturing for him to come over, he almost reluctantly stood and did just that. He barely listened as Sonic explained about the papers he'd apparently discovered, choosing to focus instead on the particular page Sonic was currently holding. Forgoing manners, he simply took the page from the other male's hands and looked it over. He had the page read in its entirety in barely under two seconds, then found himself re-reading it. Two very specific names stood out to him. _Kath and Ako..._ Frowning, he dropped the page, searched the room with eyes highly attuned to even the most minute of details, then walked diagonally forward and to his left. In response to Sonic's voice (he really wasn't paying attention to what was being said), he muttered, "Hon'ata." ("Just wait.") Kneeling down, heedless of the dust, he picked up the paper that had caught his eye even through layers of filth. A quick read immediately confirmed the suspicions he'd gained after reading that list. _Kath crashed this ship..._ The fact that this had once been a powerful ship, and a Therian slave-driver at that, once upon a time hadn't escaped Jet notice the moment he'd laid eyes on the vessel. He just hadn't realized that this was _that_ ship...

Many years ago, when Kath and Ako were eight years old, they (along with many other Babylonians young and old and in between) were kidnapped from their homes and forced into Therian slavery. All had been forced to write their names for the sake of keeping records or something akin to that. The two of them met months after the fact on board a ship very much like this one, forging a fast and strong bond born of both pain... and hope. At some point, not long before they fully escaped from Therian captivity, Kath, at the young age of fourteen, took on the Therians manning this very ship, taking them out and then wresting control of the ship. Reinforcements came, however, and it proved too much for the young friends (who were the only surviving slaves onboard at the time) to handle alone. Left with little other choice if he wanted to give himself and Ako any chance of survival, Kath had been forced to deliberately crash the ship. The Therians had died, but he and Ako not only survived, but escaped, only to be re-captured for a short time later. This was a story nearly every Babylonian knew... and it told him everything he needed it to.

Standing back up and letting the paper flutter lifelessly to the floor from his hand, he said in answer to Sonic's questions, "I know where we are." Turning away from the spot, he headed to a different part of the ship, a part of the ship formerly only ever accessed in emergencies. Though this situation could hardly be considered such at this point, it hardly mattered. These escape pods were still exactly what he and Sonic needed right now. The ship itself was no longer functioning in any way, but his trained eyes could tell that the escape pods were. Granted, they might spontaneously explode or even disintegrate them (namely with some notoriously lethal Therian energy known to be used to power ancient devices like this) mid-use, given their condition, but...

 _On the dancefloor, his nerves suddenly decided to return to him, as though they thought he had missed their company. It fully hit him right in that moment just what Selene had asked him to do. Dance. With her. As in, right now. There was no way he could do that. The exact explanation as to why escaped him, but that didn't matter. Nerves were excellent motivators to avoid just about anything, and they would have prompted him to avoid this situation in its entirety... had Selene not spoken. "Hear that?" she asked quietly. The music was slowly shifting into a tune he could really enjoy, and her arms looped around his neck, making his heart jump in awkward ways within his chest. Another small smile teased at her lips. "I think that means we're meant to dance."_

 _Swallowing his nerves somehow without ever consciously deciding to do so, he took a risk, placed his hands lightly on her hips, and allowed the music to move him with her… if only just this once. Though it felt as though everyone was watching, the pair came to a silent agreement. A promise, of sorts. This dance, and everything it meant, would be their little secret._

Shoving the memory aside, Jet opted to take yet another risk in his life and turned the pods on.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,500 words even this time. Real quick, "Yuekeir" is pronounced "Yoo-kaer". "Hon'ata" is pronounced "Hone-ah-tah". Posted (at about 3:05 p.m.) 08-24-17/**


	44. The Mask He Wears

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This is the original Ch. 48, which no longer bears the former title of "Coping Mechanism". It was edited to change Selene into Tammy for the bottom scene (as none of the other characters would make sense there). The rest of it was more or less left alone. I did mess with some wording and the like here and there, though. Minor stuff.**

 **Note!:**

 **I mentioned a while back wanting to share my Discord info with you all! Since I clearly forgot to actually do that, here's my info now. My username is KymmeRaven and my number is 9582. Please, connect with me so I can share more about this story and whatever else with you all!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Mask He Wears"**

 **~台風の目~**

"What in the world _happened_ to you, Omega?" Tails asked once things had really and truly settled down after the earlier fight. His blue eyes danced all over the robot's bulky form, taking in all the damage the robot had sustained at some point before arriving here. It was amazing that Omega was still functioning right now. He needed massive repairs... and that was putting it lightly. "After Area 99 was destroyed, none of us could get ahold of you. We thought you were destroyed or captured or so-"

 **"My long-range communications systems were severely damaged during the conflict and I lack the proper programming to repair myself,"** Omega intoned, cutting Tails off.

"So you just tracked us down?" Tails asked pointlessly (because, really, the answer was obvious) as he pulled the necessary tools out of his toolbox. He made a mental note to reprogram Omega later so that he _could_ do his own repairs. _Kinda stupid, in hindsight, that no one ever did that before... But, then again, hindsight tends to be pretty 20/20._

 **"It was illogical to stay on the base,"** was Omega's overly simple reply. Instead of continuing the now pointless conversation and dwelling on the _could-have-been's_ regarding Omega's previously unknown fate, Tails simply let the entire matter drop. Focusing entirely on his hands and his tools, he set to work.

Scarcely about twelve feet away from the two of them, Silver and Blaze stood together by the side of the X-Tornado, just in front of the left wing. Silver was leaning against the ship while Blaze opted to stand more properly, their sleeping daughter in her arms. The poor little kid had been so stressed out by their disappearance, Lia's kidnapping, and the subsequent combat that she had cried herself to sleep. But she was taken care of, at least for now, so it wasn't her that Silver focused his worry on. Instead, he focused on Blaze. He'd spent the better part of the last day or so, ever since that night in the cave on Babylon, to get her to tell him more fully what in the hell had _happened_ to her on that night. All she would tell him was that she'd had a nightmare... nothing more. It wasn't enough. "Blaze, come on," he insisted with crossed arms. His tone was low enough to avoid waking Kimmy, but it (along with his expression) still more than conveyed his uncharacteristic seriousness regarding this situation. "I need a real explanation. You telling me you had a nightmare isn't the truth. At least not the full one."

"I don't _know_ any more than that," Blaze responded, voice also quiet. It was clear by her tone and the way she avoided his gaze that talking about this was making her nervous for some reason. He didn't like that at all.

"Stop lying to me, Blaze!" Silver whispered-yelled. "Why won't you just tell me what the heck happened?"

"Because I don't _want_ to, Silver!" Kimmy whimpered a little and shifted in her sleep, and her parents were both quick to lower their voices again. "It was bad enough seeing it all once," Blaze all but whispered. "Speaking about it just... it makes it too difficult for me to forget."

Expression softening, Silver pushed off of the side of the ship and walked over to her. His arms uncrossed and he put a hand on her shoulder, the one not currently being occupied by their daughter's head. "Blaze," he murmured. "I can't help if you don't talk to me." Silence. Eyes softening further, he gave another little push. "I want to help, Blaze. But you have to _let_ me."

Amber eyes closed and Blaze turned her head off to the side, away from him. "Sorry," she told him, back to whispering. Her word was genuine, and he felt it.

Shaking his head, he pulled her into a gentle hug, being careful not to squish or wake their child in the process. "Don't be," he told her quietly.

Eyes still closed, she hugged him back with her free arm. "I want to tell you about this," she murmured. "I just... I can't right now, Silver. I just..."

"It's okay," Silver murmured, still holding her close. "I understand, Blaze. Just... know that I'm here. Whenever you're ready."

Nodding faintly, Blaze allowed herself a small and almost weak smile. "Okay." Then Kimmy shifted, nearly awoke, and they were forced to let each other go, if only for now.

Elsewhere, on the other side of camp, Locke was sitting on the ground near his grandson and daughter-in-law while Knuckles raided a nearby cooler for a can of soda. As he sat, reclining back against a tree with his arms behind his head, he gazed at the clouds, eyes contemplative and thoughts wandering from one vague worry to the next with little to no direction. It was only when Rouge's voice suddenly seemed to be specifically aimed in his direction that he finally pulled from of his thoughts. His head turned in her direction. "What? Sorry, I was kinda lost in thought there."

Rouge managed a smile. "So I'd noticed," she lightly teased. A slight pause, then she continued. "Anyway, I'd asked what you were thinking about so deeply that cloud-watching, of all things, suddenly became such an interesting pastime."

Now Locke also cracked a smile. "I happen to _like_ watching the clouds, thank you very much," he quipped.

"And I blame your bestie for that," Rouge joked, earning a small laugh from her father-in-law.

"Yeah, he's pretty much the reason for it," he agreed. "But, in his defense, he didn't always have a whole lot of anything better to do in the past."

"Excuses, excuses," Rouge responded with a smirk and a wave of her hand.

Neither spoke for nearly a full minute after that, but Locke hadn't forgotten her question. He debated the pros and cons of sharing what had been weighing on his mind, ultimately hesitating mostly because there was a kid well within earshot of their conversation. Rouge seemed to be fully expecting a response, however, and he knew full-well just how persistent and, erm, _persuasive_ (more like coercive) she could be. So he caved. "I've just been worrying about the Nocturnians," he admitted with a sigh. "They've been getting bolder, more violent. They've taken the upper-hand in this war already, and they haven't even done much of anything yet."

"So what?" Jason unexpectedly cut in. "We're stronger than them. We'll beat 'em, easy."

Locke's gaze shifted to his grandchild. "Things are never so simple, Jason," he said calmly. "Especially not during wars. Life is complex, and so are people and the situations they both create and take part in."

"And?" Jason retorted with a small snort. God, this kid was far too much like the old Locke for Locke's own good sometimes.

"And," Locke continued with great patience born of many years of emotional growth and maturation, "that means we'll need more than just strength on our side to beat these guys."

"So we'll use our heads, too," Jason reasoned grumpily. "We have smart people on our side."

"And so do they," Locke countered. "The fact that they're evil doesn't make them stupid. They're more intelligent than you think, and more powerful."

"You think we can't beat them?" Jason suddenly challenged, turning to face his grandfather with a spark in his eyes.

Older violet eyes blinked, still calm by all appearances. "I never said that."

The younger echidna opened his mouth to say something else, but Knuckles reached them before he could. A swift but fairly gentle whack on the head from a spiked head was enough to shush the child. "That's enough, Jason." Huffing, Jason crossed his arms and fell silent. Knuckles, who seemed to have heard more than enough of the conversation to understand what was being discussed, turned to his father after that. "What are you saying, then?"

Expression growing thoughtful again, Locke's gaze drifted to the clouds once more. "I'm saying," he responded slowly, "that we need more allies and supplies than we have now. We're a single group facing an army large enough to overwhelm a planet. Yes, we've faced such odds before, but it was different with the robots. They were limited to their program and weapons, and even then we barely pulled it off and won the battle to stop them. These enemies have actual intelligence, free will, and powers, not to mentions weapons more lethal than even guns. What we have now isn't _enough_."

Now Rouge was frowning. "We do have some people we can call," she said slowly. "People like my grandfather, Kaden's sparring partner, and Storm if we can ever get ahold of him."

These were all viable options. Locke knew they were. All three of those people could fight more than well enough to lend aid. Tchen (whom Locke had unknowingly met many years before ever meeting Rouge) and Kaden's sparring partner Solana were especially powerful and intelligent allies, but even Storm would be a useful addition to their ranks. However, it still wasn't enough, and they all knew it. it just happened to be Knuckles who spoke up about it first. "There have to be others," he muttered. " _Any_ others. We _need_ more people."

"I don't think we _have_ more people," Rouge responded, suddenly sounding tense. "We all know people, yes, but almost no one we've befriended in the last hundred years can actually _fight_. There just aren't enough fighters like us on this world."

"We need to find them, then, wherever these other people are," Knuckles bit out. "Like Dad said, we're facing an _army_. Twenty or so people, excluding the kids, isn't gonna cut it. We've already proven that much."

Suddenly, Locke was struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration and he sat straight up, earning confused looks from the other three members of this little family. "...Maybe... we don't _need_ to find them."

Rouge and Knuckles traded a look, clearly not following. "...What?" Knuckles asked.

Locke twisted around in the grass to look at them both. "Think about it," he said quickly. "We have an alien _king_ as one of our allies. That alone is a powerful addition to any group, but think about it for a moment." His eyes searched their almost imploringly. "What almost invaluable resource do kings and queens have?"

Rouge, having the quicker mind of the two (though that wasn't to say that Knuckles wasn't smart, because he was), caught on almost immediately, and her eyes widened. "Armies," she breathed.

Pleased that she had figured it out, Locke gave a quick nod. "Yes! And those armies can be huge, even when a ruler is only in charge of a nation or continent. He's the ruler of an entire _planet_."

As this knowledge truly sank in, genuine hope finally began to enter their hearts. Maybe, just maybe... they had a chance in this war after all.

 **~台風の目~**

Tammy looked up from Suri's little sleeping face, inwardly startled, when one of the only other Babylonians in this group sat down a respectable few feet away from her. Tammy hadn't actually been well acquainted with her yet. So far, she had really only properly met Tails, Sonic, Silver, Analia, and maybe a few others here and there. Sonic and Tails had proven themselves to be good friends of Jet's, and Kaden and Analia had almost seemed to have taken on sort of protective, parental roles in his life (which made sense, given the fact that he really didn't have a mother or father anymore). They were good people, and people she'd all heard of before. She sensed that this girl (no, woman) was a good person, too, and just seeing her species alone was enough to tell Tammy that she'd heard of this person, too.

This was Wave. One of Jet's two ex's (and the fact that he only had two in spite of having lived so long was, well, impressive). Jet had never said anything negative about her, when he'd mentioned her at all (because, really, he'd almost never had the time for such idle chitchat), but the fact remained that Tammy didn't know her well had no idea what she wanted. And yet, somehow, Wave managed to defy her expectations, anyway, by asking about... her tech? Glancing at her belt, which was part of an outfit she had changed into the night before, Tammy spied the little device Wave had been speaking of. "It's a fairly simple device," she shrugged. "All it does is beep when it detects harmful things in the air, such as toxic gases I might not otherwise realize are present."

Wave looked the device over with something akin to envy in her eye. "That's amazing," she murmured. "I don't think such a device has ever existed here."

"It hasn't," Tammy shrugged. When Wave gave her a questioning look, Tammy offered her a small smile. "Not that I would know. Jet's the one who told me."

The other woman dropped her gaze and looked elsewhere. Suddenly, she seemed uncomfortable. "That makes sense," was all she said.

Expression thoughtful and even a touch soft, Tammy looked into Wave's face for a long moment, then slowly allowed herself to smile again. "He told me something else, too," she said conversationally.

This earned her a glance. "What?" Wave ventured to ask.

"That you accused him of being a 'reckless idiot' more times than he ever cared to count."

All at once, Wave suddenly began to smile, too. "Because he was one," she responded, tone significantly lighter than it had been before. "He still is, I suppose, but he was worse back then. He almost got himself killed once when we were fifteen because he and Sonic decided to ride their Extreme Gear straight up into the air and see how high they could go."

A small laugh escaped Tammy's lips. "I can top that," she told the other woman. "One time, during the war, he found a creature out in the Badlands that's known as a Turuk. They're vicious killing machines most of the time and both mauled and ate many people in front of him before. So, what does he do when he finds one, injured and alone in the desert? He decides, 'hey, even though I'm alone out here with minimal weaponry and this thing might want and even attempt to eat me, I should go nurse it back to health'."

It was a small miracle when Wave, who normally seemed so sad, let out a little laugh of her own. "He's always driven me crazy by doing things like that," she admitted. "And by doing other things, too. Not just being reckless."

"Oh, like how he'll flat-out refuse to rest even when he's injured?" Tammy asked wryly.

"Oh, yeah, that was a big one," Wave nodded. "Or like how he's always had something against sleeping, even when his insomnia wasn't acting up."

"Yep, I know that one," Tammy replied. "Plus he has this weird aversion to listening to people most of the time. From my experience, the more people try to get him to do something, the more likely he is to do the exact opposite, just to spite them."

"Or he'll do what they want, but not how they want him to do it," Wave agreed. Another small laugh followed that comment. "I can't even count how many times he irritated Sonic by pulling that one on him."

"He used to drive me and the others nuts with that," Tammy reminisced with a smile. "Arthr always just kinda rolled with it and Jade never really seemed to care about it much, but Kath swore up and down that 'one of these days' Jet would get himself into a bind doing that, and Kath wasn't going to help him." Her smile grew. "But, of course, Jet just had to defy the expectations and never actually let himself get into that much trouble in the first place."

"And when he does get into trouble, boy is it bad," Wave sighed with amusement. "I remember one time... we were maybe fifteen and he somehow ticked some guy off during a race. That guy actually hunted us down with a gun, me, him, and Sonic. We got away obviously, but still."

"There was an incident worse than that during the war," Tammy replied, still smiling. "At least, _I_ think it was worse. If I remember correctly, he and Arthr had gotten into some sort of pranking war over something silly, and one of their slime bombs ended up in Kath's observatory. I think that was the closest to actual anger I think Kath has ever directed toward either of them. Jet swore up and down that that bomb wasn't his, but he's still half to blame for the incident."

"That whole thing sounds so childish," Wave said, utterly amused. "I swear, he can be such a big kid sometimes. Maybe not to the same degree as some other people I know," her gaze drifted to Silver, "but even still. The fact that he has yet to grow out of pranking is proof of that."

"I agree," Tammy murmured, actually enjoying the way the conversation was going so far. "It shows his in his never-ending love of video games, too."

"He's still into those, huh?"

"Last I checked, yes. He owned just about every Babylonian game system ever invented, and more games than I ever bothered to count."

"Hm, sounds about right."

Still smiling, Tammy murmured happily, "All these quirks and minor faults aside... you have to admit that there are a lot of really sweet things about him, too. Things that some people in general can't help but love."

"Like how much he _adores_ just about anything cute," Wave smiled. "Like puppies and chibi anime characters."

"And his love for just about anything involving art in any of it's forms," Tammy commented. " _Especially_ music."

"And then there's his love for animals," Wave added, "and the way he'll go above and beyond what he needs to do to take care of those he loves."

"Mm-hm," Tammy murmured in agreement. "Not to mention how sweet it is when he actually willingly interacts with a child. Especially the younger ones."

"Plus there's the way that he somehow manages to look so peaceful when he sleeps," Wave said quietly. "And I always found it wonderful just how happy he got when surrounded by things related to outer space, like when we're in a space museum."

"Like I said," Tammy replied softly. "Sweet."

"He really can be, when he wants to," Wave responded, tone now also soft. But then something in her expression shifted. "...When he's not being as he has been lately. So closed-off and distant."

Tammy hummed thoughtfully. "This has been going on longer than you might think," she revealed. "This started up way back during the war, I don't exactly remember when, and has never really stopped. It's lessened at times, but... I don't think it will ever truly go away. It's a coping mechanism, I think, that he picked up from Kath. ...'Never let them see that they get to you'... That's more or less how he's learned to deal with things. By acting fine, in theory he can make himself _be_ fine... even when he really isn't." There was a pause as Wave looked at her, then Tammy let out a sigh. "He doesn't mean to seem so cold," she said softly. "More than anything, I hope you all know that much. It isn't his intention to come off as being heartless and uncaring. But, for him, it's oftentimes easier to let people believe that than to let on the real depth of his pain. To cease to hide means to allow himself to feel it, and that's not something he ever truly feels ready to do, I think. Maybe in time, but... not now."

Things were quiet as Wave slowly turned her head away, eyes on the ground. When she spoke next, her voice was as quiet as before, if not more so. "I just wish he would let us help. Any of us."

"Sometimes it's for the best to provide help even when the other person doesn't seem to want it," Tammy told her gently. "I've learned that over the years with him, Kath, and many others. Sometimes all you can do is put your offer out there and hope for the best. The worst they can do is refuse it. There's no real harm in trying."

"It just always seems like he resents it when people try to help him," Wave admitted with a small shrug.

"Perhaps in some ways he does," Tammy responded. "He's not the type of person to particularly _like_ needing help. He prefers to do things himself and his own way, but that doesn't mean he doesn't ever need aid. He's still a person, just like you and I. If you really want to try to help him and be his friend again, just put yourself out there." And there it was. The very heart of the matter. Tammy had struck the nail on the head, so to speak, and they both knew it. This may not have been the reason behind Wave coming over here, but it sure was something that had been on her mind. And Tammy wasn't about to let it go. If there was a chance for her to help her friend rekindle one of his own past friendships... By god, she was going to take advantage of it. "It may be a risk," she told the swallow gently, "but you and I both know he would never intentionally hurt someone, excluding people like the Nocturnians." Wave gave her an almost childish look of somewhat hidden fright. "'If you never try to do more than what you already know you can do, you will never be anything more than you are right now'. That's one of Kath's greatest teachings to the children of our world, and I think it's something you should keep in mind." Offering another small smile, Tammy stood up. "Try not to forget it, okay?"

Without waiting for a response, she gently shifted her hold on the baby and walked away.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,861 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. A quick heads-up, I have _no_ idea when I'll be able to post tomorrow. I have the day off from work and all, but I'll still be busy. So... we'll see. I'll try to post it as early as I can. Posted (at about 12:10 p.m.) 08-25-17.**


	45. Blood Spilled

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This chapter is a sort of combination of two, the original chapters 49 and 51. The original Ch. 49, "The Urge to Protect", was left alone, save for one thing. Since it was short and didn't end terribly well, I merged it with the next chapter. The original Ch. 50, "And Then There Was Death", was edited to remove Selene and had "The Urge to Protect" attached to the top of it, but otherwise I left it alone. This new and combined chapter has a new title.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Blood Spilled"**

 **~台風の目~**

Shadow had never planned to be a father.

Years ago, when he and Mari had been dating, he had toyed around with the idea of, perhaps, being okay with marriage someday. He'd contemplated being happy with her, maybe settling down to a degree. He had been... okay with the idea of maybe falling in love completely one day and living out his life with her. But everything had been so new for both of them. They had both been young, perhaps even dumb in their own separate ways, and neither had been fully ready for everything that could potentially go along with a mature romantic relationship. One of those things was kissing (which they had only done maybe about five times in four years). Another of those things was living together (which they never ended up doing). The last and biggest thing was... having children.

The very last day he and Mari had spent together had been pleasant enough. He had left her home, never suspecting anything to be amiss. And yet, when he'd tried to contact her the next day, and on many days afterward, he'd received no answer. Not once. Worry had driven him to even go to her house (though just a few times) to try to find her. Still nothing. After a time, it became clear to him what was going on. It didn't take a genius to tell that Mari had decided that they were through. What he hadn't known or understood was why. He'd wracked his mind for any clues as to what he might have done wrong during their time together, but nothing he could think of had been bad enough to warrant both a breakup and a complete unexpected loss of contact.

There was a period he'd had to go through, a period of hurt and confusion that he would never admit to, but eventually he'd had to let go and resume living his life. Alone, granted, but regardless. However, he hadn't been allowed to _stay_ alone in his home. Not all the time. His family and friends (he didn't know when he began to think of those people as " _friends_ ") hadn't let him. It was something he was grateful for, at least somewhat, in hindsight, but at the time it was something he had almost resented. He had just wanted to be left alone. And yet, even if none of those people had bothered to disturb his solitude... his life still would have ended up being far from lonely, anyway.

A quiet evening had turned into a night of stress and confusion when he'd been interrupted from his reading by a cry. He'd gone outside, only to discover a tiny baby wrapped in a blanket and sitting in a baby-carrier. The infant had been wailing and crying, far beyond the point of being distressed, and that alone had put him off enough. But the sight of her black fur, red streaked hair, and ruby eyes had utterly shocked him. Still, the cold had forced him to move quickly, and he'd brought the baby inside. He'd taken her out of the carrier to try to calm her, only to then realize that he'd had no idea how to go about doing that. Honestly freaked out (though never willing to admit it), he'd teleported with her to his parents' house.

Thus had begun a more than six week stay for him in that house. His parents had taught him just about everything he'd needed to know to care for Lia on his own, and eventually he'd had to go home. But nothing could have ever properly prepared him for this unexpected and unplanned parenthood. There had been so many ups and downs he hadn't at all been prepared for. Some aspects of it had truly scared him, at least for a while. Things like how fragile had been (and still was), and how reckless she had quickly proven herself to be, and how much he came to love her... It had been (and still was) so stressful, too. Being a single parent was so difficult, something really only Sonic, out of everyone Shadow knew, could understand. Still, there had been no end of sympathy and support given to him by the others, something he had come to appreciate (more so the support than the sympathy). There had been so many things that he had and still did enjoy (and maybe even love) about this whole thing, anyway. Watching his child grow and become stronger and faster and smarter, seeing her smile, getting hugs from her before bed nearly every night, hearing all the crazy, wonderful stories she created in her head, teaching her about her world and all the things he knew... But all of that could all too easily come to an end.

All it would take was a _moment_.

A single instance in time, and a life could be ended. During his horrific time on the Space Colony ARK as a child, this had been proven to him time and again. Many of Geralds creations, more clones created using the very same DNA contained within him (he supposed he should tell his father about that sometime), had perished in Gerald's "care". Shadow had watched most of them go, heard most of the rest, and came to understand at much too young an age just what it meant to die. Lia, as of yet, did not yet have such a concept in her mind. Yes, she had been taught to a point what death was, mainly because her pet beta fish had died when she'd been younger, but she still didn't fully grasp what death actually meant. There was no way she could. He didn't want her to, anyway. Fully understanding her current situation would only terrify her even more than she doubtlessly already was. That wasn't something he could stand to consider. The idea that she was in danger at all was something he hated, something he blamed himself for, and something he very much planned on correcting... _now_. Teeth gritted and guns blazing, he tore into the Nocturnian camp he had found.

 **~台風の目~**

When it became clear that it was Jet's intention to blow this joint without looking around any further, Sonic took it upon himself to try to start up his own escape pod... only to stop when he realized that he had never in his life seen technology such as this. In the end, it didn't matter, anyway. Jet walked over and reached past him, deftly hitting several keys on some keypad-looking-thing, moved some sort of switch into a different position, then simply walked to his own pod. Immediately, Sonic got the feeling that he had precious few seconds to spare, and he rushed into his pod, plopping down into his seat and practically slamming the door shut. No sooner than he'd done that, Jet's pod shot straight up, destroying every bit of ship that was blocking its ascent into the cloudy grey sky. Before long, Sonic's pod shot after Jet's with the same destructive results. Debris rained down upon the floor they had been standing upon moments before, but it wasn't like the ship hadn't already been in a state of utter ruin, anyway. Besides, it seemed to have some... bad history, to put it lightly. So Sonic didn't feel much concern over the damage. What he did feel concern about was the fact that these pods were just as old as the ship they had come from. Who was to say that they were actually in as good condition as they seemed? But Jet seemed to have confidence in them, which eased some of Sonic's concerns and gave him a measure of faith.

The steering was blissfully simple, he discovered once his mind switched to other matters regarding the escape pods. Soon, Sonic had it worked out entirely, and he was able to follow Jet perfectly fine as they made their way through and eventually entirely out of the world's atmosphere. Once out in space, the pods somehow actually gained speed and momentum, something Sonic didn't care to take the time to contemplate right now. He merely thanked his lucky stars for the change, as it meant they would have a relatively quick journey to the not-so-distant world Jet was clearly leading the way toward. Sonic knew not what world it was, but he had long since made the decision to trust Jet even when his friend told him very little or nothing about a situation. That was a decision he wasn't going back on now, or any time soon.

Time passed, and Sonic was pleased when nothing bad happened. No one and no thing attacked them. They weren't being watched by enemies in the distance. Their pods didn't spontaneously combust (which would have been very bad, since the whole area of space surrounding these two-planets appeared to be a "no-power zone"). Nothing bad happened at all. Things were quiet, a tad bit boring, and all around almost pleasant. But then Sonic's earlier concerns resurged. The pods hit the second planet's atmosphere, and it soon became abundantly clear that they simply couldn't withstand it. Both pods lost all power very quickly, but Jet didn't disembark yet... so Sonic waited. A glance outside the glass window on his pod showed Jet sitting calmly with crossed arms and closed eyes as his own pod plummeted uncontrollably through the sky. After a short bit of time, it began to spin rapidly as it fell, and eventually Sonic's followed suit. It nearly made the hedgehog want to puke, but he really did do what he could to refrain, if only because that would have been so gross. They both waited, waited for that perfect, opportune moment to break out and jump to safety. When that moment came, they had split seconds to react and save themselves from death or, at the very least, severe bodily harm. The landings were rough and the pods utterly destroyed, but the two old friends had survived. To Sonic, that was all that mattered.

Following Jet's lead, Sonic walked toward the nearby alien city. He tried to remain quiet for a while, but questions swirled about in his mind. So he voiced them, one by one. "And that ship was...?" he prompted, hoping he would be given an answer better than the on he'd been given the last time he'd inquired.

"A slave carrier," was the simple reply.

"Which is?"

"A ship used to capture and transport slaves. Usually kidnapped Babylonians."

Okay. Not exactly what Sonic had been expecting. Then again, he hadn't even known what he'd been expecting, anyway. "And you said it was a 'Therian' ship, right?" A nod. "Okay, so my earlier question still stands." His earlier random irritation had entirely faded, and he was able to ask that question much more calmly this time around. "What's a Therian?"

It took some time for the young king to answer that. When he did, his voice was unusually soft. "The biggest threat to Babylonian society since nearly the beginning of time. They are what the Nocturne Clan has the potential to become... and what the Clan has the potential to surpass."

That didn't really answer his question but, needless to say, everything Jet had just implied did _not_ bode well for anybody or any _thing_. However, Sonic didn't feel particularly inclined to let himself worry about that at this moment. Instead, he focused on his questions. They kept him grounded, kept him from freaking out about things he could do nothing to prevent at the moment. "And, where is this?"

"Perezel," Jet responded simply with a slight gesture to the city they were entering.

"And the world?"

"Kel-ka."

 _Interesting name._ Now driven more by curiosity than anything else, and wanting to take advantage of the fact that Jet was talking again (even if his replies were quickly reverting back to one-word sentences), Sonic continued to ask questions. "How do you know this place?" he inquired as they walked through the alien streets and past the alien people.

A soft, thoughtful hum served as Jet's only reply at first, then he admitted, "My ship crashed here, years ago."

"Were you being reckless again?" Sonic found himself teasing, a small smirk aimed at his old friend.

"No," the hawk responded a touch defensively.

"Uh-huh," Sonic said, tone mockingly full of disbelief. Regardless of whether or not Jet caught onto the fact that Sonic was again merely teasing, he chose to say nothing more on the subject. And, deciding to leave him be about it for now, Sonic asked a new question instead of pressing the matter. "So, where are we going?" Instead of speaking, Jet merely gestured to a building in the distance. That reply told Sonic absolutely nothing, but he opted not to fight about it. Instead, he chose to just try to enjoy the scenery along the way. _Lord only knows when things will next be mellow like this._

 **~台風の目~**

It was sunny outside, and the day was warm. The breeze whispering through the town of Crestfor was a welcome edition to the peaceful weather of the day. This was the sort of day where children were most willing to go outside and play, the sort of day where the flicky birds were singing and where most people's' worries wound up being completely out of mind. It was also the perfect day to sit outside with a good book and a cool drink and just relax in the grass or on a porch somewhere. All of this prompted Ross to emerge from his home (he had long since moved into a different house than the one he and Jet had lived in years ago) and walked to his son's Babylon Rogue airship, which the younger hawk had left there sometime ago. Jet had claimed he had no use for it anymore, since he and the other two Rogues he'd once traveled with were no longer teammates. On that note, the young hawk had left the ship there, giving Ross permission to use it "whenever". The older of the two had seldom taken his son up on that offer, mainly doing so when he needed to go to the city for some reason or another (usually to run errands). It was just so much easier to do that then to wait for the monorail to take him there. Besides, at least the ship didn't cost him money.

Today was really no different from most other days. He made himself breakfast, took notice of the wonderful weather, and decided he wanted to spend his day reading. That was all normal, as was the fairly short amount of time it took him to start up the ship. After all, largely out of practice though he was, he had spent many years of his young adult life piloting that ship. For the sake of pulling heists, sure, but regardless. The point simply was that he would likely never forget how to pilot this ship and, as such, he took off from Crestfor quickly and easily. The town was nestled in a clearing in East Forest (one of the two forests surrounding Future City), and soon it was lost in the distance amongst the many trees. Thus, his rather peaceful journey began.

Peace, however, was something he had learned long ago to not trust to last for very long. Days, at the most. Mere moments at the least. The peace he felt was lost quite abruptly today when something unexpectedly slammed into the side of what had once been his ship. He staggered from the force of the unexpected blow, but quickly regained his balance. His almost piercing blue eyes swung toward the nearest window, and he stared out of it. The creature his eyes met was something absurdly dark in both color and in aura. It was vaguely birdlike, vaguely reptilian, and almost sort of serpentine all at once. The person, if they could even be classified as such, that was riding the beast was no less freakish, and the same could easily be said for the other people and flying creatures he could see approaching rapidly in the distance. In no time at all, the ship would be surrounded. He was defenseless, lacking any powers or weapons of any kind. The years had been kind to him in the sense that he still had all of his physical strength, but he was not so dense that he believed that physical strength alone would be enough to save him here.

The fight was truly on in no time at all. The enemies, he suspected they were the Nocturnians he had been hearing about as of late, swarmed the ship and busted into it from every weak point they could find. Mainly, they broke through windows. It struck him as odd that they didn't go for the engine or other such vital points, but he was given no time to ponder it. Left with no other viable options, he fled from the control room and down familiar halls, past familiar doors, and toward an equally familiar escape hatch. He held little hope of surviving the fall out of the ship, but it was a chance he felt more than willing to take if it meant _potentially_ avoiding death. But evil forces beset him every single step of the way. They were there, always there. Hindering him, attacking him, wounding him, attempting to end him... It was not the first time he had known the fear of death, but he feared it would be the last time.

Injury after injury was given to him, robbing him of both blood and strength. Rapidly, he felt a sense of cold begin to fill him. He fought it, fought the ones responsible for so utterly endangering his existence, but his life was fading. Blades stabbed, guns blasted, creatures shrieked, and it was all fading away. Darkness began to replace the colors he once saw. At some point, he fell and was unable to stand again. Everything seemed much too loud (his heartbeat, his labored breaths) and much too quiet (the laughter, the alarms) all at the same time. It all faded gradually, bit by bit, away from him. There was nothing left after that. His eyes lost their light, their light. His killers rejoiced wickedly in their victory and hauled his lifeless form to the nearest window, leaving a thick trail of red behind. The corpse was dumped out into the open air above the dense wilderness, and the stolen ship was steered away.

 **~台風の目~**

"You don't seem terribly concerned." Jet and Sonic were seated side-by-side on a sort of monorail on Kel-ka. They had gone to the building that Jet had earlier indicated, only to find that the special teleporter that had once been housed there was now in an entirely new city that Jet, unfortunately, hadn't actually been to. As it turned out, Perezel was the only city on this planet he had actually been to before. Which, of course, just figured. That, however, wasn't what Sonic was thinking about when he made that little comment.

"About what?" Jet asked quietly, cheek in hand and expression unreadable as he gazed out the window by his right side.

Having not expected a reply of any kind at all, Sonic was almost startled into being silent for a few seconds, but then he snapped himself out of it. "Your kids, mostly," he shrugged, "but also all of this in general." He paused, then quickly added, "I worded that badly. I just meant that, of course you _are_ concerned, at least about your kids, but you just never look or act like you are."

"I trust Tammy," was the murmured reply. It was simple, directly to the point, and said everything it needed to. Granted, it didn't tell Sonic whether or not Jet was actually concerned about this whole war in general, but he let that particular matter slide for now.

"But you don't trust the rest of us." The words were out of his mouth before Sonic even realized they were on his mind. "At least, not as much."

Secretly, Jet stiffened. Memories, dark but also _fake_ memories swarmed his mind. They were memories that had been forced upon him against his will using methods he cared not to think about. The knowledge that the memories were, in fact, genuinely fake did nothing to help undo the damage they had done to him, and in some ways still _did_ to him. That damage made thinking about this _hurt_ , and he couldn't stand that type of pain. Not right now. Not when he was without the support Selene provided, and had also provided him in the past... back when all of this pain had been much too fresh. Not when he so often felt utterly alone in his life. Not when he knew just how badly this had all ruined his relationships, perhaps forevermore. This was all just too much right now, and he needed Sonic to _understand_ that. However, he lacked the words to properly _express_ any of this, and the quotes that were floating through his mind just weren't helping at all. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to say in a level (if somewhat strained) voice, "I don't want to discuss this." He sensed that Sonic was frowning, but that was something he ignored. Then he added in a voice so soft Sonic nearly missed it, "...Please."

The genuine plea that was hidden under the veil his calmness created caused Sonic to agree immediately with almost no thought. But that didn't mean he intended to _completely_ leave Jet alone. "...Okay..." he agreed slowly, "but I do still want to talk." Piercing blue eyes opened and looked at him. "We've barely talked since running into each other in Green Forest that day. Sure, we've discussed important things from time to time and you've explained some things and I've, admittedly, asked a _lot_ of questions, but... None of that is really _talking_ in the same way that we used to." Silence, and Jet looked away further. He seemed thoughtful, perhaps, and Sonic was determined. "Please, Jet," he murmured. He looked earnestly into his friend's face, searching for any clues as to what the hawk might have been thinking. "I'd like to get my friend back, and to be able to be your friend again, too. We can't very well make that happen if we never talk."

That, more than anything else, seemed to sway Jet's opinion on the matter. His eyes closed again, and he responded with a soft, "Fine, then."

In that moment, Sonic found it in himself to smile. He started the conversation off slow, bringing up simple topics that weren't personal and wouldn't upset Jet or himself in any way, and gradually the hawk began to open up, just a little. He opened up enough that, when Sonic asked Jet to describe what Babylonian society was like (since Sonic had never really known), the young king actually gave some decently descriptive answers. One answer in particular that Jet gave roused Sonic's curiosity. "Wait, you're serious?" When Jet nodded, Sonic sat back in his seat with a small, "Huh." Jet glanced at him. "I never knew that. I always kinda assumed Babylon was a more patriarchal society like Mobius used to be, not matriarchal."

The young king shook his head. "It never was, and still isn't, a patriarchal society. Like on modern Mobius, there is now a relative balance of power between the genders. But in general the women are still, essentially, the ones in power on Babylon."

Sonic nodded slowly as he digested this bit of news, then felt himself slowly begin to smirk. "So, does this mean that, way back when, Wave should have asked _you_ out and not the other way around?" he teased.

Jet sort of got a _look_ on his face when Sonic gained that teasing spark in his aura, a look that nearly made Sonic laugh, but his expression quickly smoothed back over again. "Technically," he admitted, "...yes."

This ushered in a period of lighthearted teasing and almost-banter than was fairly reminiscent of the way the two of them had once been able to talk. And, somehow, through that alone, the entire train ride became that much more bearable.

 **~台風の目~**

At some point a bit earlier in the day, the group Tails was with was forced to relocate to a new campsite on a rocky outcropping so as to avoid being attacked yet again. The new campsite was complete with a cave, a stream, and a whole lot of rocks that Jason truly seemed to be enjoying playing with. The entire area was peaceful, it seemed, and that alone was more than enough to allow people to relax again, and a good few of them found it in themselves to begin to smile again. Rouge and Blaze were two such people. Both wore equal smiles as they stood outside the cave, talking amongst themselves in quiet voices. The two women, who had actually become good friends over the last century or so, drifted from topic to topic for a time, then settled on one in particular. "Honestly, he and his father are much too alike for anyone's good," Blaze was saying with a sigh.

"I agree with you there, kitten," Rouge replied with a small smirk, using a nickname she had given Blaze ages ago. "Especially when it comes to just how much they both love to tease and torment my poor husband."

"In this situation, I believe that Silver may be the lesser of two evils," Blaze murmured in amusement. "It is not he who constantly goes out of his way to call Knuckles names. It is Sonic."

"Very true," Rouge agreed, chuckling. "However, it's not like my guy doesn't return the favor. I swear, it's like he and Sonic both have books full of names to call each other."

"They certainly do seem to come up with a lot of names," Blaze said, now sporting a small smirk of her own. "Out of all of them, though, I think the best one may be Toes." Almost immediately after that word left her mouth, Knuckles (whom she hadn't realized had moved into earshot) turned and gave them both a glare. Blaze at least had the decency to look and feel somewhat sheepish, but Rouge was Rouge, and she just laughed.

Knuckles turned away, visibly annoyed, and suddenly stiffened. Rouge's laughter died down within seconds. The kids all seemed to freeze (save for Suri, bless her blissfully ignorant little heart). The adults all stared in horror as a very large Nocturnian creature of some kind soared toward them at what seemed to be nearly top speeds. Locke was the one who startled everyone into motion. "Kids, get to the ships! Now!" This barked order snapped everyone out of it, and the kids fled toward the four ships to take shelter. Ten, Lucas, Hannah, and Suri all ended up inside the X-Tornado. The twins, of course, got inside Kaden's ship. Jason soon joined the hawk kids in the Tornado, and Kimmy climbed into Kaden's ship with Sen and Sarai. Cream, Cheese, Bokkun, and Charmy clambered into Shadow's ship and hid away in it. Marthal, Keiri, Tails, and and Tammy assumed defensive positions by the Tornado while Analia stood protectively by her husband's ship. Rouge, Vector, and Omega moved to guard Shadow's ship. That left everyone else available to fight. And fight they did, in spite of not having any real idea how to defeat this thing, whatever it was.

Almost straight away, disaster struck. An explosion rendered Omega so severely damaged that he wound up powering down uselessly in the middle of the what was due to become their battlefield. While the others fought and Blaze did whatever she could to keep the swallow safe, Wave sprinted over to the robot and knelt down before him. Alone, in a way, she struggled to repair the robot enough to get him turned on again. Lasers shot by her shoulders, her arms, her legs, her cheeks, over her head... But she never paid them any mind. She had to focus. She had to succeed. They couldn't, wouldn't retreat if it meant leaving one of their friends behind. They simply wouldn't do it. Omega was going to come with them. One way or another, he was coming with them. They simply weren't going to flee without him, or anyone else. _No one gets left behind. That is how we do things._ However... that was a decision they quickly wound up regretting.

More explosions, these ones visibly charged with such a strange form of black magic that even Analia couldn't properly counter them, wracked the battlefield. One struck both Wave and Omega down, virtually obliterating the robot and everything in him and wounding Wave so seriously she was knocked unconscious before the force of the explosion could even send her flying. The swallow hit the ground hard and rolled limply until she crashed into a rock, then finally came to a halt. Tammy rushed to the beaten and battered form of her acquaintance (they really had already become quite friendly with one another) with the intention to bring her to safety, but was forced to stop. The explosions were continuing, and no one was able to adequately fight back against them. One blast struck the ground painfully close to Vector and threw him almost as forcefully as Wave had been not even thirty full seconds before. He remained conscious, but was unable to get back up. Left with little else she _could_ do, Tammy put up a fight. Along with others, she began to actively fight the creature once more.

It was Locke who took the next blow. A mighty paw (or perhaps a hoof, no one could tell) struck nearly the entire right side of his body at the same time, miraculously missing his head. He, too, was thrown with great undue force across the battlefield. His ulna and radius (the bones of the lower arm) both snapped, as did his tibia (the shin bone) and several ribs, all on that side of his body. Those fighting closest to him _heard_ those bones break and, though he bit it back as best as he could upon slamming into the ground, they could also hear the strained sound of near-agony that he made. Knuckles was immediately at his father's side, and Rouge fiercely defended the both of them just as Espio was painfully whipped across the stomach and left arm by the beast's tail. Marthal and Keiri attempted to attack together, Marthal using his fire and Keiri using the "basic" magic she had been born with, but neither managed to harm the beast too terribly much. Selene lent aid with her aura powers and Tails jumped right in with his electricity, which did wind up helping. It just wasn't enough, and they all knew it. Analia tried again to counter the dark magic with her Light, attempting to buy the group more time to do more damage before anyone else got hurt.

Tragedy chose that moment to strike.

Cream, in an effort to be of more use than she currently was, used her own powers to try to wound the beast. This mostly served to simply enrage it even farther than it quite possibly already had been. It somehow pinpointed the source of the attack and swung it's broad head around to face Shadow's ship. Tammy, Rouge, Espio, and others sprinted toward the creature in an attempt to stop it from doing what they _knew_ it was about to do. Analia fought to get the explosions to stop long enough for her to throw a barrier up around the ship in time. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, and nothing any of the heroes did at any point managed to end the disaster before it could begin. A terrible, explosive beam erupted from it's disgusting black maw, aimed straight for the ship and it's occupants. The attack struck seemingly both after an eternity and precious few split seconds in time simultaneously, creating a blast so bright and so hot that none would soon forget it. Horror colored the faces of every conscious person in the group. The creature's attack backfired on it and killed it as well, for it had been too close, reducing the beast to little more than a heap of steaming black goop. The heroes barely paid it any mind as Marthal wiped out the flames on the now ruined ship and hands reached without hesitation into the smoke. Together, Tails and Blaze pulled out Cream, Cheese, and Charmy, with the young and terrified bee being the only one who was conscious out of the three. Then Blaze reached in a third time... and pulled out a small, lifeless black body with a jetpack.

 **~台風の目~**

 **5,363 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this sad-as-hell chapter... Posting this for the first time killed me. The second time isn't any easier. ;_;** **A couple pronunciation help things: 1.) Perezel: "Pear-uh-zell"**

 **2.) Kel-ka: "Kell-kah"**

 **Posted (at about 6:05 p.m.) 08-26-17.**


	46. Ripples

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: The original Ch... 51? 52? Whatever it was, was once entitled "Here to Protect". It was edited heavily to remove T'alo from the first scene and to, indeed, change the first scene entirely. I also _heavily_ edited the scene where Sonic and Jet were talking, giving them different things to discuss. The Kath scene was edited to remove all mentions of T'alo and of Kath and Jet being related (an idea I played around with for a long time but am now scrapping at least for now). I was _going_ to edit Soren out of the story, but decided not to. Leaving him here, for now, gives Shadow a chance for some character development, so I'll be leaving Soren for now.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Ripples"**

 **~台風の目~**

Beautiful, ancient blue eyes watched as the smoke slowly cleared away from the destruction of the battle he had ended mere seconds ago. They watched as tears flowed from eyes belonging to people he had never before seen in his all-too-long life. A mechanical being lying in a ruined heap near a ship. A small black child lay limply in the arms of a purple woman whose species was utterly unknown to him. He knew who everyone here was, though not personally. He knew that their grief was genuine... and raw. An innocent child was dead. No child deserved to die, no matter their crimes (if they had ever made any at all), and to see this careless destruction of life was just too terrible for him to properly put into words. And yet... it didn't mean anywhere near as much to him as it would for these people. It never could, because he didn't know that child like they did, and never would. That knowledge almost made the small Immortal feel guilty, irrationally so, and he had to remind himself not to be swayed by their feelings. Prompted by his near lapse in judgement, he made a conscious effort to steer his thoughts away from the subject.

When Sheira, oldest of the four Immortals currently living, had sent him here to view just how bad the situation on Mobius truly was, he hadn't expected to first see this. Death had been anticipated, yes. Much death. Great destruction. Horrific battlefields. Unimaginable suffering. But to witness the direct aftermath of the death of a child... It tempted him, tempted him to do something he knew he was forbidden to do. It tempted him to bend reality, to prevent this from having ever happened. But what was this child's life compared to any other's? Why save just this one small life and not all of them? Why not simply wipe the Nocturne Clan from existence and be done with it?

These were questions he, of course, already had answers to. Manipulating reality, bending it to one's will for any reason, created ripples that could be felt across _all_ planes of existence and in all timelines. Perhaps if there was only _one_ timeline, one and only one, then it wouldn't matter so much. But the Faein (which was the truest name for the first four Immortals) had not seen fit to create just one reality, and none knew better than they. Not even their kin, their mortal-born yet still Immortal successors. But what Kaelix and the others did know was that the risk of using the Faein's greatest ability, the ability to manipulate life and reality at will, was too great for them. Only the Faein could use it without creating more harm than good. For that reason, it seemed as though this ability simply would not and could not ever be used again. And it was because of this that Kaelix did nothing, not one thing to try to save this poor child... despite his desire to.

A strained voice met his ears, dragged him out of his thoughts. The voice belonged to a silver-furred youth with a tear-stained face. In his arms he held a small child that looked very much like the purple woman. He knew them, as an Immortal of his level knew nearly all mortals. They were Silver, Kimmy, and Blaze. A family of cat and Tokarian, a union never seen before in this particular reality. A beautiful thing it certainly was, but their grief bled any beauty away from the moment. As the small Immortal listened, Silver asked a woman with blue fur and bright green eyes (Kaelix knew her to be Analia of the Realm of Light) if there was _any_ possible way to revive the dead child. But Analia knew as well as Kaelix did that there was no saving what was already lost. Not for mortals, at any rate. Semi-Immortals could revive the dead now and then as her son had proven multiple times before, yes, but neither Sonic nor his mother nor his father could do a thing to revive the child. Not now. Perhaps someday... but not today. It was a fact Analia already knew. She merely shook her head in reply, doing the same again when someone else (he didn't notice who) asked about the possibility of restoring the robot. There was no saving their metal ally, either. The magic used to destroy it had seen to that with ruthless certainty. Perhaps if this robot had been on a world with greater technology than this one, saving it would have been an easy feat. But with the current technology on Mobius being such as it was, there was nothing these people could do. Robotic or not, this was truly a second life lost.

As all of this sank in, more tears were shed, particularly amongst the children. Their grief was palpable. It made their auras almost unbearable to the Immortal's senses, and their sadness threatened very strongly to drag him under its influence as well. That would not do. He had much left to do here. Sheira had sent him here to survey the damage, to see how desperate the situation here truly was. A satisfactory report could not be given if all he'd looked at was the death of one poor, innocent child. Which meant he had to leave. And yet… he lingered, eyes still on the child. Timeless though Kaelix himself was, he too was still but a child, if only physically. He had stopped aging so soon into his life that a child was forever what he would be. It made seeing the deaths of other children so much harder to bear, for the knowledge of _that could have been me_ stuck with him. If he hadn't been born Immortal, if the Nocturnians had invaded his homeplanet, if his family hadn't been strong enough to defend him from harm, if, if if… So many if's, so many dark possibilities for what life _could_ have been like.

Yet, as he watched these poor battered mortals, a new thought came to him. He watched, silent, as the echidna Knuckles helped his father Locke to stand. The Babylonian woman Tammy, hovered close to the children of the Babylonian king, the Immortal by the true name of Sein. Analia of the Light set about slowly trying to heal her companions one at a time, focusing on the wounded children first. It went on and on, each person doing something to help, something to try to help make the situation at least a _tiny_ bit better. They all fought, they all struggled, they all suffered, they all hurt, they all moved forward, they all kept on living. The same dark possibilities for how his life could have been were, in many ways, the very real future these people were potentially facing. But they fought anyway.

It was enough to convince anyone with a heart to join their cause, to share in their grief and their joy and their hope, to take up arms against their enemy and rise from hell with them to defend the future.

Smiling to himself, not out of any particular sense of happiness but out of renewed determination, Kaelix turned away. Still cloaked by what was known as "perfect invisibility" (an Immortal's ability to render them completely shielded from all senses, basic or otherwise), he flew off into the distance. If there was work to be done, he would do it, and the sooner he completed it and returned to Sheira to share with her his newfound insights and beliefs... the better things had a potential to be.

 **~台風の目~**

It had long been said that Sonic and Jet were brothers in all but blood. They had always trusted each other like crazy, confided in each other about nearly everything, teased and harassed each other to no end, bickered practically like housecats and dogs, had each other's backs all the way to Hell and back again... The list just went on and on and on. Because of all these things and more, just about everyone who knew them agreed that they simply _had_ to be brothers, if not biologically so. However, in spite of that, a century of separation and no contact had seemingly weakened their bond. Other factors had been in place besides just distance and time, too, but the fact remained that the end result was, inevitably, a rift forming between them that seemed to grow wider and wider all the time, sometimes slowly, sometimes very quickly. And, up until now, Sonic had seemed to be the only one who held any interest in trying to bridge that gap and regain their common ground, not to mention their old bond. He wasn't so foolish to think that things could ever fully go back to they way they had once been, but he still hoped that the damage done could, in some way, be repaired.

Today, they were finally taking steps in that direction. Perhaps only in a very small way, but that didn't matter to him. All that mattered to him at the moment were two things. One, they were off the train finally and on their way to the teleporter Jet had been leading them to since they'd arrived on this world. Two, he and Jet were actually talking. Granted, Jet wasn't being overly verbose and he seemed to have to remind himself to answer with more than monosyllabic answers, and sure there was still some strange underlying tension between them that Sonic couldn't define nor describe, but they were talking. Regardless of all of these little (or perhaps not so little) problems, they were finally _talking_ , just not quite in the same way they had once been able to. Still, he considered it to be a rather large improvement, and he was far from complaining. "Besides the fact that I'm an uncle and a grandpa now, not a whole lot has changed in my family," Sonic shrugged in answer to a small question he had just been asked. "I mean, we've all changed some over the years, and Silver's mellowed out a bit, and that sort of thing, but it's otherwise the same family dynamic as before."

"Which means you and Shadow still bicker like children," Jet quickly deduced.

Sonic smirked, half sheepish and half amused. "Well, duh." A very slight trace of amusement flickered across Jet's eyes as he led the way through the alien city, but it was gone again just like that. Sonic had expected as much, anyway, so he didn't let it bother him too much. Sonic looked at some... "people" (if they could even be called that) he could barely begin to describe while simultaneously asking, "So, what about your family? It got bigger over the last hundred years. I mean, it used to be just you and Ross."

Jet shook his head slowly, then seemingly reminded himself to reply verbally. "We were both incorrect on that matter."

"Wrong?" Sonic echoed in confusion. He listened with curiosity as Jet briefly explained about how he apparently had more relatives than either of them had ever been aware of. He'd had cousins, great-uncles, and great-aunts from Laralei's side of the family as it turned out, though none of them were alive anymore and he'd never met any of them. When the explanation was finished (and it soon was), Sonic let out a small, "Huh," then followed up with, "Wonder why Ross never mentioned them to you before." Jet shrugged. "Maybe he just didn't know about them, or didn't know that they were alive?" Sonic suggested. A second shrug, and the hedgehog let the matter go. Resisting the urge to physically nudge the hawk to do so, he verbally reminded, "Your turn to ask another question."

While giving that some thought, Jet led the way of what Sonic could only describe as being some sort of street. It was so strange how some things on this world, such as the monorail, resembled things on Mobius while so many other things were utterly unrecognizable to him. That was all brushed aside in his mind when Jet finally spoke, having apparently settled on another relatively simple question. "Do you still train?"

Honestly, the question caught Sonic by surprise. "Well, I mean, no," he admitted. "Looking back, yeah, that seems _stupid_. I mean, this is _me_ we're talking about, right? I should have known that something horrible like this would happen, but..." A sigh escaped him. "Obviously I didn't take history's lessons from the past much to heart, and I didn't make use of all that time to stay ready, just in case. So... no, I really haven't trained much, if at all, in the last hundred years. Dad, Shadow, Blaze, and a few others did, but most of the rest of us just... didn't."

This admission didn't appear to come as a surprise to Jet and, though he seemed contemplative about Sonic's response, he gave no comment on it. Instead, he spared Sonic a glance and reminded, "Your turn."

The blue blur gave himself some time to think up a decent question. Only when he was satisfied with what he'd thought of did he speak. "So... King, huh? How'd anyone convince you to take on _that_ job?" It was a risky question, sure, but they would never get anywhere if neither of them tested barriers in their conversations at any point. _So to hell with risks,_ he decided. _For now, at least._

It seemed like Jet had to give this a good bit of thought before he was able to reply. "No one specifically asked me to do it, if that's what you're implying," he responded slowly.

Like a curious child, Sonic felt his head tilt to one side. "So what happened, then?"

"...The end of the war."

Perplexed, Sonic blurted out, "What do you mean?"

In the past, Jet might have visibly restrained a sigh, or even have given in and let it out. The Jet of the present, however, had no such outward response to the question. He did, however, speak. He was giving answers, if only this once, and Sonic chose to just be grateful for it for now. "At the end of the war..." the hawk told him in the same slow tone, "the metaphorical throne was left unoccupied." Something in his gaze seemed to grow distant as he recalled the past. "Kath's physical health had been deteriorating for months due to an unknown illness, and everyone had believed that he was doomed to die. He had been unconscious for weeks. A vast number of people mourned him as though he was already gone… and… they called for a successor."

"But he had no heirs," Sonic correctly guessed.

Jet offered a slight nod. "And even if he had, he was not from the royal bloodline. Some rumors persist that he may have once been married to my grandmother, but even if he had, they produced no child."

"And the people wanted someone from the royal line to go back into power," Sonic added. He was gaining understanding of the situation, he believed, and was starting to put the pieces together in his mind of what must have happened.

"He was the first person not of royal blood to rule our people," Jet murmured. "The very first. And though he was a celebrated leader, many called for him to be the last ruler without my family's blood."

"But why would they place so much weight on something like that?" Sonic frowned.

The hawk blinked. "Because the Faein chose us."

"...What?" Was all Sonic asked, now utterly lost.

"The first four Immortals," Jet responded softly. "For each of the first four races, the races they themselves brought into existence, they created one ruler. The Faein could see the past, the present, and every possible future at once and knew exactly who to make and how for the benefit of each race. They saw every descendant of these leaders as well. My people were given Noela, the first of my ancestors."

"So, subsequently... the Babylonians were also given you and all your other ancestors and descendants, too," Sonic said slowly, trying to wrap his mind around all of this.

Another subtle nod. "In a way, yes. And it is because of this that people grew concerned about the potential for someone of different blood to come to power a second time. While it worked well this time around, many feared further… 'deviance' from the selected family might lead to great calamity for our kind in the future."

"...How do you even know all of this?" Sonic asked suddenly, overwhelmed.

That question finally earned a direct look from Jet, though Sonic had an impossible time trying to read what it meant. "I'm Immortal as well," Jet eventually reminded, looking away again.

There was a period of silence that followed for a time before Sonic spoke up again. "So, what?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "You just stepped up and essentially said, 'I'll do it'?"

This time, Jet shook his head. "No, Sonic," he murmured. "Things are never, _never_ that simple."

After that, there was no further time for questions. They had finally reached the building with the teleporter they needed. Jet, now silent again as he so clearly preferred being, led the way inside. Sonic greatly appreciated the fact that the young king had set aside his usual desires for no conversation and had, instead, talked with him for a good long while, so the hedgehog didn't press his friend for any further conversation right now. To do so might be truly asking for too much too soon, as far as he was concerned. Lord only knew that he didn't want to push his old friend even further away by pressing too hard to try to fix things. He needed to just relax and, to a point, let things be at the moment, and that was exactly what he planned on doing. And besides... he truly did have a lot to ponder over now, even in light of the fact that Jet had never fully answered his question earlier.

So, in silence, they entered the building, climbed some structure that strongly resembled stairs, and walked to some "person" who was working on something near what appeared to be their teleporter. Jet walked over to that being, they traded some words in a language Sonic had never heard before, then the "person" gestured in some way to teleporter. Jet murmured some reply, glanced tellingly to Sonic, then walked to the teleporter. Sonic jogged lightly over to him while Jet touched the device. The hedgehog reached his side just in time for a light to whisk them away.

 **~台風の目~**

Hands slowly patted down the soft dirt as tears slid down silver cheeks from golden eyes. Normally, this young hero didn't cry much, if at all. But today... Today was a day filled with unexpected grief. The last bit of dirt was patted down, and fingers curled tightly on the spot. Shaking, he turned his head away from the newly created grave. _I'm so, so sorry, Bokkun... I wish we could have saved you, too..._ Choking back a sob, Silver stood up and teleported away.

 **~台風の目~**

Kath had always, always needed time on his own. That wasn't to say he'd never had an interest in friendship. Lord only knew that that had never been the case. After all, he and Laralei had been friends practically since birth. And that was a literal statement. Still, he'd always enjoyed peace, quiet, and solitude. It was just in his nature, he supposed, to want to be alone. Regardless, he took his friendships with people very. Goddamn. Seriously. He was more than willing to die if that was what it took to save the people he cared about, had always been that way, and he would all-too-willingly go through all the hell he'd once suffered through all over again if it meant keeping those people safe. If he could prevent others from suffering as he once had, he would. That was it, end of story, and nothing could ever change it.

Right now, he was faced with a decision. Two options were laid out before him. Continue running the kingdom in Jet's absence (as the younger hawk had asked him to), or take a more active role in the war by leaving the kingdom and fighting. Both options, of course, had their own sets of pros and cons. Some might even argue that leaving to join the war had far more cons than the first option. That, however, wasn't entirely true. One big thing that he knew others would voice as an argument was that leaving the kingdom unattended would leave them vulnerable and open to attack. This would have been the biggest deterrent against him leaving... had this point actually been true. The fact of the matter was that his decision had already been made some time ago, anyway.

Standing up, he walked to the double doors of his observatory, opened them up, and stepped out into the hall, leaving the doors open for once as he went. Farther down the hall, he reached his bedroom (a place he seldom went into, to be perfectly honest) and went in. Inside, he found everything he'd currently been looking for. His scout rifle, his sword (the Winter's Blade/Blade of Winter), his communicator, and Azerel. The wolf was sleeping on Kath's twin-sized bed, his favorite place to nap, and Kath left him be for the moment. Turning his attention instead to his weapons, his strapped his sheathed sword to his hip and his gun to his back. With that done, he put his communicator on his wrist. Normally, he had no real use for the device, but this was an exception. Now ready to leave, he at least had the courtesy this time to wake Azerel and let him know.

 **~台風の目~**

Lia's tears had long since faded away. Her eyes were dry and they burned from crying far too much. The jeering and laughter had finally ceased as her captors had seemingly lost interest in their young prisoner. She kept her legs hugged up to her chest, her head buried in her knees. Painful though it was, she tried to hold onto her hope. But the sheer amount of evil she was surrounded with here... it was getting to her. It was so, _so_ hard to hope when surrounded by this much animosity and malevolence and pure, unbridled rage... _..._ _I want Daddy...!_ Why he wasn't here yet eluded her. Perhaps he was hurt or lost? But he was Shadow, and those things simply didn't happen to him. Except when they did. It was always so frightening to her when he got hurt (though she couldn't recall him getting lost more than once throughout her life). That, however, wasn't a reality she wanted to consider. She didn't want him hurt. She wanted him _here_. Sniffling pitifully, she shifted a bit to try to get even just a bit more comfortable.

That was when a warm hand moved to rest on her shoulder.

Naturally, her instant assumption was that one of her captors had returned. And, of course, she jumped and started to shriek, only for that hand to come up and cover her mouth, cutting her off. "Shh!" a young male voice hissed in a harsh whisper. "You'll blow what little cover we have!"

Ruby red eyes filling with tears anew in spite of having been drier than Shamar not long before, Lia twisted around as best as she could in her current situation to try to get a look at whoever this person was. Her initial reaction was a combination of surprise, confusion, and a healthy measure of sweet, sweet relief. Whoever this person was both a hedgehog (most certainly _not_ a Nocturnian, hence her relief and surprise) and looked a lot like both her and her father (which contributed to all three of her feelings right now). Young though she was, Lia was usually a surprisingly good judge of age, and she didn't think this boy was any younger than fifteen. She doubted he was younger than that, too. He, like her and her father, was a black hedgehog with red-streaked hair. She assumed he probably had that distinctive patch of white on his chest, too, though his entire torso was covered by a black tanktop (the kind with thick straps) and some borderline-biker-looking jacket with metal studs and diminutive spikes with rounded off points. He also wore pants, oddly enough. They matched his jacket perfectly, and his equally black boots tied the whole outfit together nicely. His hair was somewhat spiked around the area where most people would have bangs, and the spikes were swept off a bit toward the left. The rest of his hair, she noticed belatedly, was rather similar to her own hair. Flat, but not too much so. His eyes really grabbed her attention, though. Instead of being red like she'd anticipated they would be, they were platinum or silver colored, a shade of grey most would describe as "stormy". Beautiful, but not at all what she'd expected. But every other aspect of his natural colorations, particularly the red streaks in his hair, convinced her that this was a relative of hers of some kind (and he certainly seemed to know her). But... _how_?

When she tried to speak, after he removed his hand of course, all that came out was a pitiful squeak. Huffing slightly as though he was annoyed, though she sensed no such emotion in him right now, the crouching boy told her very quietly, "My name is Soren. I came to help, but I don't have much time to _do_ that. The less you try to make me explain right now, the sooner I can get you out of here." That alone filled her with renewed hope. Perhaps it was her naivety that caused her to trust him so quickly and completely, but it didn't matter in the end. What mattered now was that she had a chance to find freedom again, and she very much wanted to take it. Apparently picking up on this, Soren whispered to her, "Stay still and keep very, very quiet."

Nodding shakily, she watched over her shoulder as he stood up and looked quickly from side to side, scanning the immediate area for threats. Apparently finding none (which was a relief in and of itself), he quickly knelt down again whispered, "Shield your face. There may be some debris flying around in a second." As soon as she did as she was told, she heard more than saw through her arms as he attached some device to the bars on the far side of the cage. Mere seconds later, there was a small explosion and, indeed, bits of metal debris did wind up hurtling toward her. Though her arms were cut up, her face was spared, which was more than likely the whole point.

No doubt aware of the fact that that little stunt had blown whatever minor cover they seemed to have had before, Soren reached forward, unexpectedly scooped Lia up, and teleported quickly away.

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,659 words this time. Really hope you guys enjoyed this one. I really like how this one turned out once I fixed it up. As usual, here are some aids in pronunciation of weird words. 1.) Sheira: "Shae-ruh"**

 **2.) Faein: "Fae-ihn"**

 **3.) Kaelix: "Kae-licks"**

 **4.) Laralei (this one's just a reminder, since her name hasn't come up much in so long): "Lah-ruh-lae"**

 **5.) Noela (yes, I borrowed this name from the 3DS game "Fantasy Life"): "No-ell-uh"**

 **6.) Azerel (this one's another reminder, and it starts with a short "a" like in "cat"): "A-zeh-rell"**

 **7.) Soren: "Soe-ren"**

 **Posted (at about 1:02 p.m.) 08-26-17.**


	47. The Hero's Path

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: The original Ch... 52? 53? Whatever is was, was originally titled "What Is Reality?". It was edited to remove the first two scenes (the one with Calypso and the one with T'alo) entirely. I also re-wrote Sonic and Jet's conversation a bit. I was gonna remove entire chunks of that, but… I loved the scene too much to butcher it like that.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Hero's Path"**

 **~台風の目~**

It was a bit of a relief to see that the area Sonic and Jet landed in was a place on Mobius. Specifically, it was the beautiful Splash Garden, which was nestled right within the Seaside Hill area somewhere. Sonic didn't even care that there were ponds and puddles and mini lakes everywhere. They were finally back on Mobius, and that was all he cared about. Besides, even he could appreciate the beauty of nature, even when it was as wet as this place was. He watched idly as Jet fixed his scarf (that appeared to be a habit Jet had now), though his mind chose to remain briefly focused on a question Jet had asked him earlier. The hawk had inquired about whether or not Sonic had trained at all during the last century… and the memory of how he had _hadn't_ trained his body at all reminded him of something else. "Hey, Jet?" Jet glanced at him, which Sonic supposed was an invitation to speak, and began walking. Understanding that there was no time for them to waste, meaning they couldn't just stand around while they talked, Sonic walked after him. "Listen, I know I haven't been doing near as much as you have been this last century," he began, "but I was busy with some things."

The look Jet gave him, while subtle, fairly screamed, _And_?

"And," Sonic continued (he felt like he was rushing, was he rushing?), "I visited Dad's library a lot. Turns out, he has books on people like you. Immortals." _That_ seemed to sharpen Jet's interest in this conversation. If Sonic hadn't completely had the hawk's attention before, he certainly did now. "He had hundreds and hundreds of books that mentioned the Immortals, and maybe six or seven that were actually _solely_ about them. One of them listed things that it claimed the Immortals could all do. Powers and the like." He was almost certain by this point that Jet knew what was about to be asked. "I was wondering if you would be willing to clarify fact and fiction for me regarding Immortal abilities."

Moments passed, and Jet seemed to mull it over. As they walked by one of the few lonely trees in this area, Jet spoke. "Fine."

Mildly pleased, Sonic jumped right in. "I can't remember what all it said, but I do remember some of the powers the book listed." No response. "One was manipulation of spatial energy, and of matter."

"True," Jet admitted after a few seconds of quiet.

Stunned, Sonic slowly added, "...It also mentioned time. That in combining the three abilities Immortals can manipulate the very fabric of reality itself." A simple nod served as his response to that. Now, Sonic wouldn't let himself believe that Jet was _lying_ , but... How could this be _true_?

Unsurprisingly, Jet picked up on this. "The Immortals most oftentimes stand to, if nothing else, protect existence in all its forms," he murmured. "The existence that _our_ kind created. How are we meant to do that if we cannot even so much as _see_ it in those many forms?"

This made sense, but... "If you guys can do that, why bother actually fighting threats like the Nocturne Clan?" he frowned, almost angry. Perhaps even irrationally so. "Why not simply wipe them from existence or something?"

"You believe that something as delicate as existence can be manipulated without consequence?" Jet responded coolly. Suddenly, he was kneeling on one knee before a puddle wider than either of them was tall. It was nearly ankle-deep, perfectly clear, and reflected the sky above. "There are many 'timelines', many realities. To alter one would be to alter them all." He extended his right hand, which he had gotten wet at some point, over the puddle with his index finger somewhat more extended than the rest of his fingers. "In manipulating one reality, we run the risk of destroying them all irreparably." A single droplet fell from his index finger and plummeted to the puddle below. When it hit the water, there was a distinct sound, like the delicate chime of a bell. Countless ripples exploded out from the point where the droplet struck the water. Peering into those ripples, Sonic was shocked to see himself and Jet living through this very same moment in innumerable different ways, sometimes speaking, sometimes not, saying different things in some version of this moment than in others... Outfits varied, weather varied, expressions varied... and somehow Sonic _knew_ that these were but a scant few of the countless realities Jet had previously mentioned. "If an Immortal, especially one as young as me, were to recklessly wipe a force from existence here," the young king said quietly, a hint of his normally suppressed but utterly beautiful Babylonian accent entering his voice. "All of these realities, and countless others, could very well be destroyed. If one reality near to ours were to collapse, this could all cease to be as well. Only the first of the Immortals could do such a such without creating such devastation and disaster. The knowledge of _how_ died with them." The ripples all vanished, taking with them the tantalizing visions Jet had so openly shared with Sonic. Jet stood up. "Reality is fragile. Existence as a whole requires there to be great balance. It is in our best interest not to toy with those forces."

Emerald eyes watched as Jet simply turned away and resumed walking. "So what do we do, then?" he asked almost desperately. "If we can't go about things that way, then what do we _do_?" Sonic was desperate, had always been desperate, to find that precise answer. How was he or anyone else meant to defeat a foe that seemed to have it all? Power, weapons, intelligence, training, unity, loyalty, ruthlessness…

"That answer lies with you." Sonic felt himself sort of freeze, thoughts ceasing. "Make no mistake, Sonic. This is your path, not mine. I will help you walk it, but it is not my duty to save this world. Not this time." Jet paused, turned back to look his old friend in the eye. That in and of itself was such a rarity that it succeeded in wholly capturing Sonic's attention even further. "Others may have their own chances to fight great evil, but this chance is yours and yours alone. What is needed to win this war is _you_ and _your_ power. How you choose to wield your spear is entirely up to you. This war will end when _you_ end it, not I. I will help you to reach that point, Sonic, but it is _you_ who must bring it about. The sooner you realize that," he turned and resumed walking, "the better."

There was nothing Sonic could really say to that. Nothing at all. But, as he numbly hurried after his incredibly enlightened friend, he did have a thought. _...What… did he mean by my " spear"...?_

 **~台風の目~**

When Soren and Lia reappeared in the middle of a small forest Lia didn't recognize, Soren was quick to put her down. "Listen," he told her quietly, kneeling in front of her, "I have to go now, but you're safe here. Your father is nearby, and he'll have sensed you by now. He'll be here soon."

"B-But," Lia choked out. She cut herself off, then asked, "Where are you g-going?"

Soren didn't answer that instead just reiterated, "I have to go." He stood up and put his hands into his jacket pockets. "Maybe we'll see each other later." With that said, he ran off with speed that could almost match that of Sonic or Shadow, further convincing the young girl that he _must_ have been family. It would explain how he knew who her father was. Such was the simplicity of a child's logic. The one thing she still didn't understand, though, was how Soren was related to her... and why no one had ever mentioned him before.

This matter wasn't one she had time to contemplate further. Shadow reached her within seconds of Soren's departure and she was dragged into his arms before she could even fully process the fact that he was _there_. It registered faintly in her exhausted and still fear-filled mind that he was shaking lightly. Maybe he was afraid, too, though that was a notion she brushed off as absolutely crazy. Her father simply didn't feel fear... but Lia sure as hell did. For that reason, as well as plenty of others, she clung to her father and closed her eyes, burying her face in his shoulder as she did so. She shook, too. And yet, in spite of her lingering but fading fears, she found it in herself to smile. Just a little.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,490 words this time. And, yes, that first scene really was as important as it seems. _Especially_ two particular remarks that Jet made. The second scene was important too, of course, just less so. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this. Posted (at about 6:40 a.m.) 08-28-17.**


	48. Fallen

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: The original Ch... 53 or 54, whatever it was, was formerly entitled "Fading Light, Dying Hope". It was edited to remove Selene and replace her with others, usually with Tammy. It also fully removed everything to do with the bat child Eri (though I left the scene with Soren), and a scene with Kath and Kaden. Tammy was removed from the bottom scene, but the bottom scene (despite only having OC's in it) was left due to it's importance to the story. Pretty much every other scene went through minor revisions but was mostly left alone.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Fallen"**

 **~台風の目~**

Reality was such a tricky thing to understand. To explain it was even more difficult. Accomplishing either was no easy feat, and Jet counted himself lucky that he was able to at least do the former to a certain degree. Yet, there was so much he had opted to not even _try_ explain to Sonic earlier. It was his hope that Sonic at least now knew _enough_ to do what he needed to do. Granted, yes, if Sonic failed Jet or one of the other Immortals could step in and do something about it, but as he had told Sonic before, reality was _so_ fragile. To deliberately warp one "timeline" meant altering others as a result. Every part of reality was so deeply intertwined that such a consequence was unavoidable. No end of damage could be done to other timelines if he or anyone else messed with this one in the way Sonic had questioned him about earlier. For that matter, other timelines could be utterly destroyed. Untold numbers of them. Instantaneously. Innumerable lives would be forever lost. He really didn't want it to come to that. After all, he wasn't in the business of killing the innocent. That alone was reason enough for him to shoot down the idea of he himself or another like him simply wiping the Nocturnians from existence. Only the Faein could do such a thing without consequence, but no Immortals since them had had that ability for… complicated reasons. They simply weren't the Faein, and it was far too risky for his liking. If ever anything had been a last resort, this idea certainly was the ultimate version of that.

He really had meant it when he'd said he would help Sonic down this path, though. Sonic would have to decide his own actions, and the fate of this world as a result, but Jet would be there every step of the way to help guide him. A promise was a promise, but this matter went deeper than that. At this point, he was far too emotionally invested in this war not to lend a hand, regardless of what he said or didn't say. These enemies were monsters in the very truest sense of the word, even down to the very cores of their hearts. Their souls positively _dripped_ with malice and animosity so grand he could never begin to explain it. And, to further worsen things, they were after his _baby_. If they thought he wouldn't stand in their way, they were far bigger fools than he had already at one point believed them to be. They were fools... and they were weak. Powerful in many ways physically, yes, but not powerful like his own allies were. _True power comes from the heart of the user... not from the strength of their body._ This truth had been drilled into him for many years, at times even brutally beaten into him, but the darkness of those memories did nothing to take away from just how true the lesson really was. It was a lesson even Kath took deeply to heart, and that was saying something. And it was precisely because of the truth of this lesson that Jet believed with every ounce of his being that Sonic could very well win this war. Was it a guarantee? No, but nothing ever was. Still, it was hope. For once, that was good enough, even in Jet's opinion. Hope, however faint it could be, was a far more powerful weapon than most chose to realize. If the war he had fought on Babylon had served to teach him _anything_ , it had been that.

Hope was the feeling that guided Jet as he led the way to where Tammy and the others were currently camping. The others were still mostly out of range of even his vast senses, but he hoped that everyone would be there and be fine. He trusted, at least slightly, that they would be. When he had begun to even start trusting these people again was a bit of a mystery at first, but he quickly traced it back to the very roots of his once deep friendships with the people he had left behind a century ago. Maybe those bonds weren't quite as dead as he'd thought they were. However, that was a matter to contemplate at a later time. For right now, he needed to focus on getting himself and Sonic to the camp, on making sure neither of them were ki-

Of course, a warning attack interrupted both his thoughts and his walk. A blade appeared without warning and swung around, coming to rest in a near instant just fractions of a millimeter from his throat. He didn't flinch, didn't move away, didn't even so much as blink. His piercing eyes traveled up the length of the wicked blade, coming to rest on the even more wicked being who was holding it. The grin that was aimed at him and Sonic was as dark as it was menacing, but he wasn't at all bothered by it. He'd seen far worse things in his life, things far too horrific for something like this to bother him in the slightest. The enemy, Shade, began to speak around then, saying some drivel about how they were destined to be defeated and how the world would fall and yada, yada, yada. Having long ago perfected the art of paying attention while not really doing so at all, Jet allowed his mind to wander away from her and her voice. Using his aura senses, he scanned the area for any other threats, coming up empty. Locke and a few others had moved into his range of senses, however, and were steadily growing closer. No doubt they, too, had sensed the pure evil that this woman radiated. The young Babylonian king was far from concerned, though. So long as Shade was alone, and she certainly seemed to be, then he could handle the situation easily. With Sonic's aid, it could be handle even more easily. His lack of concern didn't come without reason, after all. Granted, she could have been an illusion, but that would have been fine, too. Because illusions couldn't _kill_.

An unexpected and rather sudden rush of heat snapped his full attention back to Shade, and he was instantly alarmed to see a wave of fire surging toward him. It took less than a second for both him and Sonic to react, for him to freeze the portion of the wave that had nearly touched him and for Sonic to redirect the rest of it back at the very woman who had just tried to do god-only-knew what, exactly. That woman so did love playing off of people's fears, from what Jet had gathered so far... That probably had been one of her main intentions just now, to catch him off-guard and strike some fear into his heart, and he did not take kindly to such things. Emotions again hidden behind his usual mask, he smoothly drew his sword. The fact that he had been able to freeze the fire and Sonic had been able to redirect it proved that this was no illusion. If it had been one, their efforts would have done nothing and the fire simply would have passed through them without doing any harm. That hadn't been the case, however, meaning this was all very real. Fire really had been mere millimeters from touching him. It made him want to shiver, but in the end that was a thought he chose not to let linger.

"Care to try it again?" Sonic growled, also drawing his sword. Jet really, really hoped she wouldn't take the hedgehog up on his little offer, such as it was.

Grinning a bit wider, Shade simply took a step back. "That was... a _warning_ of sorts," she drawled. "Withdraw from this war, or relive the past. Your choice, hero."

While Sonic frowned noticeably in confusion, Jet merely kept a tight grip on his sword. A second wave of fire was hurled at them and, by the time he froze it, their attacker was gone. With a scowl and a soft, "Tch," Sonic sheathed Caliburn. Jet kept Alkarus warily in his hand for a moment longer before following suit and returning the blade to its sheath. "Bastard," Sonic muttered. "And a coward, too." While Jet agreed with that assessment, he chose to say nothing about it, instead opting to remain quiet as he usually did. He had already spoken a lot more today than he normally was willing to. To be honest, he had sort of forgotten just how mentally taxing and exhausting conversation could be. He and social interaction just didn't get along most of the time. "Anyway..." Sonic sighed, eyes closing briefly before opening again and coming to rest on the still-frozen waves of fire, "how did you do that? I've never seen you freeze things before."

The hawk had just a couple seconds to glance at Sonic (and internally wonder if Sonic had even read the two entries in his journal that delved into the matter of his powers) before Locke, Keiri, Rouge, and Tails reached the pair. Seeing the fire that Jet had still not melted yet, Locke frowned. "So there was a Nocturnian here," he muttered, slowing his glide and landing lightly in the grass.

"And not just any run-of-the-mill Nocturnian, either," Sonic told him as Tails landed a couple feet from the echidna, "but Shade herself, in all her terrible glory."

"Oh, lovely," was the sarcastic response.

 _Hardly,_ Jet privately thought.

Rouge landed carefully beside her father-in-law. "At least no one was hurt this time," she pointed out, aura grateful. "It could have been much worse." And it would have been, had she not fled. Only, it wouldn't have been Jet or Sonic left in dire need of medical care. Of that, Jet was certain. The sooner her could get ahold of her and eliminate the threat she posed to his children, especially his baby, the better.

"Yeah," Tails wholeheartedly agreed, his relief as evident to Jet in the fox's aura as it was in his tone and expression to the others.

Keiri's stormy grey eyes glanced about the clearing. "Kaden isn't with you?"

Well, _someone_ was bound to notice at _some_ point. Jet wasted no time in beating around the bush and avoiding the answer to that question. "No."

"I don't know _where_ he is," Sonic admitted, ears lowering with worry. "We were separated from him on the way back here." At the looks he received, he sort of waved the others off. "It's a bit of a long story. I don't want to explain it twice, so can it wait until we get back to camp?"

"Fair enough," Locke conceded without much pause for thought. He gestured with a jerk of his head back the way they had come. "Let's get a move on. The sooner we're all together again, the safer we'll all be."

Letting out a soft hum of agreement, Jet took to the air and began flying to the camp. Twin namesakes spinning, Tails hurried after him, closely followed by Rouge. Locke soared after them soon afterward, and Sonic and Keiri began to run as always. The trip was made in silence. Sometimes, there was just nothing there to say. That was a fact Jet continued to believe when he and the others reached the camp to find most everyone there oddly subdued and silent. As he landed and very gently took Suri into his arms from Tammy's, allowing her to toy with his scarf as she always did, he listened to Silver very quietly explaining to Sonic what had happened earlier, why Bokkun was missing from the group. The child was gone, and Jet didn't quite know how to feel about it. Yes, he was angry, furious even, that an innocent child had been murdered. However, he couldn't feel the same level of grief as most of the others did. Unlike them, he had never been especially close with Bokkun and had never gotten to know the child very well. But regardless of that, the fact of the matter was that a child was now _dead_ , and they all had far more reason now to do anything they could to end the Nocturne Clan's new reign of terror.

Jet took a seat at the base of a tree nearly twenty minutes after Sonic and Silver had finished sharing their respective explanations and stories. Locke took a seat a respectable few feet ahead of him quietly mere minutes later and, without provocation, said, "Hey, myself and a few others were discussing something earlier." Jet blinked. "It's something we absolutely have to run by you before any sort of decision can be made."

It didn't take a genius to tell that this was something serious, so Jet grew serious (more so than usual) himself. After a long moment, he gave the only verbal permission he felt like giving at the moment. "...Speak, then."

Interest apparently piqued, others (including Sonic and the children) began to listen in as Locke explained as briefly as possible what he, Knuckles, and Rouge had been discussing not too long before Bokkun's untimely death. The Nocturne Clan had an army, obviously, and they thought it best to, essentially, fight fire with fire. Or, rather, fight one army with another. To be honest, that was a matter that had been on Jet's mind for some time now. He had been hesitant, though (and not without reason), to follow through with the idea. His world was very much still healing from the catastrophic losses of the war he had helped fight. More than sixteen _billion_ people had died before the war had even ended, and at least _half_ of those people had been soldiers and other people involved with/working in the world army. In light of such horrific losses, very few people wanted their world to be involved in another war (hence many of them trying to convince him not to get involved). Even fewer people wanted the army to be mobilized for any reason right now, or, indeed, _any_ time. Granted, no, they didn't get the ultimate say-so, and it was true that Jet didn't let other people make his choices for him. Still, he knew better than to ignore his people.

Ultimately, his mind was already made. It would take some preparation and would further complicate his personal day-to-day life, but Jet knew as well as Locke did that bringing in an army of their own was beyond necessary. There was only so much one group could do against an evil army, after all. Tone revealing none of thoughts, he said quietly, "It will take time to get everything ready," everyone seemed to be waiting with baited breathe to see if he would refuse, "but we will lend our aid."

Silver released a heavy sigh and somehow managed a small smile. "Thank you," he murmured. "That'll be a _huge_ help."

Jet offered a soft hum in response, saying nothing more on the matter. Everyone slowly began to trickle away from him. Just then, just as he was starting to finally relax a bit, his communicator vibrated, drawing his attention to it. Looking down at his screen just as he was mildly surprised to see that the tracker on his Babylonian Rogue airship indicated that said ship was on the move. He had kept that ship in a hangar in Future City since he was about sixteen, only recently moving it to Ross's house so that the older hawk could use it (though the man seldom ever did). Now, however, the tracker indicated that the ship was in neither of those locations. It also wasn't in any area that Ross frequented, those areas being limited to Crestfor, Future City, and very occasionally South City. Instead, the ship was far to the southeast, over the city of Sevel. That city was very near to the Emerald Grasslands that surrounded Apatos, and neither was an area Ross had any reason to be in. Especially since, Jet just remembered, the man had been a bit ill lately, hence Jet trying to make plans a day or two ago to go see him. So why would he travel so far from home?

Sighing heavily upon noticing that Jet had gotten some sort of a concerning message, Sonic unexpectedly remarked, "Well... This day keeps getting more and more interesting, doesn't it?"

Internally, Jet found himself agreeing as he shut off his communicator screen. _"Interesting"... Hardly the word I would use to describe it._ Hiding his frown, he simply closed his eyes for now and let his thoughts wander.

 **~台風の目~**

Soren found himself alone on Pumkin Hill, sitting on one of the many pumpkins this rather large area was named for. His stormy silver eyes gazed up at the sky, which was always reddish-orange in this area. The fifteen-year-old was lost in his thoughts, remembering the crazy events of late. It was so insane that he was here now, in this world full of genuine light. The version of this world that he was from... it was overrun with evil forces. The sun literally no longer shone, so thick was the darkness that filled the sky there. Virtually no one who lived where he came from was of a good heart and spirit. The few who were were either killed or enslaved or simply locked away forevermore. He had been lucky to escape these fates himself, but so many others hadn't been so fortunate. His father had been locked away and later executed by his captors, back when Soren had been only about five or so. His mother had been taken into slavery, never to be seen again. His baby sister had been... "taken care of" the day she'd been born. He alone had survived... and only on this day did he find that fact to be worth it.

Today, he had been able to save his baby sister, something he had never been able to do in the past. Granted, this was a different version of her, a Lia from another timeline, but... that just wasn't the point. The point was that she was alive this time around. That was what mattered to him. His sister was still alive, and they both had his extreme stealth to thank for it. Stealth was a skill he had learned for the sole purpose of survival, to avoid being found by the vast amounts of evil beings that had taken over his world. On this day, the ability had saved more than just his own life, for once. It had saved Lia's as well, from the very same beings that had ended her life so savagely in his own timeline. She was back with her - no, _their_ \- father now, and she was safe. He, however... was alone. As always, he was alone, and he was in danger.

When the small group of Nocturnians populating the area finally reached his little resting place, he was jumping up into the air in an instant. He whirled around and kicked one of his enemies out of the sky, spinning back around just in time to see several ghosts popping out of their graves and subduing the few other Nocturnians. Before long, the spirits had defeated the enemies, and young Soren somehow found it in himself to smirk just slightly. He and spirits had always gotten along rather well, for reasons just like this. Whoever said that the dead could do nothing to help the living was utterly wrong. _Thanks, guys._ Landing lightly in the dirt, he sped off into the distance.

 **~台風の目~**

Not even ten minutes after Sonic had observed Jet closing his eyes and quite possibly starting to try to relax for once, there was yet another random attack on the group. No one who sensed it coming had enough time to react to the oncoming threat before it was fully upon them. Six people, Jet, Analia, Rouge, Marthal, Amy, and Ten, were all hit at the same time by the first attack. Sonic himself barely managed to dodge the blast, and Locke had to dive away from Jet to avoid being hit by the portion of the attack that struck him. Thankfully, though Suri was still in her father's arms, he'd managed to shield her from that attack, and none of the other kids besides Ten were in any way harmed. Those who were hit suffered alarming injuries, and a sizable chunk of the campsite was now entirely missing. Marthal sort of cringed when he saw just how close his barefoot (he couldn't stand wearing shoes or socks, ever) was to the very edge of the new crater.

Jumping to his feet, Sonic ordered everyone to get to the ships. They were _not_ prepared for a fight, so he saw fleeing as the best option for the moment. Obediently, the kids ran for the ships while Jet and Sonic worked perfectly together for once to defend those they were sworn to protect. Fire and lightning raged across what had become their battlefield, wiping out numerous Nocturnians and giving Tails and the others more than enough time to get into (or onto, as the case may be) the ships and start to take off. But the attack those six had been hit with did more than just wound. It had sapped the energy of those it had hit, and Jet was soon panting and shaking with sudden exhaustion. Everyone else was in the ships and Sonic was on the other side of the battlefield. No one was there to save him from the newest attack that was coming at him. He was suddenly so tired that even the sheer force of his willpower couldn't get his legs to move. It just figured that he couldn't even find the energy to _try_ to dodge. _Fuck it all..._ he thought tensely as he watched the attack come yet closer to him and his baby. As he fought to put up even a small barrier up around that poor child, the attack grew dangerously close to him. It looked like they would be hit, after all… and the genuine terror he felt for his baby was more than he would ever be able to put into words.

At the last possible second, a huge, solid sphere of thick, leaf-covered vines suddenly exploded out of the ground and surrounded him and Suri, protecting them both. Eyes going slightly wide in shock, Jet stared down at at the baby to see her eyes squeezed shut and her tiny fists clenched as though she was focusing and struggling. She probably was, considering the fact that the full-force of the Nocturnian attack was now slamming with undue power against her defensive structure. The battle waged on and on for a long while and, when the attack finally began to die down, the sphere abruptly collapsed. The vines retreated back into the earth from whence they had come as Suri relaxed. Afterward, she was just... her usual happy, carefree, goofy, talkative self. It was as if she didn't even realize anything had happened. Perhaps she truly didn't.

Just like that, everything seemed to die down. Apparently, the fight was now over. Of course, everyone was staring at Jet like _he_ had just summoned forth all the crazy plant shit that had both protected him and Suri and attacked all the other Nocturnians in the immediate area. While he _could_ have done it, he hadn't actually done so today. Sonic opened his mouth to say something about it, but Jet just shook his head very slowly and said almost just as slowly, "That… wasn't me."

Nearly all eyes turned to stare at Suri.

 **~台風の目~**

Since the day of their revival, the Nocturne Clan had been at work. Stealing weapons, ships, land vehicles, and various tech was just part of the bigger picture. Once that was all gathered, the vehicles needed to be upgraded, made into proper machines of war and mass destruction. It had taken time, but it was well worth the wait. Now the ships were ready, and the Clan's newest target was in sight. The puny little citizens of the seaside city had no idea just what was coming for them. They were blissfully unaware of the danger on the horizon. All the more reason for the Clan to revel in the surprise and fear their victims would display once the attack began.

Bombs dropped out of the sky, assailing the city far below. The explosive devices struck hospitals, schools, beaches, libraries, parks, museums... Everything in the city was fair game to the enemies. No one and no _thing_ was safe, not even Amy's parents or the house they had raised their child in. Yet more bombs rained down from the sky, some blowing up all over the street Amy knew from her childhood years. Harold and Marie's house iteself was very nearly hit, and that was when the couple finally decided enough was enough. In the hopes of escaping the assault alive, they fled hand-in-hand from their dream home, down the street, around a corner, and watched as all of their hopes shattered violently on the street. Nocturnian ground troops moved in, very clearly intent on finished off all those who managed to escape the explosions. Death was everywhere.

Dragging him by the hand, Marie took charge and ran with her husband around another corner. Together, they sprinted through the burning, smoking ruins of a park their daughter had spent countless hours playing in as a child. Fire burned them as they ran through the melting play equipment. Gunfire echoed around them, as did the sounds of blades striking bones and structures, and the screams these weapons elicited... One of those screams was very nearly ripped from Marie's own throat as she and Harold skidded to a halt, eyes wide. Before them stood a Nocturnian whose diminutive size did nothing to properly communicate the evil this being radiated. In one hand, the monster of a person held a single, deadly sword. As the fires spread and red stained the ground, Apatos fell around them.

The seaside city had fallen.

 **~台風の目~**

That night, it happened again. For only the second time ever, Sonic, Jet, Blaze, and Kaden went to sleep, only to again start having those strange, impossibly vivid nightmares that played off of some of their deepest fears. Among what they saw and experienced were the death of Silver, the loss of Analia, torture, tidal waves, needles, all manner of atrocities committed by the hands of Kathros... But, for Kaden at least, the nightmares were not destined to last for very long. His nightmares were interrupted without warning, and the greatly shaken hedgehog could only watch in momentary confusion as his terrors shattered around him, replaced by yet another spirit dream. Those dreams, the dreams where he (often unwillingly) saw and spoke with ghosts, happened infrequently and without warning. He hadn't expected to have one tonight, but he was grateful for it this time... if only because it had saved him from his nightmares. Standing up slowly, Kaden gazed around, going still when he heard a now familiar voice (the one he'd heard the last time he'd had such a dream, just before the start of this war) say to him calmly, "Kathal."

That name was one he had never, ever gone by. It had always been a _dead_ giveaway to who he was, namely the Stolen Prince of ancient Mobius. For as long as he'd known about it, he'd wanted nothing to do with the title he'd inherited. To be ruler of a world... That was something he'd never wanted any part of. For that reason, he had always avoided his name. His _true_ name, the name he had been given at birth in the Ancient Language. He'd avoided the name so much that even Locke and Analia hadn't known it for a long time, as his name was just one of those rare few that was very nearly impossible to translate into that dead language. And yet, in spite of he himself never once speaking that name, Locke, Analia, Marthal, and Pyros did learn of it eventually, hence them learning that he was the missing child of the two people who had once ruled most of South Island. Besides those four, only two others could _possibly_ know his name... and both of those people (whose own names he only knew from stories) were dead. Which, of course, was why they had to create a dream like this to speak with him. Tense at the knowledge of who he was about to see (or see again, and the case of his male visitor), he very slowly turned around. His emerald eyes fell first upon the male.

His father.

Satsuno looked a lot like his son, unsurprisingly. His hair was spiked and windswept, and his eyes were very same striking emerald shade of green. His fur was such a dark blue that it was very nearly black in appearance, which explained why Kaden's own fur was so dark in color. He was almost entirely clad in shining steel, silver-colored armor. Only his head, neck, and hands remained free of protection. Attached securely to his shoulders with one circular clasp each on shoulder was a dark, almost ruby red cape, the color on their family crest. The same color as the scarf Kaden had once owned. The one Jet now wore. And on Satsuno's head was a thin silver crown with true emeralds embedded into it. That cape reminded Kaden far too much of Kalin, so he ripped his gaze away to look at the woman instead.

She was his mother.

Seiko wore a dress with sandals. The dress was simple, but unfailingly beautiful (the latter, of course, was also true of the queen herself). The color of the dress was somewhere between pure white and pure silver, and the moonlight of the dream seemed to make it glow softly. Her waist-length hair was beautifully styled but still left down. She, like her partner, wore a silver crown upon her head. Hers was thinner, more delicate, but "delicate" was hardly a word one could use to describe her. The power she held was immense, as was her partner's, but that power was tempered by a great love. It was that emotion that made Kaden uncomfortable enough to look away. To a certain degree, it was true that he had always been curious about his parents, but that did _not_ mean that Kaden was comfortable with staring at them.

Again, Satsuno was the one to break the silence. His voice was deep, but not quite a baritone, and very smooth like Kaden's own voice. It tugged at the edges of Kaden's earliest memories, but nothing came to light in his mind. "Kathal," he said for the second time, "treikalo." ("Be at ease." Essentially means, "Relax.")

Easy for him to say. As far as Kaden was concerned, there was absolutely no way he could relax right now. He was so tense, so nervous, had no idea what to say or do or what else to feel... It was during times like these that he genuinely wished to have Analia by his side. And, of course, Seiko picked up on his inner thoughts and feelings very easily, far more easily than he would have done in her position. "It is alright to be nervous," she told him gently, voice soft. "We are as well."

Frowning, Kaden looked away further and felt himself cross his arms defensively. "I'm fine," he mumbled.

"You are not 'fine'," his mother stated confidently, voice calm and oh-so-gentle and understanding. "Your ears are droopy."

Cursing his ears, which all hedgehogs (and cats) both consciously and subconsciously used to convey thoughts and emotions, Kaden forced said ears to stand back up again. But, before he could repeat what he had said before, Satsuno spoke once more. The words he and his partner together imparted were very similar to what Satsuno had told their son already once before. They both felt very strongly that Kaden should properly assume his role in the world, that he should accept his inheritance, his title, and pick up where they had left off. Last time, he had been unwilling to listen. He had been set in his ways, in his belief that people in power were always wicker liars, murderers, _monsters_. But lately... those views had been changing.

Lately, he had been reminded of Linan, Locke's tribe leader and somewhat distant cousin. Linan had been a wise and kind man, in spite of his title. Also, he remembered Saran, who with his wife Neferti had led the Tribe of the Moon. Their great-granddaughter Analia later assumed the role of leader of that very same tribe, and there wasn't an ounce of evil anywhere in her family. Not anywhere. Then there was Jet, who like Kaden was burdened with the duty of leading an entire world (and a truly _massive_ one at that). He had grown very wise over the last century, but still retained his heart for the most part. He knew when to stand firm and make decisions based on logic and not feeling, but he also knew what it was like to suffer and strove to do everything he could to protect his people from also gaining such knowledge. It was because of these people, and a scant few others, that Kaden found himself, for the first time ever, considering doing just what was being asked of him. For the first time ever, he was considering truly becoming the Mobian king. But, then again, there was always another option... one he had never once stopped to consider before.

After all, he wasn't the only person left in the world with his family's royal blood.

 **~台風の目~**

Let it never be said that all mornings were good ones.

That fact was duly noted in Sonic's mind the moment he and the others were awoken by the alerts on their communicators. Each and every single person looked down at their respective screens, and one by one they all froze in horror. Apatos was... destroyed...? And so, so few people had survived... Out of the two million or so people living in that city, less than a measly _four hundred_ had survived the late-night attack that had brought the once-great city to its knees. According to the reports they were getting, nearly every important person and building in the city was now gone, including Saint Merry's Second Hospital (which, like it's sister location, was named after Sonic's long-dead bunny friend), the mayor herself, the Seaside Oceanic History Museum, and, far worst of all for Sonic and Amy... both Harold and Marie. Their house was left standing, but they... They were nowhere near as fortunate.

Amy's sobs began instantly, and Sonic dragged her into his arms, ears flat against his head. Kimmy and Lia, who had both grown up close with Amy's family, were also reduced to tears, as were Tails and Silver. Tails practically saw them as his own parents, and Silver very much viewed them as his maternal grandparents. There were so many tears being shed... but not by everyone. As unfortunate as it was, not everyone here knew those two very well. Some of them, Jet's kids included, didn't know the pair at all. Still, the sympathy given by these people was powerful enough to help take the edge off of the others' grief. It just wasn't _enough_. And, as was the case with Bokkun, Jet was one of the people in the group who really just couldn't feel the sort of grief that the others were. But, again, he was definitely deeply angered by the night's events. That anger prompted him to dig a little deeper into whatever in the hell the Nocturnians had done to wipe out such a large city in so little time.

One way or another, he wound up looking at the tracker on his ship again. The ship was still in that area, a fact which caused Jet to for once openly frown. Straight away, two distinct thoughts flew through his mind. One, that his father was there and hurt. Two, that the man _had_ been there, but had gotten away and left the ship behind. While those were far from the only possibilities, he knew, they still worried him enough to prompt him to stride over to Tammy with Suri in his arms. "Will you watch her for a few minutes?" he asked quietly. He hated asking his friend to do this so often, but sometimes such things were just necessary.

"Of course," Tammy murmured, very gently taking his precious baby into her arms.

As soon as Suri was safe in the arms of another he trusted, Jet stood and teleported away, straight to the fallen city. He reappeared high above the ruins, right where his ship was still flying. Immediately, he realized that both of the scenarios that he had thought of just moments ago were utterly false. It was clear just by looking at the vessel that it had been stolen by the Nocturnians. The thieves had then done god knew what to it, very clearly making it more than capable of being a key part in the destruction below. The weaponry it now openly contained was alarming, to say the least. This sudden understanding filled him with a wave of almost irrational guilt. Guilt that he hadn't investigated his ship's presence here sooner. But it was far too late to fix that mistake now. All that was left was living with it... and destroying this blasted vessel so it could never be used for such things again.

Raising his right hand with his fingers together so that his palm was facing the ship he had once so completely treasured, Jet gathered up his aura and released it in one concentrated and devastating heavenly blue beam of light. The beam struck his ship, creating an explosion that was almost poetically beautiful in some regards. But he cared not for such a thing, not right now. Not when there was so much death and destruction down below. His own ship was soon far more destroyed than that poor, unfortunate city, utterly disintegrated to the point where it could never be rebuilt. At least, not with those same parts. It was the same for Omega, whom the Nocturnians had "killed" at the same time as Bokkun. Though it was a bit different with Omega, as a chip within him that made the robot who he was (as it contained his memories and personality and whatnot) was also destroyed, the fact of the matter simply was that both of those incredible technological wonders were destroyed, and nothing short of years of effort (at least with Mobian technology) would ever rebuild them. That was time that even the Nocturne Clan likely didn't have right now. He was counting on that.

With this task now complete, Jet returned his attention to his communicator. Using a different tracker than the one he'd been using earlier, he got a signal from Ross's cellphone. It was in East forest, about midway between Crestfor and Future City. Worries resurging (why would Ross be out in the wilderness instead of at home?), Jet teleported for the second time in seven minutes, reappearing before the very last thing he had anticipated seeing today. The body was beaten, bloodied, and almost unrecognizable in some regards. But that scowl and those emerald feathers... they just didn't lie. In a moment of extremely rare weakness and open expression, Jet sank to his knees on the forest floor, just staring at the corpse before him. So many thoughts and emotions raged like a whirlwind inside of him, a tempest he only quieted through sheer force of will. It took several long minutes for him to regain control of himself, for him to steel his expression and bury his conflicting thoughts and feelings until he was left with nothing for now.

Forcing himself to move, he got back up and teleported to the town of Crestfor, straight to the large, grassy plot of land surrounding the house he had once been raised in for part of his life. Somewhere off to the left side of the house, under a lonesome tree Ross had always liked, Jet again called forth his powers of aura manipulation. As he had once done for Selene so many years ago, he used his powers to dig a grave for his father, then gently lay him in it and closed the hole. By use of those same powers, he took a fittingly large stone and made a simple engraving on it... one that wound up being more heartfelt than most people would understand. It was a Babylonian sentiment, a phrase more powerful to them than to others, and it simply read, _Ei'oni_. Giver of life. The stone was set in place at the head of the grave and, taking a deep breath, the younger hawk turned away from what he had done. Using his powers of plant manipulation, which were far more refined and controlled than Suri's could possibly be at this point, he made numerous amaryllis flowers bloom so that they outlined the grave in it's entirety. That flower had been his mother's favorite... and Ross had always loved his wife. Expression deceptively calm and unreadable, Jet teleported for the third time, reappearing back within the camp.

He said nothing to anyone about his father's death.

 **~台風の目~**

Sometimes, even geniuses could be surprised. Most of the time, however, it was nearly impossible to surprise someone like Kath. He had fully expected the arrival of two of his allies long before they had even arrived at his location on Mobius. Azerel was the first to arrive, appearing right by Kath's side where he nearly always seemed to be (a fact which the old hawk never intentionally took for granted). Next to arrive was Arthr. They appeared very close to Kath, but not too close for his comfort, thankfully. Since they weren't too close, he was able to tune them out for the moment, to focus on what he was doing.

It was a risky thing, this power he was utilizing. It had no true name, most simply referred to it as "Vision", and the use of it always came with a certain element of danger, in a sense. The power wasn't dangerous in the sense that it could kill someone (far from it), but it could bring him a certain degree of physical harm. To use this power meant running the risk of losing all of his vision, both regular and not, forever. Total blindness was not something he had ever taken lightly, but the fact of the matter was that there were many risks in life he simply couldn't avoid taking. Falling in love had unexpectedly been one of those risks, once. Using his Vision was one of them now.

His Vision was a power really and truly unique to him and only him, much as Sonic's Chaos was unique to Sonic himself. The power allowed him to see anywhere and any _thing_ in space whenever he so chose, no matter _how_ far away it was from him, without him ever having to venture out into space himself. He had seen so much in the depths of the universe throughout his life, but those marvels and mysteries weren't what he was focusing on now. Right now, he was focusing on the area of space just miles outside of Mobius... and confirming his own deep concerns.

Blinking once, he allowed his Vision to, in a sense, "switch off". When he was using that power, his heavenly blue eyes would fill with a sort of light, as though they were perfectly reflecting an equally perfect and clear starry night sky. Now that he was no longer using his power, that effect faded and Arthr spoke up. "What were you looking at?" he asked quickly. Gone was his usual relaxed and easygoing demeanor. In it's place at the current moment was the seriousness he had long since learned to display when the situation called for it. And it certainly did right now.

Turning to face the much younger Babylonian, Kath told him simply and directly, "The Clan is already moving into space." This instantly evoked a growl from Azerel, one that Kath chose to ignore for the moment.

Arthr's eyes widened. "Oh, god..." he breathed. He then thought to ask, "Where are they _going_...?" Kath had no answer to that, not yet, but that would change with time. Not even he could ever know everything, but that never stopped him from learning. While Kath thought of this, Arthr turned his full attention to his communicator. Fingers flying across the screen, the younger male typed and sent a very quick message of warning to Jet, then tensely turned off his screen. _This is so bad…_

The moment Jet received the message, Jet went against his own decision to not bother Sonic (who was still with Amy) right now, despite having been sort of _wanting_ to talk with him about Ross's death, and found himself doing just the opposite. ...Indirectly. When he got the message, he wound up telling Tammy about it, since she was both right there and, well, the person he trusted most easily here besides his own family. It was because of him filling her in that _she_ went to Sonic and disturbed his emotional moment with Amy. Jet's fault, really, but he had no interest in taking the blame for this one. Besides, they had far larger things to worry about at the moment, as Arthr's message clearly stated. No one was surprised when Sonic declared that they needed to get the Blue Typhoon ready for space travel once more.

The war had officially gotten far worse than any of them had ever wanted to imagine it would.

 **~台風の目~**

 **7,955 words this time. Really hope you guys enjoyed. A quick reminder, "Faein" is pronounced "Fae-ihn". Also, "Ei'oni" is pronounced "Ae-oh-nee". And yes, I did borrow the "your ears are droopy" line from Zootopia. Also, listen, I know I already posted a chapter today. I just really want to get through these re-posts (some of which are basically brand new chapters, granted) so that I can resume posting fully new chapters, you know? I haven't decided yet whether or not this will be a regular thing, but at least for today you guys get two chapters in one twenty-four hour period. Posted (at about 6:52 p.m.) posted 08-29-17.**


	49. Between the Stars

**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**

 **Notes on the edits I did: The original Ch. 54 or 55 (or whatever it was), was once entitled "Simple Truths". It was edited to remove most of the Kath scene (leaving just the short fight and the aftermath of it). Selene was edited out of the chapter and replaced with Tammy. One or two of questions in the game of Truth had to be changed because they only made sense for Selene to ask, not Tammy. T'alo was also removed from that scene. The Eri scene was removed. All mentions of Eri in the scene following those two were removed. The scene with Kanari was left because it _is_ important for later. Besides, it was a small scene. Also, I edited many of the descriptive details and thoughts and whatnot throughout the chapter.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Between the Stars"**

 **~台風の目~**

Having already sent Arthr off to join Jet, Tammy, and their companions, the Kath had absolutely no qualms about drawing his sword when he found his seemingly calm walk through some Mobian wilderness was interrupted by a rather powerful Nocturnian that now stood in his way. In no mood to squabble pointlessly with the foe, he gave the monster one chance to flee. In a tone so smooth and calm it was nearly icy, he commanded softly, "Move."

Slowly, a malevolent grin spread across the dark soldier's face. "I suppose you intend to try to _force_ me to, old man?"

Such blatant disrespect, but Kath didn't allow it to get to him. Still, he drew his sword, ignoring Azerel's growls by his side as he did so. "Why do you insist on trying my patience?" he questioned, gripping his Blade of Winter with deceptive casualness in his right hand. Without another word and without giving his enemy any real time to respond, the former king of Babylon snapped his blade into motion, creating an arc that stretched from left to right in a literal instant. The shockwave this movement created was as cold as it was violent, and it sent his enemy flying with more than enough force to kill a lesser foe. He saw the Noctunian's eyes widen the second he was struck, but Kath's own eyes narrowed slightly. It was not for no reason that he had, alone, kept his world safe for so many years. The fact that so many enemies chose to forget or ignore that served to further annoy him most often times. They thought him weak, but he would never lower himself to meet their expectations. Never. For the moment, he sheathed his sword again, intending to only draw it again if and when it became necessary to do so.

The Nocturnian soon picked himself up out of the crater his body had created, spitting something about how the frail and elderly needed to do the younger generations a favor and "just die already" so as to "rid the world of [their] weakness". Kath scoffed, Azerel's growl turned into a snarl, and the Nocturnian finally pulled his large battleaxe off of his back. "You think yourself strong still, eh old man?" he questioned, toothy smirk returning. "I guess I'll just have to be the one to finally prove your ass wrong then, won't I?" The steel of his weapon glinted in the area's faint sunlight. "Don't worry. I won't make your death... _too_ gruesome."

Something in Kath's heavenly blue eyes flashed. "War upon stone and it shall weaken," he murmured, "but war upon people… and they shall strengthen." The Nocturnian's eyes narrowed slightly in a subconscious display of his lack of understanding. Kath very nearly scoffed again. "How… _unfortunate_ , that your kind have never once learned this lesson."

"What are you ranting about?" the foe demanded before a smirk again took over his face. "Oh, that's right, you're an old man. Must be going senile, then. Guess I can ignore your lunacy, can't I?" His attempts at angering Kath and getting a reaction from him were pitiful at best and really only managed to make the hawk roll his eyes uncharacteristically. That little reaction apparently angered the Nocturnian, who suddenly made a growl-like sound and lunged forward, weapon poised to strike.

Tucking his hands neatly behind his back, Kath merely sidestepped the blow, unconcerned with the fact that his head could very well have been freed from his shoulders had he not moved in time. Yes, this foe was strong... but he sorely lacked training. How unfortunate... for the fool himself. Kath neatly dodged another swing of the ax, shooting Azerel a look to tell the wolf to stay out of the way for now. Though Azerel was the unchallenged alpha of all the Celestial Wolves (including those few like Kath who were magically bonded to one of the wolves), his ears dropped and he backed away obediently... at least for the time being. Satisfied, Kath refocused on the "fight" and continued to swiftly and neatly dodge every attack that came his way. The fool swung his weapon around as though it were a club, not a blade honed to near perfection by Mobian standards. It was truly a pitiful display, and it had Kath shaking his head on the inside. "I have seen children with more grace in battle than yourself," he commented, one eyebrow slightly raised. "Tell me, does your leader not bother to train his people?"

As the Nocturnian launched into some heated tirade about how "great" his leader supposedly was and how above training he personally thought himself to be, Kath raised a hand and caught hold of the blade portion of the ax, utterly stopping its movement. The blade pressed dangerously against his palm, but through particular usage of his aura he shielded himself from injury in that small area. Surprise immediately bled into the Nocturnian's sickeningly black aura mere moments before the foolhardy monster of a man exclaimed, "The hell, old man?!"

Left hand still behind his back, Kath tightened his grip on the blade. "You think yourself to be 'powerful'..." he murmured, "but answer me this. If you are so gifted with strength, then why is it you are unable to fell an elder such as myself? Hm?" When that received no immediate answer, he roughly shoved forward, using the ax to help throw his opponent to the ground. He then deliberately tightened his grip on the ax to the point where the blade shattered, causing the Nocturian to go still for a moment. Tossing aside the remnants of the weapon, Kath again drew his blade. The pure blackness of the handle and sheath parted to reveal the equal purity of the white blade itself. The air grew noticeably colder around him as he did this, as did his own eyes. In drawing upon the power his sword had to offer, he had to allow the Winter to chill his heart... if only for as long as he held the sword in his hand. "You wish to see 'true power'?" he questioned his enemy coldly, eyes following the Nocturnian's movements as the beast of a man scrambled to his feet. "True power comes from the strength of the heart of the user. Not from their bodies." With that, he slashed through empty air and released an attack so devastating that the mountain in its path crumbled like sand. The Nocturnian was caught in the attack, and Kath, who absolutely _hated_ killing for any reason, turned away, armed with the grim certainty that his foe was no more.

Resuming his walk, he sheathed his blade once more, sighing softly as the frost left him. It came as a sort of relief, but not one that he spent time thinking about right now. He paid it no mind, nor did he give Azerel much notice when the wolf again fell in step with him. His thoughts, instead, strayed to Jet, Tammy, and all the others who were here, fighting just like he was. Though he knew his voice would not reach them from so far away, a foolish part of him almost wished that his thoughts would. _Be wary of what you find between the stars, heroes... Demons now dwell where once only angels dared._

Taking to the skies with his old friend by his side, he too headed for the blackness of space.

 **~台風の目~**

It didn't take much for Jet to utterly lose interest in the interactions taking place around him. Once Analia healed him (he was the only one who had refused the day before to be healed from the strange attack that had prompted Suri to protect him the day before), he found himself setting to work on his communicator, contacting all the necessary people to begin getting his troops organized and ready. That, however, didn't take him quite as long as he had initially anticipated. Turning the screen off and idly tossing the device into his backpack, he turned his attention to his kids. Ten was playing some verbal game or another with Hannah, something they both thoroughly enjoyed most of the time, while Lucas and Jason busied themselves with finding stones and occasional shiny objects in the immediate area. The sight of his eldest biological son interacting with someone as though were a friend helped ease some of Jet's concerns for the boy. Lucas had needed a friend for a long time. If he could just _keep_ this one…

Internally shaking his head to drive that thought away for a time, Jet turned his head and watched as Tammy walked over with little Suri in her arms. Looking away briefly, he stood and grabbed a nearby blanket. Once he had it spread out, Tammy set the little girl down to allow her to crawl around a bit. Together, the two old friends used their aura powers to create gentle barriers around the edges of the blanket that would prevent the baby from just crawling onto the dirt. To help keep her entertained, Jet set Suri's stuffed rabbit (a gift from Kath and a toy Suri adored) next to his daughter along with a couple other toys. Most likely, this would keep her busy for at least about ten minutes or so, giving the two older Babylonians some time to just sit and talk. So they did.

After reclaiming their seats, Tammy broke the easy silence between them with a soft comment. "You know, sometimes I still can't believe you have kids." He couldn't either, something he was sure she knew, but didn't say it. The young inventor turned her head to give him a smile. "But it works," she added. "You do well with kids, I think. Kids like you."

Once, a lesson had been harshly taught to Kath's father, an ancient teaching passed down through the hearts and minds of many people on many words. That lesson was bequeathed to Kath at a very young age. Many years later, that very same lesson was shared with Jet. It was something deeply simplistic in nature, but contained within it was enough truth to carry one through their entire lifetime. _"The true measure of one's strength is not the fear of an opponent... but instead the trust of a child."_ Piercing blue eyes drifting to the baby playing just feet from him, Jet again contemplated the almost strange amount of trust that his children and others afforded him, in spite of the mask he opted to show the whole of the universe. Trust was something he himself metted out sparingly these days and never without good reason. Certainly, he never did it on a whim. Children, however, often shared it freely with nearly all. Honestly, he didn't think he would ever understand it. Even thinking back to his own childhood, he couldn't ever remember being so openly trusting with anyone save Arthr's mother, Arthr himself, and his own father. That was it. And yet, children trusted _him_. But why?

A light nudge to his arm urged him to direct his attention to Tammy once more. "You seem bored," she pointed out. They both knew she was correct, so he wasted not a breath with arguing the point. "Considering the fact that random bad things tend to happen around you when you're bored, perhaps you should do something while we talk."

She was, once again, far from wrong. He heeded her words on this matter, if only because she _was_ right. As Sonic had once said during a game of Truth, bad things (such as bookshelves randomly falling over) did tend to happen around the hawk when he was bored, and usually for no apparent reason at all. Eager to prevent that from happening, he set about doing the only thing he could really think of at the present moment. Namely, writing in his journal. It was something he normally didn't do when busy in any way (that included with engaging in conversation), but for now he'd make an exception. Besides, it wasn't like it would be difficult. One simply could not run an entire planet and _not_ be able to multitask. It just wasn't possible. The same could be said for this whole parenthood thing, too. _I suppose I should count myself lucky that I'm not as inept as some in the area of multitasking,_ he mused as he pulled his journal and favorite black pen out of his backpack. The journal was slim enough to fit neatly into his hand, it's visible size at odds with how many entries were contained within. It was only thanks to magic that his journal was capable of never running out of pages while never looking as humongous as it would likely wind up being one day otherwise. Brushing that aside, he flipped through the pages, found where he'd last written, and began a new entry.

The sight of him still writing in his journal, something she, Kath, Selene, and Arthr had had to fight tooth and nail to get him to even start doing back during the war, made Tamy smile a bit to herself. Though he noticed that smile, he didn't deign to comment on it, which she seemed to be fine with. Instead of making a remark about it, as doing so would have been pointless, she instead offered him a question that he hadn't been expecting. "You like Truth, right? That Mobian game?"

Considering the fact that he had been the one to teach it to his friends on Babylon in the first place, her included, Jet had assumed she would already know the answer to that. Perhaps she did, and was merely searching for verbal confirmation? Giving that scenario some further thought, he came to the conclusion that it was probably correct, so he offered what she was looking for in the form of a small, "Mm-hm."

Hearing this murmured reply, Tammy canted her head to the side a degree. "I have another question for you, then." A glance in her general direction served as his response to that, and she knew him well enough to understand that he was waiting for her to continue. "Since just talking in the 'normal' way isn't always easy for you, nor is it something you tend to be terribly fond of, I was wondering if you would be opposed to a game of Truth instead."

Pen pausing in the middle of forming a letter, he turned his head to look at her fully and properly and was met by another friendly smile. His mind already made in light of his boredom, Jet gave her a simple nod. Not caring for once that he would be in a way bared to everyone here, as his answers would be easily overheard by anyone who cared enough to come close and listen, Jet looked back to his journal and resumed writing. _Let them listen,_ he decided. It wasn't like it mattered if they did, anyway.

Well aware of the fact that more than half of his attention was undeniably focused on her, Tammy said nothing to the fact that he was again writing. It was no secret to her that he was merely waiting for her to speak her mind, but she knew too that he possessed vast amounts of patience within his heart. Her wish was not to rush this, since he didn't talk with anyone besides his kids much these days, so she considered her questions carefully before selecting one and voicing it. It was one most people would have thought she'd know the answer to but, as she was so often holed up in his workshop toiling away, she did not. "Do you still make music?" Such a simple question on the surface, but there was more to it than that. Music meant so much to him. So long as he still had that in his life, she had at least one less reason to worry for him.

"When I have the time," was the simple reply.

"And do you have that often?"

"At times."

Satisfied, she gave her questions thought once more. This time, she tried to think of something a bit less simple, something that would require more of a response from him than a single sentence. ...Though she didn't doubt that he would find a way to get out of a lengthier response if he thought he could. "I know you've told me in the past that your childhood was... far from admirable," she started off, choosing her words delicately. His expression didn't change, but she knew she was treading on thin ice. "You've also told me in years long past that you didn't know what to do with children, Ten specifically at the time, because your own childhood experiences were so poor." Her thoughtful gaze traveled from him to Suri, then to Lucas, and lastly to Ten and Hannah. "If that's all true, then where do you draw knowledge from to raise your own kids?"

As expected, Jet had to take a few moments to consider his words before beginning to answer this newest question. "What I told you before was true," he started off slowly, "but I later found it to be... less true than I had originally believed." He paused, though she knew not specifically why, before continuing. "I later recalled some happier periods of my early life," he admitted, "times when my father actually _was_ my father. When raising my own children, I try to use those memories to aid me." He turned his head away from her slightly and made another admission, this one deeper than the last. "They're all that I have, Tammy."

Laying a hand on his shoulder, both as comfort and as thanks, she dared to ask, "Things remain tense between you two?" It was something she didn't doubt was true, but she always liked to have confirmation on her side instead of assumption.

Again, he took a small moment to offer a response. After giving her a nod, he graced her with a verbal reply. "They're not as tense as they once were," he told her. "Things have healed well enough, I suppose... considering our history together." It was a tension he had never tried to fool himself into believing would ever leave the space between them, but at the same time... There was a reason why he allowed Ross to see the kids. Never alone (because by god, Jet wasn't ever going to trust the man that much), but he had allowed visits for years. He only did that because the tension between them had eased so greatly, a process that had been started way back during the war. The two had spoken, albeit very infrequently, over the phone, which had helped them prove to both themselves and each other that they were capable of interacting well when they chose to.

After the war, though, so many things had changed in Jet's life, and he and Ross had fallen out of contact. One day, not too long after Lucas had been born, Jet had decided to reach out again and, with time, Ross had reached back to him. Over time, things head steadily improved between them again, causing their relationship to heal far better than either of them had ever anticipated. Nothing had ever been perfect, but it had been _good enough_ for them for the time being. Now... they could never even so much as have a _chance_ of improving any further. He still didn't know what to think about it, let alone of the reason _why_ things would forever stay the same while also changing so drastically. Ross was gone. The man wasn't coming back, and Jet just didn't know how to feel. Maybe he never would.

Belatedly, he realized Tammy had been talking. A gentle nudge to his shoulder brought his mind out of his thoughts and back to their conversation. "Did you hear me?" she asked gently. Of course, he was forced to admit that he hadn't, mostly because they both knew that she was right once again, so he shook his head. "I asked if you were alright."

For now, Jet supposed he could be considered _alright_. It wasn't like he was about break down and cry or something, after all. Was he _fine_? No. But, for once, he supposed he actually _was_ alright to some degree. That was better than nothing. "Yes."

"Okay." She didn't question the legitimacy of his answer for once (though she often did on matters such as this), a fact which he was grateful for. Instead, she prepared to ask him her next question. "I heard a little rumor," she told him suddenly, her tone gaining a note he had learned by now was a harmless teasing one.

One eyebrow raised slightly. "A rumor?" he inquired calmly, tone betraying nothing. In truth, he was curious anew, in spite of his seeming lack of interest. He wanted to know just what she had apparently heard about him.

"Mm-hm," she confirmed. "A rumor that, over the years since you went to Babylon to aid in the war, you've acquired quite the taste for a certain little snack known as a Mariyoki." Some amusement flickered through him, but he chose to admit to nothing. Besides, she was well aware of the truth. She had been there. This was more than likely just an attempt to lighten his mood, and it was working fairly well so far. Gentle amusement swelled in her aura, helping to further ease him for now as she asked, "Where there's smoke there's a fire, correct?"

Still not directly admitting to anything (least of all his love for a sweet tasting cookie-like snack), he merely responded, "That's generally how it works, yes."

A sudden commotion, a squabble between a couple of the Mobian kids, drew both of their attention across the campsite not even a full ten seconds after he had finished talking. Seemingly thinking it best to lend a hand in ending the argument, Tammy murmured to him, "I'll be right back," as she stood up and walked over with a few of the Mobian parents.

Blinking once, Jet watched her go, then looked back down at his page with the intention of writing another line, only to have his best intentions derailed when he was struck by a random thought. _What is it, to be a hero?_ Looking up again, his gaze fell upon Tammy's back. He sat there in silence, reflecting upon the sudden question in silence as he watched her and everyone else here move, breathe, _live_. Many, himself included, thought people like these, people who so willingly died for the sake of peace, to be heroes. However, he had always been left wondering... was that all there was to it? Surely it wasn't. There were so many different types of people even he could consider to be heroic, in spite of all his pessimism (unintentional though that was) and grim certainties. There were far too many kinds of heroes for there to be any set things ones had to be or do in order to be a hero, right? So why, then, did his mind decide to prompt him with this question? He had no answer, possibly never would, but he did know one thing for sure. While he himself was no hero, he would do everything in his power to help the people who _were_. Frowning ever-so-slightly with a sort of grim determination, he finally wrote the next line in his journal.

 _If it's a damn war they want, that's just what they're going to get._

No one here was going to go down quietly, if they were felled at all. They would fight the Clan with all they had... and someday Ix and his people would fall. And fights like the one that randomly started up when an arrow whizzed past his cheek... well, they would only serve to bring about the future all the more quickly. Smoothing down his slightly ruffled cheek feathers with one hand, he closed his journal, and casually set it and his pen aside. Already, the kids were fleeing to the ships. Ten carefully snatched up his baby sister and ran with her and the other kids to the relative safety they were being offered. Nearly every other person in the group gathered around those ships, refusing to allow another tragedy like that of Bokkun's to occur again.

Initially, he was left alone toward the far side of the camp, a fact which didn't bother him, but Sonic unexpectedly came running to his side while he drew his sword. Sonic reached down to his waist and drew his own sword and, suddenly, a whirlwind of nostalgia hit Jet let a ton of bricks. This was all so familiar, dragging his mind back into the past. Standing side by side with Sonic, as close as brothers, facing off against enemies, weapons drawn, filled with the courage and desire to win and survive... But this wasn't fight wasn't like those ones. Their enemies were no longer mere robots, metallic monstrosities that could be easily defeated. To be perfectly honest, he wasn't sure if he and Sonic were even friends anymore. For some reason, that thought _stung_.

He had no time for memories right now. The fight was on, raging around them like a tempest. A storm, however, was something he knew he could handle. Perfectly confident in himself and Sonic and what he knew they could both do, he swung his blade in a lethal arc, felling every foe that dared set foot in his path. The first blood of this battle was his.

The tides of battle ebbed and flowed around them, sometimes in their favor and sometimes not. During one of those small periods when the conflict shifted in favor of the enemies, Sonic suddenly called out to him a change in tactic, one that the enemies could have no way of understanding or preparing for. For that matter, it even took Jet a moment to make sense of it when Sonic yelled at him, "It's like that dance! The one we had to practice for that stupid formal racing event as kids!"

So eloquently put. Mulling over Sonic's words briefly, Jet shifted his foot, spun, and lopped an appendage of some kind off of an unshapely foe's torso. Ignoring the screech of agony this earned him, he tried to think... and was suddenly reliving another memory. Suddenly, he found himself back at the very formal event that Sonic had mentioned, a victor's party of sorts that their team had been invited to after winning the World Grand Prix for the first time. He remembered the dance Sonic had been referring to, one Wave had insisted that they and even Storm learn "just in case". Shaking free of the memory, almost literally, the young king again shifted his foot. With all the elegance and grace of someone who was, indeed, dancing, he twirled around and cut down another foe that lunged for him. Sonic moved fairly in time with him, their every step and attack happening in sync, and enemy after enemy fell around them.

The two became an unstoppable force, one that the enemies didn't stand a single chance against. Each and every Nocturnian present here suddenly found themselves faced with an unexpected but deadly onslaught. There was no saving the fools from their demise... and there was, quite possibly, no saving the former friends from their past.

 **~台風の目~**

 _Sometimes the things you see in the shadows are more than just shadows._ This was a lesson, a harsh reality-check Soren had had to come to understand at a very early age back where he had come from. Even when it hadn't seemed like it, his enemies (and evil in general) had been absolutely everywhere. The planet was rife with malevolence and monstrous beings that thrived in the darkness. Nowhere that was safe ever remained so for terribly long. No refuge he ever managed to stumble across served him any good for more than a day or two before it and he were both found by the shadows. Life was endlessly fleeing and fighting, never resting, never trusting, never smiling. Always, always alone.

Here, things were... different. Vastly so. He still couldn't quite wrap his mind around just how much sunlight was here, nor could he get over the fact that here, in this world, his family was _alive_. How he'd ended up here was a mystery to him as of yet, and in many ways he found himself grateful for the change. Here, there were still people, ordinary citizens and heroes alike. Here, the world was not yet an apocalyptic cesspool of malevolence and terror. Here, there remained so much hope... If he could, he had every intention of making sure it stayed like this forever. For that matter, if wiping out the Nocturne Clan was still a viable option (and it seemed it was), then he wanted in on the action.

But how to go about that? He couldn't very well walk up to his father and say, "Hey, I'm your orphaned son from a dying timeline! You don't know me, but I sure know _you_! How's about you let me join your team?" Merely contemplating such a thing had to be utterly lunacy, surely. Sure, he tried his level best to hold onto a healthy amount of hope in his life, but to believe such a crazy plan would be met with any measure of success? Well, he may have come from a hell-hole of a world, but he sure as hell hadn't gone mad yet. Besides, he just couldn't foresee any good coming from allowing himself to be so optimistic, not when the odds stacked against his success were so heavy. Yet another lesson he'd learned early on was that falling hopes was far from pleasant, so he strove to avoid such an outcome if he could.

Shaking his head, the fifteen-year-old freed himself of his ruminations and continued running, pouring on some speed now that he was no longer thinking so deeply. By now, he had left the Pumpkin Hills, bypassed the ruins of the the Area 99 military base, over the Serenity River, and passed a lonely Chao Garden. Now he was making his way along the coast, through Splash Hill, through Splash Gardens, through Seaside Hills, and up toward Turtle Bay. He was on the very far west coast of the main continent on Mobius, and he was nearing the Great Lake. He planned to camp there later. Maybe there he could finally get some sleep.

 **~台風の目~**

With the danger now gone and things quiet in the campsite once more, Jet wound up sitting with Tammy again. This time, his kiddos joined him, snuggling around him for comfort while also listening as their father's game of Truth with Tammy resumed. Only... it was a bit different now that the kids were listening. They were helpfully adding their own comments and questions, prying for new knowledge, pleading for more answers... Their father was torn between amusement and mild exasperation, especially when the other kids joined in on the conversation. Soon, he was surrounded by all twelve or so kids. Each of them was very openly filled with trust, earning him a look from Tammy that fairly screamed, _I told you so._

Huffing internally, Jet patiently answered the newest question he had been asked. This one had been asked by Kimmy. "Yes, I have horses," he confirmed, "but, no, they are not the kind you are familiar with."

"The biggest difference," Tammy added helpfully, "is that they have fire in place of manes and tails." The little kitten's eyes went wide and her mouth made a little 'o' shape in wonder.

Charmy's small hand raised, almost as though he believed he was in school. "Can I ask another question now?" After a small moment, Jet nodded in agreement, shifting his right arm up to accommodate Hannah's efforts to snuggle closer to his side. As she was settling down with his arm over her shoulders and Suri was busy playing in his lap, Charmy asked, "You guys are aliens, right?"

 _An interesting way to start this off._ Nodding slowly, he gave a simple reply. "Yes."

"So things are different for you guys, right? Like, in more ways than just your societies and stuff." Where _was_ he going with this? Torn between curiosity and some sudden slight apprehension, Jet again nodded.

Apparently catching onto Charmy's train of thought, Lia blurted out with all the tact a seven-year-old could posses, "So are mommies and daddies different on your world? Like, are mommies really the daddies and stuff?"

 _Okay, no._ Jet knew _immediately_ what she was trying to ask (though how she'd even thought to ask such a thing was beyond him), but he was _not_ going to answer that and told her as much while Tammy laughed her ass off at his expense. Internally, he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a heavy sigh. _Patience,_ he reminded himself. _Peace._

Sweet blue eyes looked up at him, fingers lightly curled in his feathers. "Can I ask a question, Daddy?"

Everything about him softening as he looked down at his eldest daughter, Jet nodded. Though he didn't speak, exactly, they both knew what he said without words. _Go ahead, sweetheart._ Tammy smiled at them both.

The young hawk opened her mouth to speak, but was sort of cut off by Silver and Blaze, who were beginning to talk nearby. Jet hadn't noticed up until Silver had walked over to her (he genuinely blamed his lack of "normal" social skills), but her aura was filled with upset. As he listened, unashamed that he was eavesdropping if only because people did it to _him_ so often, the young couple quietly spoke. _He's actually irritated for once… odd._

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?" Silver accused, though not harshly, with crossed arms as Jet watched and listened. He wasn't one hundred percent sure, since she hadn't made a din whenever she'd possibly had a nightmare (and thus hadn't woken him up). She also hadn't woken up injured like the last time she'd had a nightmare that he knew about. Still, he just knew that something was wrong now, and those crazy nightmares had to be the source of her problems. But, when she refused to say anything to confirm his belief, he knew he'd need to employ more tact in his next reply. "Blaze, you know I won't pressure you into talking if you don't want to, but... You do also know that you can talk to me. ...Right?"

Amber eyes squeezed shut. "Yes." A soft reply. No further words were shared as they entered a warm embrace together, one that offered far more comfort to the both of them than mere words ever could.

Seemingly unaware of the... "conversation" his son and daughter-and-law just had, Sonic announced to everyone almost out of the blue, "Come on, we need to get packed up. It's time to go."

"Where are we going, Sonic?" Tails asked, hopping off the left wing of the X-Tornado where he had been for a while now.

"To a temporary camp, then you and I are going to get the Blue Typhoon."

Sonic met Jet's silence gaze for a very brief moment, and they instantly shared a simple understanding of what must be done on this day. _One way or another, we will go to space._

 **~台風の目~**

"What's the matter, don't you like _games_?!"

Maniacal laughter drown out the terrified gasps that Kanari was currently struggling to choke back. Fires ravaged her house, explosions made the second and third stories utterly collapse above her as she fled down the last flight of stairs, leading into her lonely kitchen. Another raging wall of flames sent her reeling backwards, away from the refuge her back door had seemingly provided her just seconds before. Turning around and around, she saw nothing but yet more fire. _Oh, god, no..._ Forcing herself to breathe as normally as possible, she daringly leapt over the blaze and resumed her dash to freedom.

More laughter outside, more explosions. The Nocturnian and whatever this person was continued their mad attempts at ending her life - and forever ruining her dream home. "Your last day never feels like your last day, does it?!" Yet more laughter, and Kanari snatched her phone off of a small table in a hall as she ran for another door. This door was a well-hidden one in her home, one that acted as a fairly secretive means of escape on the side of the house to the left of the door. The bushes beside that secret exit, coupled with the smoke, would hopefully aid in concealing her escape. It was her only hope.

Skidding around a corner in the hall, she stumbled over some debris from the ceiling. It threatened to collapse on top of her, prompting her to run even faster. Panting heavily, lungs aching from her effort and the dwindling oxygen in the home, she burst out of her house under the cover of smoke and ran for her life into the nearby woods. With shaky hands, she dialed the only number she could think of in her desperation. Tears finally slipped past her guard as she continued to run, too stricken with horror and fear to stop. _Espio, please, please pick up..._ she silently cried. _Please..._

 _~台風の目~_

Thanks largely to Jet and and Tammy, the group in it's entirety was soon settled in a temporary refuge outside of the barren and desolate Shamar-Mazuri area. With them all safe for now, Sonic teleported with Tails way back east to Leaf Forest, miles outside of Station Square. Nestled as always within the little forest was Tails's quaint home and his humongous underground workshop. Sonic lingered outside as Tails rushed inside. The twin-tailed fox ran into into his workshop from the outside entrance, dashed around the Tornado-1, and sprinted over to the Blue Typhoon. Wasting no time, he boarded the ship and sprinted into the control room, hurled himself into his chair, and started to get the ship ready to go... only to pause when an unknown sender's message appeared on every communicator screen in the world.

 _ **Unknown:**_

 _Future is now, young "heroes"... Our empire extends into space, and the first sacrifice is due to be made. The woman in pink fur will die._

Of course aware of Sonic's instant panic (and likely sharing in it since Amy was like a sister to him), Tails sent him a message, telling him to go check on her, now. The hedgehog wasted no time. He ran, and he ran hard. He was full-on sprinting, because the life of someone he cared about, and cared about deeply, was in grave, grave danger. This person was quite possibly about to die, but they weren't going to do so on his watch. He refused to let anyone he cared about die, not ever, and certainly not at the hands of enemies as cruel and merciless and malevolent and dark as these ones. If he could save his loved one's life, he would. He refused to fail. Amy wouldn't die, not on his watch, and everyone knew that.

Well aware of the fact that his "sister" was either safe or about to be thanks to Sonic, Tails resumed powering the ship up. Stepping out of the ship again, since he knew he had some extra time now, he headed over to one of his many tables and picked up the device containing the starmap he had begun working on during the mess with the Metarex so long ago. "Funny..." he murmured to himself. "I never thought I'd get the chance to work on this thing again..." He turned to the Blue Typhoon and began walking, preparing for the somewhat difficult task of re-installing the device back into the ship. "If only the circumstances could have been better this time around..." Shaking his head lightly to break free of his thoughts, he continued walking. Then, remembering his rush, he ran.

Mere minutes later, word came to him that Amy was, in actuality, fine. Locke suspected that the Clan had simply been trying to distract them from making it into space so soon, to, essentially, just waste their time. The ploy had been lazy, however, and didn't work for long. The heroes were ready to go, and their enemies knew it. Smirking a bit, Tails lifted his marvel of technology into the air and expertly piloted his ship to the others. _You'd better watch out, Nocturne Clan... We're coming for you._

 **~台風の目~**

Kingdom Valley was, as always, misty but still faintly sunny. In secrecy and solitude it rested, as silent as the graves it sheltered. The majority of the valley remained protected by magic and barriers, as it had been for many, many eons, but the Prince of Mobius passed through those barriers with relative ease and repaired all the ones the Nocturne Clan had ruined when they had tried not too long ago to wrest control of this place. So many tombstones filled this area... but only two currently held his attention. Heart and limbs heavy with emotion he had never before felt for these two dead souls, he sank down onto his knees before the graves. Slowly, his eyes closed and his head bowed in respect. A breeze whispered through the lush, emerald green grass. For the first time ever, he was paying respect to his parents... He just prayed this wouldn't be his last opportunity.

Time passed, time that he didn't have, until his senses roused him from his reverie. Standing, he turned and sprinted southwest. At his speeds, he reached the others within no time at all. They were onboard the Typhoon already with the smaller ships stored within, so Kaden knew what he needed to do. Without fear, he leapt up onto the roof and rode it through the clouds and into the stars.

 **~台風の目~**

Not an hour after the group made it into space, Cream found herself on the roof, sad and lonely as she missed her old friend Bokkun. She remained like that for over two minutes... until Charmy came out onto the roof and sat with her. As time went on, the young bee worked on cheering her up. Gradually, very gradually, she allowed herself to finally smile again.

 **~台風の目~**

It was past eleven o'clock at night when Amy finally crawled into bed in her old room onboard the Blue Typhoon. Comforted though she was by the knowledge that Sonic would be joined her soon, and that nothing bad had happened to the group since they'd entered space, she still found herself unable to sleep. Her worries kept her wide awake as she shifted around in an effort to get comfortable, as she gazed up at the ceiling, as she stared out her bedside window... So many things weighed so heavily on her mind tonight.

 _The Clan knows we're in space and why, but we don't know a thing about their current plans. Kaden, Blaze, Sonic, and Jet are being afflicted by these insane nightmares no one knows how to stop. The Nocturne Clan has specific targets, but we don't know who all of those targets are, meaning we can't adequately defend them. Jet promised to bring his soldiers in to help us, but we have no idea when, exactly, he'll be ready to mobilize them. Mobius and Babylon are both already battlefields, and now this war has extended into space. We have children with us, and one of them has already been killed. We have a baby with us, and she may be in more danger than anyone._

Fear after fear filled her mind, drowned out only momentarily by a question without answer. _What are we supposed to do now...?_ Several minutes later, her eyes closed to conceal her tears. _Oh, heaven help us..._

 **~台風の目~**

 **7,534 words this time. Lia's little question during the game of Truth was requested by a reader who's username I cannot remember. They, in a PM, had made mention of seeing a Star Trek episode once where the members of a certain alien race who could be considered "male" were the ones who carried young, which inspired the question. So what's Jet's answer? I'm not saying. ...Mostly so that it continues to bug that one reader. Lol. Also, the quote "Be wary of what you find between the stars, heroes... Demons now dwell where once only angels dared." comes from Destiny (one, not two). Posted (at about 6:42 a.m.) 08-29-17.**


	50. Surprise, Surprise

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: Where to even begin with this one… Well, remember Kethro and his board game at all? If not, just as well. If so, just know that I entirely removed it from both chapter 55 "Celebrated (Let's Play a Game)" and "Pure Corruption". I also removed Selene and took out every scene (besides the first one) in "Pure Corruption" (Ch. 56) that came before the scene that started with Tails. I then put that scene and the Ix scene onto the bottom of "Celebrated", making them one chapter. ...Albeit a giant one. Also, I changed the title.**

 **Special note: _Selena_ , not Selene, is mentioned in a scene in this chapter. Remember, Selena is the translated name of Jet's mother, not the name of his friend from New Babylon.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Surprise, Surprise"**

 **~台風の目~**

Wandering through the halls of the Blue Typhoon, Sonic saw the new day begin with a simple switch of numbers on his communicator screen. A soft sigh was the only sound he heard besides his own footsteps as he turned his screen off, ridding himself of the dim light. The hall was quiet, as the bedrooms were nearly all on the opposite side of the ship. The only ones near to him were Shadow's, Lia's, and Sen's. His parents' and Sarai's weren't too far away, either, but weren't right by where he was. Instead, the kitchen was, and he found himself wandering toward it. At about 12:02 a.m Mobian Time, he paused by the doorway, eyes locked on two emerald green bodies. Father sat with son at the lone table, talking quietly. It was Jet and Lucas.

Struck by the familiarity of this scene, Sonic thought back through many years and many events, back to a small event that had taken place days after the fall of the Metarex. Something had happened, and Jet had wound up feeling upset for some reason Sonic couldn't recall anymore. The hawk had been visiting with Sonic and most of the others at Kaden and Analia's house. Due to feeling upset, however, he had gone inside and sat himself down at the kitchen table to get some alone time and relax. Sonic had, at the time, been so busy playing with Amy and Cream that he'd been oblivious to his best friend's shift in mood. His parents, however, had been much more attuned to the situation. Even Kaden, in spite of all his difficulties with reading people (especially those like Jet, who often hid their auras from others' senses), had realized that something was up. Analia had gotten up and gone inside, and everything that happened next had been later explained to Sonic by her.

 _Upon finding the young hawk in her kitchen, Analia set about trying to figure out what had happened so that she could better help comfort him. She had to ask several questions before finally getting a response to one. "No, it's not anything they did," Jet hedged, seeming frustrated with the fact that he couldn't quite find the words to explain what he was feeling and what was wrong. "It's just-" He cut himself off with a sigh and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. "Never mind. It's stupid. I'll be back outside in a minute."_

 _A single eyebrow raised. She didn't believe him and didn't plan to leave him be, both facts she suspected he knew in spite of his apparent hopes to the contrary. "It is not stupid," she responded. "If it were so silly, then why would you be upset?"_

 _"Sensitivity," Jet muttered. Then he huffed again. "I get it from my mother, supposedly."_

 _And there it was. Without even realizing it, he had given up the truth as to why he was upset now despite having been relatively happy earlier. "A holiday is coming soon," Analia reminded in a murmur, "one celebrated to honor parents across the world." A soft snort served as his response to that, but she wasn't deterred. Taking a chance, she spoke, both vaguely bringing up his past and a friend of hers she had long ago lost. "I have heard whispers of your family," she confided. "Things that would both make your grandmother very proud... and things that would undoubtedly cause her no end of shame and disappointment."_

 _Unsurprisingly, Jet shrank away a bit at that last part, no doubt reminded of verbal and physical abuse he had endured in years past. "Don't remind me, okay?" he cut in, voice gaining a sharper edge in response to his increased upset._

 _Her head shook, making the length of her blue hair sway. "You did not let me finish." When he said nothing more, she continued. "You are not to blame for the sins of your father, nor are you meant to carry his burden upon your shoulders. Your life is yours to live, free of such influences as you so choose."_

 _Instead of responding to that, Jet attempted to change the subject. "'Sins'?" he echoed dryly._

 _"Just because my partner claims not to be religious does not mean I cannot be," she responded with a small smile. With that said, she started guiding the subject back on track. However, he interrupted her again, unintentionally this time as his eyes were still covered and he had no real way of knowing that she had opened her mouth to speak._

 _Saying nothing in reply to her latest statement, he muttered in question, "Why are we even discussing that asshole? He's hardly worth celebrating. He and that festival should never be mentioned together."_

 _Though she never approved of swearing (merely tolerated it usually) and hearing his speak so bitterly of his own father broke her heart on her friend Laralei's behalf, Analia fully understood Jet's words and emotions on this matter. "You still have a mother," she reminded him, tone soft and exceedingly gentle. She sensed something in his heart, something that was already very fragile and damaged, break a little further._

 _"I don't know her," he choked out. For a single, rare moment, he almost seemed to want to shed a tear. The moment was lost with the next breath, however, and it was for his sake that she didn't mention it at all._

 _"You know of her," the ancient hedgehog pointed out. "You have seen her and heard her voice in your early years. You experienced those things again when you saw those videos of her upon the Blue Typhoon. Even if none of these things were true, you still would know she once existed. That alone is worth celebrating."_

 _Fingers tightening until they curled against his feathers, Jet shook his head. "It isn't the same," he practically whispered. "It just... isn't."_

 _Of course, she understood his pain, and what he meant by his words. There was no way she couldn't. But she also knew that he was missing something, something she had assumed he had known all along. 'I should know better by no than to assume such things.' Taking a calculated risk, she reached over and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. He tensed at the contact immediately, but she didn't pull away. Not this time. "Sonic has openly considered you to be his brother for many years," she murmured. "Is this not correct?"_

 _A sigh, but he relented and answered her almost random question. "Yeah. What of it?"_

 _Smiling softly anew, Analia told him gently, "Being brothers means sharing parents, does it not?" It took mere seconds for the implications of this to sink in, and he looked up sharply at her. Still smiling she further explained herself. "Kaden and I have not viewed you as a stranger in our family by any means in all the time we have known you. Our sons, daughter, and grandson all accept you. Why would we not do the same?" He did not speak, so she played to his instincts as a Babylonian by lightly running her thumb up the center of his forehead. It was a special gesture, the kind a mother would show her child to say she loved that child and always would. It caught his attention thoroughly, and his expression was unusually filled with emotion as he tried to process what she was telling him both with words and without. She merely continued to smile. He still had a family, and he knew it now. That was all that really mattered._

Emerald eyes remained locked on the pair of hawks in the kitchen as the memory of what he'd been told about that day faded from Sonic's mind. In watching father and son interact, it soon became clear that Jet was doing for his son now what Analia had once done for him: providing honest comfort. He went about it so quietly, though, and with so few words. It was, as with many other things, different than what Sonic would have expected in the past. In the past, Jet had struggled a lot with providing comfort in any form, and words hadn't always been his strong suite. In years long since past, he likely would have tried to distract from the source of upset, rather than try to comfort a person. Now, his approach was different. But... this was a good difference.

Other good differences in Jet, his behaviors, and so on filtered through Sonic's mind as he turned and walked away from the kitchen, resuming his wanderings. One such difference that immediately came to mind was something physical in nature. Namely, it was the fact that his friend had gotten _so_ much more powerful over the last century. Truthfully, Sonic didn't think he had even seen so much as a _hint_ of Jet's true strength since the hawk had reentered his life. He'd also gotten _way_ faster, too, not to mention the fact that he had gained such complete and damn near perfect mastery over his powers. Jet could teleport farther, kick harder, run faster, fly more gracefully... The list just went on and on, Sonic was sure.

For all the good changes Jet displayed, though, there were also ones that Sonic didn't consider to be good. Jet kept his thoughts and feelings hidden. He didn't share his words freely on most days. Rarely did he ever smile, rarely did he allow himself to relax, rarely did he sleep... Most of the time, he didn't admit in any way to anyone when he was in need of help of any kind. Sonic was lucky if the hawk ever acknowledged him as a friend, let alone did so with anyone else he had once been close with. And this list, as with the other one, would wind up being simply too long for Sonic to spend time further contemplating it.

Making his way out onto the wide roof, Sonic took a seat. As he sat there, watching stars and meteorites and distant worlds drift by while the ship flew by... slowly, he began to feel a sense of sadness and frustration he couldn't quite describe or explain. _Time does a lot to change things, places, and people..._ he reminded himself, thoughts again drifting to his alien friend. _But why did you have to change so much...?_ It was a question he doubted would ever be answered for him, at least not in full, and this fact only further increased his random sadness, frustration, and even hopelessness. Not for the first time since the start of this war, he found himself generally losing the willpower he needed to try to mend his relationship with his best friend. In that moment, something his father had once said suddenly entered his mind.

 _"The future is the most motivational thing in the world. As long as we are alive, we have a chance to change the future, our future, and make it better. That alone in the greatest motivation we will ever find."_

This was something Sonic turned around in his mind in silence for several minutes before coming to a decision he felt was among some of the most important ones he had made in recent days. In spite of all the difficulties he would likely experience in trying to mend the bond torn by time, he wasn't going to give up. His best friend was more than worth the struggles Sonic had to endure to remain by his side. That was something he had always felt very strongly... Even many, many years ago, back when he'd thought that Jet was someone that he hated.

 **~台風の目~**

Time alone did so much to change things. This was something Jet had learned many times and in many ways over the course of his life in its entirety, and it was a lesson at the forefront of his mind right now. It was somewhere around one or one thirty in the morning now, and all of his children were asleep. They themselves were huge changes that had taken place in his life. The last time he had set foot on this ship, three years before he'd gone to Babylon to aid in the war, he hadn't had a single child. Back then, he'd just been a teenager with an I-pod, waiting for the Metarex to fall so he could resume properly living his life. Now, things were different. He was still a teenager by Babylonian standards, but everything else had changed. He was a father now, a ruler, a soldier, a space-time traveler, a former prisoner of war, and more. It was almost startling to consider. But, then again, he supposed that maybe it wasn't. He'd never had the best of luck. ...Or... maybe, in some ways, he did.

In silence, the young king peered into four different bedrooms, checking on each sleeping body within. All of his children (including Lucas, since about forty minutes ago) were sleeping, their fears forgotten for now as they dreamt. It was as it should be, and he left them be to sleep. Heading down the hall leading away from his kids' bedrooms, he found himself again feeling exceptionally lucky that he had these children. It was true that they hadn't had lives as good as he would have liked (they were in a war, for god's sake, first of all), but it was also true that, while he never did quite _say_ it, Jet adored all four of them. They were people he would always willingly give his life for, people he would never cease to love, people he would never regret bringing into his life. His kids were such a beautiful, crazy, perfect part of his life that he'd never envisioned when thinking about the future so long ago. However, as wonderful as this portion of his life was, many others simply weren't.

One of those much less wonderful things chose to rear its head again and disturb his mostly peaceful walk through the ship. His cellphone buzzed on his nightstand in his bedroom just as he entered the room. The door slid shut behind him when he entered the room. Stifling a sigh (he really didn't want to talk to anyone right now), he picked up his simple phone and flipped the screen open with a deft flick of his wrist. A few presses of a couple buttons, and the new message opened. It was from a number he didn't recognize, but the message itself told him everything he needed to know. The message was from Jade. It had to be. His past self would have scowled, but his current self simply frowned very slightly as he typed a cold reply and sent it off. _"I told you never to contact me again."_

Jade's reply came swiftly. _"You were a fool to think that I would not. Our business is not yet finished."_

 _"The terms of our divorce are final, Jade. I will not permit you to see or speak with any of the children."_ The argument only escalated from there, and the words being traded grew yet more heated. There were threats of violence, but this only served to anger Jet. This time, he felt no fear or anxiety, only anger. He threw threats right back at her, though these threats were of a more legal nature. He threatened to have her arrested if she ever came near the kids or if she ever dared to lay a hand on him again. That shut her up for a short time, but not quite long enough for him to fully prepare himself for whatever acid she might spew at him next.

When her newest text came, it was filled with so much genuine hatred that he found himself genuinely doubting that this woman and the woman he had once been married to had ever been the same person. Back then, she had been so kind to him and their children, so open, so genuine... But he supposed that time affected other people, too, not just him. Then again, maybe she really hadn't changed at all. Maybe everything he'd once thought was true about her and them had merely been a ruse, as she'd once claimed. The next text came before he had a chance to reply, and this one sent him reeling. _"We should have left you in that Syxan dungeon."_

Almost instantly, memories that haunted the darkest of his dreams, memories he normally suppressed with every ounce of willpower he had, suddenly began to burst into his consciousness. Memories of unspeakable horrors filled his mind, memories of whips and fires and beatings and brandings and- and-... Breathing hard, he forced the memories of his torture away, only to be struck down by yet others. These ones were different from the first bunch, as they were detailed memories of the _psychological_ hells he'd gone through when in the custody of the monsters he had already spent years fighting. The torture in all its forms that those Syxans had put him through were why, even now, he really and truly struggled to trust some certain people he had once been so close with. It was only with great, great difficulty that he was able to force those memories to once again recede, at least for now.

It took several long minutes of just breathing for Jet to calm down enough to realize that he was sitting on the floor, clutching his phone tightly in his his hand against his knee. Shifting, he slowly regained his feet, forcing himself not to shake through sheer force of willpower. He turned his phone off without bothering to check whether or not he had another message, then set it back down on his nightstand as gently as he could manage. His journal normally would have been there, too, but he was pretty sure one of the kids had swiped it earlier for whatever reason. It wasn't something he chose to worry himself with right now.

With that minor task accomplished, he sat down heavily on his bed and closed his eyes. Not even a full minute later, however, memories again threatened him and his overall well-being. This warranted distraction, and he turned to the very first thing he could think of: his music. A quick bit of scrounging through his backpack, which was resting beside him on his bed, produced his I-pod. It took him mere seconds to discover that he had inadvertently damaged it somehow, and he sighed heavily and tossed it and his earbuds to the foot of the bed with the intention of repairing it at a later time. Rummaging through his bag once more, his fingers closed around his camcorder and pulled it out into the open. Settling back against his pillow again, still fully reclined, he turned it on and began going through the many, _many_ files stored within the device. Almost immediately, he selected a very old video file and played it. The video had been taken way back during the war, but... It was still happy.

 _Jet was seated in a chair at a desk in a random room within the palace. Sitting on his lap was a small boy with wide, innocent amber eyes and dark blue feathers. Jet was smiling faintly as he watched the boy suck on his little fist and look around. "Hey, Ten, can you say hi to the camera?" Ten looked at the camera for a moment, then looked back to Jet and babbled something that, of course, didn't make an ounce of sense. Jet chuckled a bit. "No, I guess not. It was worth a try, though. Would've made for a cute video." He reached over and turned the camera off._

Not caring at all for his mask right now since he was in the privacy of his own room, Jet managed a slight smile as he scrolled through many more files and selected another one he remembered to be happy in nature.

 _The second the video began, Ten's curious, five-year-old face appeared onscreen. He leaned in close so that almost nothing but his left eye could be seen as he examined the camera. Just moments later, Jet's own voice could be heard from somewhere not far from the little guy. "Ten, are you playing with my camera?"_

 _Ten blinked and looked out toward the hall. "...No..." The video abruptly ended after that._

Remembering the laughter this video had earned the first time he had found and viewed it, Jet allowed amusement to flow through him momentarily. Finger lightly swiping down on the touchscreen, he selected a very random file he didn't immediately recognize and let it play through.

 _The video started accidentally somehow while the camera was laying on the ground. More likely than not, judging by the unusual static in the video, the camera had been dropped and it accidentally turned on in that way. About thirty seconds after the video began, there was a shout from an unknown person followed by a great deal of gunfire, clashing of swords, and so on. This continued for about a minute and a half, which was when Jet finally came into view. After another couple minutes of fighting sword-against-sword with a Syxan, he grew visibly angry and, with a single movement, he'd blasted his enemies away with a large amount of rock. Then something hit the camera and the video abruptly ended with a burst of noise._

Frowning to himself, as he'd had no intention of watching anything related to his struggles during the war, and resumed scrolling through the files. When he found one that seemed to not involve conflict, he selected it.

 _The video started up, and it was soon shown to have been taken in the evening near one of the walls of the outside of the palace. Arthr spoke, indicating him as the one recording this video, sneaking along in the grass as he spoke. "I doubt anyone will ever see this video, but I'm going to try to sneak up on Jet and scare the crap out of him." The grin was obvious in his voice as he rounded the corner. Another minute or so passed, and he moved very slightly around another corner, camera aimed ahead of him. What he saw seemed to make him pause. Jet was sitting in the grass, strumming lightly on an acoustic guitar. It was a calm, almost peaceful tune, and Jet didn't even seem to notice Arthr as he played. Apparently deciding not to interrupt, Arthr quietly snuck away. Once there was a good distance between them, he spoke again. "Eh, maybe another time." Then he turned the camera off._

Huffing softly to himself at Arthr's endless pranks and whatnot, Jet debated whether or not it would be worth his time to clobber the other hawk next time they crossed paths. Ultimately, he decided not to bother and instead just scrolled through yet more files. Once again, the file he selected was random and, thankfully, had nothing to do with battle or other sorts of conflict.

 _The video started up, showing that Jet was alone on a ship that clearly had no power. It was drifting through space, a fact which could be clearly seen through the cockpit, and a few small devices in the ship were acting up by turning on occasionally and turning back off. He didn't seem to realize that the camera was on, indicating that the camera was acting up as well. He was sitting in a seat, visibly bored but seemingly trying to do something. He moved his hand again a few times and, suddenly, there was a sharp flare from the sun his ship was drifting by. He sat straight up, apparently surprised, and, after a moment, repeated what he had done before with the same end result. He'd just created solar flares._

A small, thoughtful hum escaped him at the memory of that particular event, but Jet didn't dwell on it. Instead, he just selected a new video to further occupy himself.

 _Arthr had the camera again, and it was pointed at Jet, who was laying on his side in bed in the palace. Arthr, laughter clear in his voice, said something in Babylonian to his friend and Jet pulled the blankets up over his head in response, not bothering to open his eyes. "Go 'way," he mumbled tiredly._

 _"Come on, it's a beautiful morning," Arthr said. His smile could be clearly heard. "I know you're not a morning person, but even you can enjoy a morning like this." No response. His tone became mischievous. "Of course, if you don't get up, I could always repay you for that slime bomb prank you pulled in my room…" He trailed of significantly._

 _That did it. Jet abruptly said up, throwing the blankets so that only his legs were covered. "Pull that shit in here and I swear to god I will kill you!" he snapped._

 _"Aw, you wouldn't kill me," Arthr teased even as Jet's eyes sparked and snapped with annoyance. "You love me too much." Jet scowled at him, and Arthr pressed on. "Besides, Mr. King, I-" He didn't even have a chance to finish his sentence before there was a sudden blast of air that sent him flying out of the room, simultaneously slamming the door shut and sending the camera skittering across the highly polished floor. Laughing loudly, Arthr picked up the camera and shut it off._

For the second time, Jet huffed. Arthr's antics never ceased to both annoy and amuse him. However, he again didn't dwell on it. Instead, he chose several videos one right after the other and watched them all play through. Most of them weren't serious, which helped him to relax a bit further after the night's earlier events.

 _-Someone else was recording this, though no one spoke, giving no indication as to who they were. The camera was focused on Jet, and it was the middle of the night. He was sitting by himself in the middle of what had very recently been a battlefield. As he sat there, he continuously fiddled with some sort of gun. When another enemy dared to jumped out of the bushes at him from behind, he whipped the gun around and shot them dead with one shot without even looking. He then simply resumed what he'd been doing as if nothing had even just happened. Then whoever was taking this random video abruptly turned the camera off._

 _-This one started off as a loud burst of static for some reason, though the static soon faded and was replaced by a clear image and equally clear sound. Jet, who was sitting on the palace roof, blocked the camera's view of him with a hand. "Selene, come on. Don't record me."_

 _The aforementioned female hawk laughed softly offscreen. "Oh, come on. It's fun to embarrass you." Nonetheless, the camera was shut off after that and the video ended._

 _-Arthr was holding the camera in Jet's office while Jet was working at his desk. Arthr said something in Babylonian, and Jet just hummed slightly in response. Six year old Lucas then came running into the room, and Jet immediately stopped what he was doing to give his attention to the child. Lucas was smiling widely and holding a baseball bat, glove, and ball. Jet smiled, though a bit apologetically. "Not right now, bud. I've got a bit of work to finish up. Give me an hour and we can go play, okay?"_

 _"Okay!" Lucas agreed easily enough._

 _Once the child had run off, Arthr commented, "That was pretty adorable." Then he shut the camera off._

 _-In this video, Arthr was the one recording it. In the sky in the distance, Jet could faintly be seen as he rode on his zeklan, a surfboard-life vehicle with a sail that took in solar energy to make the vehicle fly. For once, he actually seemed to be having a great deal of fun. At one point, he snapped the sail shut and allowed himself to fall backward out of the sky for a good few miles before suddenly opening the sail again and shooting past Arthr, now just a few feet above his friend. Arthr was making comments the whole while, his grin obvious in his voice. This all continued on for a while before the video ended._

After watching those, Jet pulled up a picture. It was taken in a dimly lit room and showed Jet fast asleep on a couch. Ten was there as well, also sound asleep. He was had wriggled his way under Jet's arm, where he then had begun to slumber. In his sleep, Jet had held him protectively, causing the child to smile as he, too, slept. A hint of a genuine smile tugged at the corner of Jet's mouth as he looked the photo over (he was sure Selene had taken it). A short while later, he closed the photo. After doing this, he once again scrolled, then opened a random video. This one was, unfortunately, serious. However, it also had a note of care in it that he could only vaguely recall anymore.

 _The person with the camera was running after two other sets of legs that seemed to belong to Jet and Selene. They were all in a massive, burning building, and they seemed to be trapped. Selene skidded to a halt by Jet and snapped somewhat desperately, "Can't you pull the water out of the air and put this out?!"_

 _"There is no water in this air!" Jet snapped back. "And in case you haven't noticed, none of my powers are working here, remember?!"_

 _"It's not like mine are, either!" That was when a loud rumbling took over the sound and a large section of the building seemed to collapse. The camera was momentarily buried in rubble._

 _What happened next was a lot of chaos as the building started collapsing all around them. Selene had grabbed the camera. Whoever had been carrying it before seemed to have been killed. Several minutes into the chaos, Jet suddenly stopped running and turned to face Selene, then asked a seriously random question. "Selene, do you trust me?" he asked her quickly._

 _"What? Why-"_

 _"Just answer the damn question!"_

 _There was a moment's pause before Selene finally answered with a small, "Yes." Something made the video cut out after that, however, forever leaving in mystery whatever Jet had done to save them._

Jet frowned to himself momentarily, trying to remember exactly how that particular event had ended. He knew it had landed them both in the hospital for ages with burns and broken and bones and whatnot, but he couldn't remember much else. Well, nothing else beyond the fact that he was pretty sure they had both been hit on their heads with huge chunks of rubble. Shaking his head to rid himself of those memories for now, he watched another video.

 _Someone (presumably Arthr) was recording Jet and Selene from afar. The two of them seemed to be talking, and Selene was slowly drifting off. By the end of the video, she'd fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder._

A pang of some bittersweet emotion stabbed at his heart, and he quickly shut the video off before it could continue. Without a sound, he selected yet another random video in an effort to distract himself once more... this time from old emotions.

 _In this video, the sounds of a piano could clearly be heard in the hall just outside of Jet's master bedroom in the palace. The song was a bit fast paced, but it was also beautiful and somewhat sad to listen to. Then the recording was apparently paused for several hours. When it was resumed, the person holding the camera crept up to the door and cracked it open. The piano was being played again, though it was a slightly slower version of the song. This time, there were also lyrics being sung slowly along with it. As the newly crowned king sang, his fingers danced across the keys on the piano. Raw emotion filled the room._

 _"It was like a nightmare that could make you scream  
_ _'Cause nobody wants to die too fast.  
_ _That wretched day of grief is so strange to me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _Remembering the day we met rips my heart in half,  
_ _'Cause no one should have to die that fast.  
_ _And now the day we dreamed is just pain for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _Day by day, we're losing our edge.  
_ _Don't you know? Forgotten is the life we led.  
_ _Now it seems, you don't know what's at risk.  
_ _The peaceful times have made you blind._

 _Don't look back, 'cause they're not coming back.  
_ _Don't show fear, each time after time,  
_ _But once again, I'm hiding in my room.  
_ _The peaceful times have made me blind._

 _"So you can't fly if you never try,"  
_ _You told me, so long ago.  
_ _But you left the wall, outside the gate,  
_ _So more than ever it's real…_

 _It was like a nightmare that could make you scream,  
_ _'Cause nobody wants to die too fast.  
_ _That wretched day of grief is so strange for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _Remembering the day we met rips my heart in half,  
_ _'Cause no one should have to die that fast.  
_ _And now the day we dreamed is just pain for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _I sing for the reluctant heroes, who give me their strength,  
_ _Though life is so short.  
_ _Sing out for the reluctant heroes,  
_ _I wanna be brave like you._

 _"So you can't fly if you never try,"  
_ _You told me, so long ago.  
_ _But you left the wall, outside the gate,  
_ _So more than ever it's real…_

 _They came in like a nightmare that could make you scream,  
_ _'Cause nobody wants to die too fast.  
_ _That wretched day of grief is so strange for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _Remembering the day we met rips my heart in half,  
_ _'Cause no one should have to die that fast.  
_ _And now the day we dreamed is just pain for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _I sing for the reluctant heroes…  
_ _I wanna be brave like you…"_

He sort of choked on his own breath as he recalled this song, why he'd written it, and who he'd written it about at the time. However, he was quick to reclaim his mask and force his emotions away. The video ended and he shut the screen off and he put his camera on the nightstand beside his phone. His eyes again closed, but he still wasn't sleeping. As he lay there, his thoughts wandered aimlessly, never allowed to linger on depressing, fear-ridden, or otherwise upsetting topics for too long. In the middle of his idle ponderings, he suddenly heard an argument spark not far from the outside of his door. Frowning, he called out, "Lei, H'alia! Kokeita!" ("Lucas! Hannah! Knock it off!")

Then it hit him. _Why_ were Lucas and Hannah out of bed, and _why_ were they arguing in the hall? Sighing to himself, he rolled off the bed and headed into the hall to deal with his life's latest random event.

 **~台風の目~**

 _Quiet babbling filled the room as Selena typed away on her laptop, a device she had purchased on the distant planet Earth ages ago. Her one month old baby, Jet, was crawling around on the floor, playing and "talking" to his toys. How the baby was able to do roll, crawl, hold his head steady, babble, and so on so early in his life was a mystery to her, and she was typing up her knowledge on the matter in the hopes that she could one day send the compilation to Kath for his opinion on what was going on and how. She planned to see him soon, anyway, now that she knew the truth. Her husband, Ross, was no cousin to Queen Laralei. He was her son, Kath's son, the one Kath had always referred by the Babylonian name Raul. Jet was Kath's grandson (a fact which may have a role in the baby's rapid development), and Kath had to know. Ross did, too, but that was all something to worry about at a later time._

 _Ross took a seat beside Selena on the couch, a drink in one hand and the other arm casually draped along the back of the couch behind her. "He sure is busy over there," he commented lightly. Two pairs of eyes watched as the baby rolled onto his back and smacked a small toy train against the side of a tall cabinet, babbling all the while. Then he rolled back onto his stomach, abandoning the toy train in favor of crawling over to a nearby chair. Small hands reached up, gripped the cushion, and pulled. Already, he was trying to stand up._

 _The young mother found herself smiling. "Yes, he is. He likes those trains you bought him."_

 _"Mm-hm." After taking a sip of his drink, Ross spoke again. The subject changed when he did. "I think I may have an idea about why he seems to look at and watch things that don't actually seem to be there, by the way."_

 _"You mean besides the fact that he's an adorable baby and babies do things like that?" Selena teased, though her words were true. Their child was absolutely adorable, and he seemed to know it, too. He milked it for all it was worth the few times he actually got himself into trouble. And, in at least one way, he was like all babies, watching things that weren't there._

 _"Yes, besides that," Ross replied, smirking._

 _"Okay, so what did you find out?" Selena prompted._

 _"It's more along the lines of what I remembered," Ross responded thoughtfully. Getting up briefly, he walked across the room and moved Jet away from a piece of trash that had ended up on the floor somehow, threw it away, then returned to his wife. Reclaiming his seat, he recalled aloud, "My mother used to do what Jet does. The watching seemingly nonexistent things, I mean. I would see her talking to nothing fairly frequently, too. As a kid, I didn't understand why she did those things, but she did explain it to me when I was old enough to understand."_

 _Interest piqued, Selena closed her laptop so as to give him her full attention. "What did she say?"_

 _"She said she had a pure aura," Ross explained slowly. "You know, the kind that allows you to see the spirits of dead people with pure auras. That's probably why he watches things why we can't see."_

 _It made sense, and Selena was disappointed with herself for not thinking of this possibility before. 'For once, it would seem that I have been the fool.' That thought quickly left her mind and another one swooped in to take it's place. 'My baby will always be in danger.' Her eyes shifted to once again watch her son as he played on his back, chewing on a toy while kicking his little legs. The child was safe and happy now, but she knew that could never always be so. Not when he was the heir of Laralei. Not when he was Babylonian. Not when he possessed such a pure and true aura. Such an aura could be used. They could be manipulated, in a way, and filled with Dark energy. Sometimes that Dark energy could be evil, sometimes not, but either way a pure aura could foster the energy, make it grow, give it so much strength. Evil beings had long tried to use people with such auras as vessels for their power. It was easier to do with babies, since they had little to no ability to defend themselves from an attack usually. Adults could be victimized, too, though. Few, regardless of age, were ever lucky enough to survive the ordeal. Her child would always be in danger because of this... and she could never always be there to protect him._

 **~台風の目~**

When the black light first enveloped the ship early the next morning, Tails wasn't quite sure what to think. He was even less sure of what to think when, for whatever reason, people began vanishing off the ship right before his very eyes. Everyone had was awake by now, and they were gathered in the control room together for no real reason other than to see if the ship's scanners had detected any enemies in the night. As such, it was all too easy for him to see when people began disappearing. Marthal and Keiri went first, followed by Wave, Cream, and Charmy, then Knuckles and Silver. Vanishing right after them were Sonic and Amy, closely followed by Kaden. Espio and Vector _poofed_ next, then Locke, along with his daughter-in-law and grandson, and finally every single child on board the ship. Only Jet, Tammy, Analia, Shadow, and Tails himself were left behind.

Eyes wide, Tails traded a look with Shadow, who had become a good friend of his over the last hundred years. "What just happened?"

"You mean _besides_ the obvious?" Shadow responded sharply. Tails didn't blame him for the minor outburst. The hedgehog had only just recovered his daughter from Nocturnian clutches. How was he meant to cope with the loss of her again, and so recently after the first incident?

"Knock it off," Jet cut in before the argument could truly begin. His tone was eerily calm and unreadable. It never ceased to amaze Tails just how closed-off and otherwise quiet Jet had become over the years. Sure, the hawk hadn't ever been super chatty, but this... this was just extreme. Actually, it reminded the young fox of Ruined Future Sonic. Only, Jet was _more_ closed-off and whatnot than even him, half the time. Heck, even his own Ruined Future self hadn't been like this. And Jet was just so calm... Half the time, Tails wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Shooting the hawk a tense glare with tightly crossed arms, Shadow curbed his tongue and refrained from sharing whatever barb had crossed his mind. Analia spoke then, directing her attention not toward her two adopted sons but, instead, toward Tails. "Are you able to track anyone's communicators?" she inquired, keeping her tone more or less the same as it always was. Light, unaffected, but containing definite notes of warmth, love, and hope.

Quickly looking down, Tails set about trying to use his own communicator to do just that while Shadow and Tammy both seemingly did the same. Analia and Jet, however, seemed to be more focused on utilizing their special senses to try to find any trace of the missing members of the group. It was especially imperative that the kids be located as soon as possible, they all knew. The Nocturne Clan had killed one of the kids already. They wouldn't hesitate to slaughter the rest. It was a dark truth that hung over everyone's minds, making this moment far more tense than it would have already been. Tails didn't like tension in the least. Though he wasn't terribly easy going or laid back by nature, he also wasn't by any means such a serious person that he could handle the stress of these situations as well as some of his friends could. That was something he found regrettable at times.

Finally, some good news. "I found Sonic," Tammy said suddenly, eyes on her own communicator screen. Tails noticed, not for the first time, that the communicators Jet had built (or rebuilt, in his own case) had a unique look that was all their own. Plus, they were white and black instead of being predominately yellow. Jet's own had a sort of silvery sheen to it, indicating that, perhaps, he had used different materials for his own device. But now was not the time for the inventor in Tails to start drooling over the clearly Babylonian version of his own tech. He needed to focus, and he knew it. Watching quietly as Jet turned and walked over to Tammy to peer at her device, Tails listened as she stated with some confusion, "He's with Amy. They're... back on Mobius."

"Mobius?" Shadow echoed, openly frowning. "How the hell can you know that? Communicators don't have a wide enough range of signal for you to see Mobius from here."

"Ours do," Tammy said, glancing at Jet, whose eyes were still on her screen. "Jet built them that way." Shadow obviously had no argument to that, so he just watched with the others as Jet reached over and casually used his fingers to zoom out on Selene's screen, arm just barely brushing against hers.

"Is anyone else there?" Analia asked, walking over.

"Espio and Vector," was Tammy's quiet reply. A pause, then she added, "Wave, Cream, and Charmy, too."

"No one else?" Analia inquired, a small frown marring her beautiful face.

Tammy shook her head, the length of her somewhat long ponytail brushing against her back. "No one else. Not that I'm picking up on, anyway."

Tails frowned worriedly. "So where did everyone else go?"

"There's no real telling," Tammey sighed, gently pulling her communicator away from Jet's fingers so that she could turn the screen back off. His arm went back to his side. "They could be anywhere in space, really. Some of them could be lost on Therius right now, for all we know."

Though the name didn't strike Tails as especially familiar (though he was sure he'd heard of it at least once before), he didn't waste time asking about it. Instead, he sighed. "Okay... So what do we do, then?"

"Search, obviously," Shadow growled.

That was when Jet shook his head. "We will search," he said with a glance at Analia, who nodded slightly. He looked back to Shadow, Tails, and Tammy. "You three stay here." Before Shadow could argue, Jet glanced at Tails specifically and said, "We cannot abandon the ship, and the others need to be found sooner rather than later. Tails is unable to teleport and you are unable to teleport as far as you need to in order to effectively aid in the search."

Tammy, apparently, agreed with him. "It's for the best that at least two or three able-bodied people remain on the ship to defend it. We can help tend to the others, too, once Jet and Analia start locating and sending them back here."

Unsurprisingly, Shadow opened his mouth to argue, but Analia interrupted him. "Not now, Shadow. We are wasting time as it is. Even one second is time enough for tragedy. The longer we stand here debating this, the longer the Clan is able to do as they please."

That finally got through to the multi-colored hedgehog, and his mouth clamped shut. Tails spoke up again. "So, are we staying here and just waiting for you guys?"

Again, Jet shook his head. "No. This is in the very heart of a dangerous race's territory."

"So where do we go, then, sensei?" Tails's question was, at first, met with silence. However, it didn't last for as long as Tails had suspected it would. Mere seconds passed before Jet suddenly listed off some coordinates to the young pilot, who scrambled to type them in as they were being relayed to him. An image appeared on one of his screens, data transmitted to him from some technology located either in or around the place indicated by the coordinates. Looking over the image, Tails saw what at first appeared to be a large planet surrounded by six massive rings tilted at six different angels. Upon closer inspection, however, the truth came to him, and his eyes widened. What he was looking at right now wasn't natural at all... whatever it was, it had been made by _people_. The faint glimmers of impossibly advanced technology illuminated parts of the space around the floating construct, and Tails's gaze swung around to face Jet and Tammy. "What _is_ that?" he breathed.

"It has no true name," Tammy murmured, "but it serves several purposes. One of them being a meeting place for the Watchers."

Right now, Tails didn't have the words to ask who they were. "And... we're going there?"

"You are," Jet confirmed, calm as ever. "We will join you there at a later time."

As he turned to leave, Shadow scowled and spoke up again. "How do we know these ' _Watchers_ ' won't just blow us up when we get there?" he demanded, voice less friendly and much more irritable. But, then again, the few times he and Jet had ever interacted at length had been more or less the same as this. The two of them just didn't quite get along for some reason or another.

"Trust me," was the aloof reply. It wasn't anywhere close to what Tails had expected Jet to say and, with that, the hawk had rounded the corner and was out of sight. Analia offered Shadow and Tails a wish of good luck and a farewell before teleporting away with a brilliant flash of pure Light. Not even two minutes later, they felt more than sensed that Jet had left, too. Tails, Tammy, and Shadow were now alone. The young fox turned back to his screens and controls. "So... time to head out?"

Teeth audibly ground together before Shadow deigned to reply, though it was hardly a _useful_ response. "Whatever."

Unperturbed by his companion's attitude for the moment, Tails simply fiddled with the necessary buttons, switches, and so on and got his ship in motion once more. Once the ship was traveling again, he let out a soft breath. _To the Watchers, we go._

 **~台風の目~**

To say that Ix had a lot on his mind at any given moment was never very far from a severe understatement. Being the leader of an army large enough to overwhelm a planet, an army with an insane amount of bloodlust and pent-up wickedness to unleash upon its foes... Well, that was no simple matter, nor was running such an army an easy feat by any means. This was something he was sure at least two of his enemies (namely Kath, former king of Babylon, and Jet, current king of Babylon) could understand, at least in part. There army was, after all, just as large as Ix's own, if not larger. That was a troubling matter all it's own, but not quite why Ix had his eye on those two, among others.

The Clan was watching them. All of them. Sonic, the Child of Light. Analia, the Will of Light. Sen, the Disciple of Light. Kath, the Soldier of Light. Jet, the probable future Sixth Guardian. Kaden, the Child of Night. Sarai, the Disciple of Night. And then there was one other... little Suri, the latest in the Babylonian royal bloodline. All were extreme threats to Ix's plans, and yet... now was not the time to end them. He needed them for his plans. Without these seven, the Clan would never succeed. And yet, without them, there was also the assurance that the Clan would not be defeated for a very long time. His was a gamble, and he knew it. It was something he was prepared for, however. After all, one couldn't be a leader if one couldn't bring themselves to take a few risks. And besides... this was _far_ from the biggest gamble he was making in this game.

It had been known for impossibly innumerable eons that Chaos was said to be the ultimate power in existence. It was also known that, to date, only one person had ever come to posses even just a sliver of that awesome power within themselves. Also known was that there existed beings known as the Immortals, beings far more ancient and mysterious than any other. They were born along with time itself, coming to be countless millions of years before any other life formed within the universe. The Immortals were as secretive as they were elusive, as mysterious as they were powerful, and Ix knew he was _damned_ lucky to have ever knowingly seen one of them with his own two eyes. But that all was not why the Immortals had so wholly captured his interest.

Chaos was said to be the ultimate power in existence, yes... but it had an equal… if not a more powerful alternative.

The Immortals themselves were the very key Ix had spent so many years searching for, back before Sade had sealed the Nocturne Clan away. The key to not harnessing but instead _fighting back against_ Chaos was _them_. Existence, after all, required balance. Balance could never exist if Chaos were allowed to be an unfettered force, let loose within the universe to do as it pleased when it pleased. There was so much more depth of purpose behind the Immortals than Ix had ever lent them credit for. They did so much more than merely safeguard existence from those who wished to upset the balance. They also had more than ample means to fight against Chaos _itself_ , and that alone was plenty reason to excite the Clan.

But there was yet more to it than that. There were vast and innumerable other dimensions, realms, timelines, and so on than just the one Ix himself existed in. There were the Realms of Death, the Realms of Light and Dark, the Realm of Chaos itself, the Mirror Dimension, so, so, so, many others... And Jet and the other three Immortals, could see, go to, and interact with literally any and all of them at will. That did nothing short of arouse Ix's jealousy, if he were being quite honest with himself. The trick now, now that he had learned all of this, was to find out how he could work this knowledge to his advantage. Or, better yet, steal those powers for himself. If there was any way in existence, he would find it. That much he swore.

Slowly, Ix's thoughts trailed off from that to other things related to the Immortals. More particularly, to Jet himself. The young Babylonian king was the current owner of Astral Babylon, a ship older than memory that was powered by the Cosmic Sphere. That sphere had been crafted by the Immortals, which begged the inevitable question of how they had done it. _How_ did they ever come to possess so much knowledge that they were able to make something that knew everything? And, more importantly, being an Immortal and the rightful owner of the ship and sphere currently, was Jet granted more access to the sphere than others had been in the past? If so, was there some way to work this all to the Clan's advantage, too?

Of course, even if there was, Ix would still need to get ahold of the ship first. That, however, didn't strike him as something that needed to be done straight away. He needed time to carefully plan how to go about it, for multiple reasons. New Babylon was, after all, surrounded in it's entirety by invisible barriers. Even their two moons were shielded. And, on top of that, not one Babylonian on that world was going to just let Ix waltz right in there with his armies, take over the world, and steal Astral Babylon. No, he would experience _heavy_ resistance right from the get-go, far more than he was on Mobius. The Babylonians did, after all, know of the Nocturne Clan (whom they called the "Felorn" in their language). Ix had once tried to destroy and take over their original homeworld and, well... The Babylonians were surprisingly capable of holding a grudge. To make matters worse for Ix, Jet's armies were already gathering (it was no secret to the Clan that they were), and they were no pushovers. Even Ix could admit that. Granted, from what Ix had heard, some Babylonians didn't want their world to be involved in the war in the first place, but even still. And, to top it off, if Kath got involved... Well, that would be bad, to say the very least, but things would be far worse if even just Jet himself stood in their way.

Even ignoring the fact that Ix could never permanently kill the young man, that man had truly surpassed Kath in every way, shape, and form. It was clear to anyone who just took the time to examine the two. The One True Heir of Babylon was far more powerful, fast, and intelligent than the former king himself, and Kath himself knew it. Ix himself had yet to see Jet openly display these things, however, and that alone was troubling. That was an inevitable confrontation he wasn't looking forward to, honestly. It was a fight he wasn't able to win as he was now, especially if Jet decided to use Astral Babylon itself. That ship had, after all, blown up the original Planet Babylon, leaving nothing but the ruins of a dead world floating in space. There was no telling what it could do to a measly army.

Even if Ix were somehow able to take away all the things that made Jet such a formidable foe and just leave the hawk his sword, Alkarus, that would be more than enough for Jet to destroy Ix and everything he and his people had worked for. That blade was considered to be the pride and joy of the Immortals for a reason, after all. It was the most powerful weapon they had ever crafted. It was _special_. It was _beautiful_. It was _lethal_. Ix wanted that blade, too.

None of this was going to be, in any way, easy to deal with. Ix, however, was nothing if not a problem-solver. Already, Ix was planning, conjuring, plotting. In order to attack Babylon, some level of infiltration onto the planet's surface would be required. This had already been accomplished, to a point. His necromancers had sent the corrupt souls of deceased Nocturnians to the world, where they had observed Kath and attacked Kaden not too long ago. Using them, Ix suspected he could work on taking down those barriers. He would need to be subtle about it, though. After all, pure auras could sense other pure auras, and it wasn't just in good little Babylonians that those existed. Dead or not, people like Jet would be able to sense some of Ix's invisible helpers. Yes, Ix would have to be _very_ careful about this.

Next, Ix would need a base of operations close to the planet, but not in open space. Drawn though he was to Therius and the Therians, a world and race of beings far more malevolent than even the Nocturnians themselves, Ix knew that the Therians were much too far away for him to use their world here. There was, however, another corrupted world... one he had caught wind of only just recently. The world was known as Syx, the home of the deeply wicked Syxans, the people the Babylonians had apparently been at war with within the last century or so. That race, from what Ix had learned, had been utterly wiped out by Jet himself, and now their evil world stood abandoned. It was ripe for the taking, and Ix very much planned to _take_.

Other things that would aid him in gaining a foothold in this part of the war included, but were not limited to, the fact that he had effectively distracted his foes by separating the lot of them, Jet was not particularly able to trust his allies (most specifically Sonic) due to false memories for whatever reason (which created a divide, of course), the fact he would likely make it to his planned future base a good while before the so-called heroes could catch up to him, and the fact that Ix new a very closely guarded secret, one that it seemed Sonic and his little friends didn't yet know. The king of Babylon feared fire.

On top of that, once he had his Vessels of Darkness... Oh, that was something he could not wait for. The king and his youngest child were in far more danger than they realized... and they would put their precious allies in even more danger than that, with time. The evil stone Ix had used to attack the group, in a way, not too long ago (before Jet called Kath and Kath had Analia neutralize it), had done what it had needed to do. It had sewn the seeds of corruption, given those oh-so pure auras just a trickle of taint. Jet and his child were powerful, yes (the baby had stopped a massive explosion with _vines_ , for god's sake), but they would be victimized nonetheless. The ball was again in Ix's court, and he had every intention of not losing it.

From there, Ix's thoughts strayed entirely off subject, shifting back over to pathetic little Mobius. His clan hadn't entirely abandoned the world yet, though many of his people were now in space with him. There, were, after all, more continents than Yueisha, the one he had been focusing his attention on all this time. Yueisha was the world's unique supercontinent, a massive slab of land so large it it stretched from just a scant few miles below the North Pole to mere kilometers from the South Pole, not to mention the fact that it stretched very far to the east and west as well. It was not, however, the only continent there. There were others, each of them smaller and less formidable, but they still warranted his attention. Tralius, Untol, Eurish, Artika, Efrikila, and an unnamed landmass, not to mention well over fifty islands worldwide (some in the sky and some in the ocean)... If he ever wanted to claim full dominance over the world, he would have to conquer all of them. Needless to say, he was prepared to do it.

Besides, in doing so, he could accomplish a few more things on his evil to-do list. One, he could search for the rumored Chaos Emeralds, powerful gems he had only ever heard of thus far. He had never once seen them, or this so-called "Master Emerald", but they were said to posses the power of Chaos, just like Sonic. Oh, how much Ix wanted those gems... Even pretending he didn't manage to find them, however, he could still get one more important thing accomplished by going to all of these different places and conquering them. Once these lands were conquered, it would make it so much easier for him to spread word that reminded the world that they once had had a king and queen ruling their world, and that king and queen's son never died. Once they were reminded that their precious leader yet lived, it would make it all the more devastating for the world when Ix finally slayed him. He couldn't wait.

Until then, there were other matters that Ix needed to focus on on that world, and in general. One of the biggest things he currently needed to focus on right now was the fact that Kingdom Valley was left unguarded, and Kath and his wolf (who had just left for space not long ago) were alone. This created ample opportunity both for attacking them and for attacking Kingdom Valley again. No one was there to protect the old hawk and his companion or the ancient burial ground right now. Yes, the valley had barriers to guard it and Kath and his furry friend could fight for themselves, but that was no matter. Ix would deal with all three of them soon enough. His Necromancers would have a field day with all the important souls laid to rest within the valley, and capturing Kath would help Ix's plans along nicely. After all, as he'd reflected upon earlier, while he couldn't kill the man right now, letting him run wild and free was certainly detrimental to the clan's plans. The wolf, however... Well, he could die. Couple his death with the fact that all of Hyale (and not to mention the rest of the chameleon villages in the Highlands) had fallen, and Ix could say with some certainty that Sonic's allies were dwindling... at least somewhat.

Still, Sonic and his group did have allies remaining, and the lot of them still needed to be distracted, hence them being separated earlier. Adding to the distraction was Shade's nightmare serum, which would continue to afflict Sonic, Jet, Blaze, and Kaden for the foreseeable future. All of this was good. Very good, in fact. Ix needed them to remain distracted. The sooner they discovered the depths of his plans, the harder it would be for him to complete them. Needless to say, he didn't want that to happen. After all... what good was a surprise if it didn't _remain_ a surprise?

 **~台風の目~**

 **11,113 words this time. Remember when I mentioned how longer chapters would be cropping up soon? Yeah. Hope you enjoyed, though.**

 **Here are some aids with pronunciation again. Hope they help.**

 **1.) Yueisha - "Yoo-ae-shuh" (This made up continent is where all of Hero takes place, save for the parts where they're in space, in the Master Emerald, or on South Island. Otherwise, all of that tale takes place here.)**

 **2.) Tralius - "Tral (short "a" as in cat)-ee-uss" (This is a continent from either the Sonic shows, games, or comics. I didn't make it up, by my version of the pronunciation my be different than the one used by the people who did make it up.)**

 **3.) Untol - "Uhn-tole"**

 **4.) Eurish - "Yur-ish" (This is a continent from either the Sonic shows, games, or comics. I didn't make it up, by my version of the pronunciation ay be different than the one used by the people who did make it up.)**

 **5.) Artika - "Ahr-tee-kuh" (This is a continent from either the Sonic shows, games, or comics. I didn't make it up, by my version of the pronunciation my be different than the one used by the people who did make it up.)**

 **6.) Efrikila - "Eff-ree-kee-luh" (This was originally "Efrika", a continent from either the Sonic shows, games, or comics. Obviously, I changed it here.)**

 **Posted (at about 9:05 a.m.) 08-29-17.**


	51. Second Chances

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This was the original chapter 57, formerly entitled "Fragile, Shattered, and Broken". Some people may not like this chapter so much but, hey, it's massively important, so it's-a-stayin'. Now, what I did to it is rather simple. First off, I split the original version of this chapter into two parts, this one and the part that will become the next chapter. This one needed it's own chapter, so yeah. Anyway, I did a lot of edits to this chapter, the thoughts, the descriptive detail, everything. Selene is mentioned here, but only a couple times and only in the past tense in the context of brief memories. That's all. Anyway, hope you all enjoy.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Second Chances"**

 **~台風の目~**

What few people realized was that Jet's mental state was very fragile. It had been, in a way, ever since he had spiraled into that massive depression back during the war, and it had only gotten worse after the Syxans had captured him. They had tortured him, left him broken and barely possessing a will to live. It was the lowest he had ever been. Even now, he remained fragile and broken. In many ways, he was still breaking. In others, he was forever at risk of it. There was never any escaping it. He had been through so _much_ , and the results of his hell would forever walk with him. Loud sounds had scared him for years, but nowhere near as much as pitch-black darkness had. He still had vivid night terrors, suffered severe flashbacks, and had been utterly unable to tolerate even the smallest touch for quite a few years. To this day, he was terrified of fire, struggled with his anger, and suffered from acute anxiety. But one would never know of any of this just by looking at him.

Even before the day he had been captured, Jet had worn a mask. That mask had been constructed with beautiful accuracy, giving him a shield to hide behind and a false face to show the world. At first, this mask had served a vastly simple purpose. The people of Babylon had wanted a strong and fearless leader and, while Jet had always been strong in his own way, he hadn't been without fear. No one had been, not even Kath and Selene. But the people had needed someone who could at least _appear_ to be fearless in the face of everything. Kath had done that, yes, but he was so terribly skilled at isolating himself while still doing what he needed to that, needless to say, it hadn't mattered. Jet, however, had always had eyes on him. People had always been watching, whether it be through their own eyes or through the lens of a camera or whatever else. As he had once said himself, he hadn't been able to afford a single mistake, ever. To show that he had felt just as vulnerable and afraid as most everyone else... that would have been a mistake in the eyes of many.

So, with little else to do, Jet had put on a mask. That mask had been very effective from the start, but it only became so much more so either during or after his time in Syxan custody. The mask, however, did nothing to stop him from continuing to feel on the inside. Few could imagine how fragile his emotional state also was, especially considering what he had gone through during those six months. So many things had happened so quickly after his rescue from that horrible place. He'd lapsed into a coma and nearly died, Kath (sometime after Jet had woken up) had fallen gravely ill and very nearly died himself, Nyxar (leader of the Syxans) had tried to kidnap him, some other Syxans _had_ managed to kidnap him, Selene died in front of him, the gruesome display completed by the blood that had sprayed him... There was no real way to fully and accurately list all that he had gone through after Selene's life finally left her. All there was to say was that his suffering hadn't ended on that day. If it had, he would have had no further use for the mask. There never would have been a reason for him to so utterly perfect it. But he had.

Since the end of the war and the loss of Selene, few had ever been capable of reading the quiet hawk, regardless of whether or not he was wearing his meticulously crafted mask. Most oftentimes, it had only been she who could accurately imagine how terribly he had been breaking. But lately… lately, he had been thinking that Sonic was reading into much more than he'd been letting on. The way Sonic worded things, the things he did and the way he did them, the things he did and did not pressure Jet to talk about when questioning him… It all spoke to a deeper understanding of Jet (as he was now and not as he'd once been) than Jet himself had been giving Sonic credit for. But why was that? _Why_ had he been doubting Sonic so greatly? The question bothered him and, the more he pondered it, the more he began to understand why. He had trusted Sonic almost utterly, once upon a time. They had been the very best of friends, rarely apart and seldom truly upset with one another. They had been, dare he say it… family. ...Brothers.

But then everything had changed. Jet had, in secret, gone off to war. He'd been to hell and back more times than he cared to count. He'd made new friends. He'd settled into a new home. He'd fallen in love, really and truly in love, for the first time in his life. He'd been married and had children. All without any of his friends from this world. And those _kids_. Those crazy, obnoxious, temperamental, _perfect_ kids… he loved those four with every fiber of his being - and then some. The young king of Babylon loved his kids so much it honestly hurt... And it was precisely _because_ he loved them that he was constantly forced to leave them behind. Only in doing so could he see to their future, and ensure that they would even have a future to begin with. Guarded and fragile though he was, he allowed himself to love them with absolutely everything he had, and his kids all knew it. They saw what he chose to hide from most everyone else, and they loved him right back with just as much force. His children claimed to adore him, and he certainly adored them. Right now, he suffered on their behalf. Not knowing where they were or if they were alright or if all or any of them would survive this day or the next… it was utter _hell_ , one even worse than the kind he had already seen.

But if he left his children to protect them, then what was the reason he had left Sonic and the others behind? He couldn't convince himself that he had the same motivation for both, but he could do something else. Namely, he could and did wish that Selene was here. She had always been his rock during times like these, keeping him grounded, doing everything in her power to keep him from shattering completely, though he had never, not once, reached that point before (contrary to what he had felt during his time with the Syxans). Certainly, now would be a horrid time for it to happen. Jet needed to focus, and no one could do that when they were so overwhelmed with feeling. Even Kade was no exception to this, Jet knew, which was truly saying something. Perhaps Jet would learn to be, someday, but he certainly wasn't now. Though he seldom admitted it aloud, he was still a person and people needed the support of others.

And yet... usually he didn't want help. Not from Selene, not from Sonic, not from anyone. Lord only knew how many times he'd claimed as much during the war. Claims were by no means always the truth, however, and it seemed that just about everyone knew it. With that in mind, Selene, Kath, Arthr, Azerel, and at one point Jade had all tried to help Jet regardless, but he knew that their every attempt had been rebuffed. When they had tried to remind him how beautiful life could be, he had replied, "Everything beautiful has its moment and then passes away. Beauty is too fragile to waste time and energy adoring." When they had tried to help heal his wounds, the ones not physical in nature, he had simply pushed them away, kept them at arm's length, and isolated himself. When they had tried teach him how to live again, he had reminded them that, with the war going on, he'd had no life to really live. The list just went on and on and on. And yet, their desire to help him… just hadn't ever seemed to diminish, somehow. Instead, these interactions, it seemed, had only served to heighten their resolve to do precisely what he'd said he _didn't_ want them to do. However... they were also no fools. It was often said that there was never any real helping those who didn't want to be helped. In far too many cases with far too many people, this was simply far too true for Selene's liking, as she'd once told him. Sooner or later, someone's will would run out. Either he would stop resisting at some point, or they would simply stop bothering. So, he supposed the real question here was, _did_ he want help? Or didn't he?

In some ways, Jet reluctantly supposed that he at least needed help, if only with some things. He was still more than willing and capable of fending for and taking care of himself by himself, but there were just some things he couldn't deal with on his own. His seizures were one example, and various problems associated with his autism were another. For those sorts of things, he had learned a long time ago to accept help. He had a doctor, he had medications for when he really needed them, and he also had good friends who knew what to do when he needed their aid. But, of course, help was easier for him to accept when the things he was dealing with were only physical in nature. If he was wounded, for example. But when his problems were more psychological and/or emotional in nature... Those were problems he was almost never willing to acknowledge unless he had to, and he certainly never made others aware of them if he could avoid doing so. More than a few times, though, he had been _forced_ to acknowledge them.

He was no fool. He knew he was still traumatized, would always be so. He was well aware of the fact that depression would nearly always be something he had to fight, that his anger would never truly go away, that his night-terrors would likely never fully stop, that the psychological torture he'd endured for those six or seven months would always, always continue to haunt him for the rest of his existence, and on and on and on. Certain things, he'd learned how to manage of the years. Anger management was something he was extremely skilled at now. For years, he had known how to recognize when he was feeling depressed and he had learned how to nip it in the bud before it could get too unmanageable once again. The night-terrors could be lessened when his bedroom wasn't too dark at night, and listening to peaceful music before bed further helped to put his mind at ease before he went to sleep. Regardless, he knew that there was no way in hell everything could be so easily managed. His PTSD was a prime example of that. His seizures, forever linked with that disorder, could be handled with proper care, but not the intense emotional and mental reactions that came when something triggered him and brought back memories of things he wished with every fiber of his being to just be able to forget. Problems like those ones, those psychological and emotional issues he had, would probably never go away. But that did _not_ mean he wanted help with them.

Accepting help, he'd learned, meant discussing what was wrong. Honestly, it did make sense. How could anyone help him if they didn't know what was wrong in the first place? But that was the entire problem. Never once did Jet pretend to want help with these particular things, and he certainly didn't want to talk about them. Even pretending that he actually did want to _talk_ about those problems, more specifically about the torture that caused it all, he just _couldn't_. Not right now, and possibly not ever. Talking, however, was very different from thinking, something he occasionally wished he could stop doing. Though he felt virtually incapable of talking about what had happened to him, he all too frequently found himself _thinking_ about it all, albeit extremely unwillingly.

Even after all these years, he vividly remembered being whipped and burned and cut and beat and slashed and on and on and on, but those physical pains had always paled in comparison to what his monstrous captors had done to his mind. His memories of what, exactly, they did to accomplish their deeds were often vague at best, but he remembered the results far too well for his liking. All too often, he recalled terrifying hallucinations so vivid he'd genuinely believed them to be reality at the time of their occurrence. It was so easy to remember his many panic attacks, his waking night terrors, his various total mental breakdowns (most of which had completely numbed him to reality for who knew how long). Reality and imagination had almost irreparably blurred for longer than he even knew. Even in his sleep he had never been able to find any sort of relief, as the terrors and sufferings he'd endured when awake had always followed him into his dreams. Far too frequently, he hadn't managed to sleep in the first place. Existence had become a long day that was hellish beyond words and that seemingly had had no end. As far as he had known for a long time, what he'd once understood as the reality he lived in had utterly shattered around him, leaving him in a black emptiness that had no time, no explanation, and no peace. Pain and suffering had been his only companions. Never during that time had he _not_ been terrified and hopeless. He'd spent nearly every moment of his life then just wishing for it all to finally end, forever. Being an Immortal had, for the first time in his life, become his greatest curse.

This singular point in his life was, as far as he could personally tell, why he struggled with trust, why he was almost never able to open himself up to anyone, why he was terrified to let these people in as he had once done... All of those people were united in the sense that they, like him, hated the Nocturnians and were intent on wiping them out once and for all. However, there existed between them a rift that might never be fixable. Never before had he felt so divided from the people had once so happily called his friends. Granted, things were nowhere near this bad with his companions from New Babylon, as they had actively been there to help mend his unwillingly ruined bonds with them, but his friends from Mobius simply hadn't been. It wasn't something he blamed them for, however. It was just... the truth.

Absolutely none of this meant that he wanted help, though. Yes, he was still suffering in various ways. He still experienced the same pain and fear he'd felt when he'd still been trapped in that dungeon. There was never any real escaping from any of it. The truth of the matter was now that he no longer felt willing to _care_. Every day, he had far too many things to worry about that were far more important to him than his own personal shit. For one thing, he had those _kids_ now. If only for them, he held it together, would bear the pain as best he could and hide the rest, would never again give up as he had once done. Those four smiling faces had each given him purpose again for the first time since he'd lost Selene. They gave him a reason to resume giving a genuine shit about his own existence, grounded him so that he had yet to slip away as he had so often done in that godforsaken cell. They reminded him what it was _really_ like to love someone who didn't use their own "love" as a weapon to emotionally kill, taught him again how to genuinely smile, had helped him to find peace within himself for the first time in so long…

They had saved him, in a way. And maybe this all sounded selfish, but his devotion to them existed for reasons that were everything but. They were his kids... His children were everything to him, and he was nothing without those lives he so deeply cherished. Their kidnapping had shaken him to his very core, and he was once again filled with a wave of terror he was helpless to control. Though he hid it, and his unbridled rage, he still felt them both, and he didn't hesitate to make sure those Nocturnian bastards ahead of him _knew_ that they had fucked up. No one who touched his kids was going to live to gloat about it. Of that he was absolutely certain.

Cutting through open air, he released an energy attack that sliced straight through the throngs of Nocturnians ahead of him. They fell away like the dross in a trash heap, and he wasted absolutely no time and in felling yet more of them. His mind was not always in the best state, he knew (though this had become much less true over the years), but his ability to fight had by no means been _diminished_ as a result of his torture. Before losing Selene and once again losing purpose in his life, he had found himself more driven than ever to get stronger. His nightmares had only served to motivate him to do whatever he could to ensure that he would never suffer like that again... and that no one he cared for ever met that same fate, either. The training had been brutal and downright deadly, true, but it hadn't mattered to him then and still didn't to this day. He was here now, he had survived (like he'd ever had a choice in that), and he was still fighting. He was doing more goddamn good for himself and his loved ones than he'd ever really done before. He was so much more willing now, so much more capable in spite of everything that had happened, and that was something that the Nocturne Clan as whole seemed to have overlooked. _Big fucking mistake, you bastards._

Selene's beautiful, perfect voice cut into his thoughts from his memories and sliced through the faint but thickening cloud of his emotions, instantly easing his anger a certain degree. Times like these, when he genuinely started to lose himself to emotion, had always been rare for him. They were even more so now, even with his mind damaged like it was. It troubled him that it had started to happen just now, but he was given no time to dwell on the matter. He swore he could hear her voice in his head from years long past. _"Jet, you need to concentrate. Focus on what we're doing right here, right now."_ The attitude she had always shown him in the early years of their friendship, that no-nonsense _I'll whoop your ass and not feel sorry about it_ demeanor, was fully conveyed in her voice (though it probably was just all in his head), and that alone helped further ground Jet in his logic and rational thought.

Inwardly, he was grateful beyond words for the fact that some things, like how serious and collected she had always been in the face of danger, never truly changed. He may have been broken in many ways, but he realized all of a sudden that many of those around him had remained as stable and reliable as ever. For all his hatred and anger and fear and lord only knew what else, his former (or not?) friends from Mobius had remained precisely the opposite. Selene had always been his rock during the war, one of the only things always keeping him grounded, and for that he would always be grateful. But… Sonic had been that for him once, too, and he had been that for Sonic. Was… it possible for them to ever get back to that point again? For the first time in far too long, he found it in himself to hope that maybe it was. He hoped it wasn't too late… that he hadn't already missed his chance to _try_.

Feeling stabilized anew somehow, he refocused himself, adjusted his grip on his sword, and continued his flight through space. Out there somewhere, he didn't know where, were his kids and everyone else who had disappeared. No matter what it cost him to do so, even his own goddamn sanity, he was _going_ to find them. Never would he let any of them suffer anything even close to what he himself had been through. As a father, he had a duty to protect his children until the end. As a friend, he had an unassailable sense of duty to afford those around him with the same protection. And that was exactly what he planned to do. So long as he existed, he would never let any harm befall them or any of his friends (former or not) if he could help it.

Never.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,643 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. The next chapter will be focusing on only one character's perspective again, but after that the chapters will be mostly normal (with multiple scenes and all that) again. Posted (at about 12:47 p.m.) 08-31-17.**


	52. Admission

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: Beyond splitting this off from the original version of the last chapter, I did nothing to this. It was left alone. Oh, but real quick. I thought that this chapter was one that focused on Ix's perspective and only after reading it again realized my mistake, hence the last author's note. My apologies.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Admission"**

 **~台風の目~**

Reappearing back on Mobius was, honestly, one of the last things Espio had expected to happen to him when the Nocturnians whisked him and who knew who else off of the Blue Typhoon. Ending up in some Nocturnian prison camp or something akin to that was more along the lines of what the chameleon had been inclined to anticipate. But being back on Mobius, safe and sound, albeit by himself? Not at all what he'd been prepared for. And, well, claiming to be safe here was really unintelligent of him, he was sure. Even on such a barren continent Efrikila, a continent of next to nothing but scorching deserts and arid savannahs, Nocturnians prowled everywhere. He held no doubts in his mind that they were even more prominent here on Yueisha, where he was. That much had been more than proven to him and his allies before they'd left for space. The enemies were everywhere... but they weren't the only ones who could effectively hide themselves in the shadows.

Utilizing everything he had ever been taught on the ways of the ninja throughout his life, Espio clung to the shadows and ran without a sound, felling any foe with as few movements as possible when they simply got too close to his hiding places. His destination was the same it had always been whenever he found himself and the world in this much danger: Hyale. The Highlands may have fallen, but his people had not. Some lives had inevitably been lost in the fires and destruction, yes, but nearly every Chameleon from every village in those mountains yet lived, and they simply wouldn't have abandoned their homes so easily. Ninjas were nothing if not protective of what was theirs, and those mountains had _always_ been theirs, even back when said mountains had once been a part of South Island.

About midway in between Spagonia (where he lived with his team mates, nearly directly south of the mountains) and The Highlands, Espio skidded to a halt beside a gurgling stream when his cell phone began to vibrate, and he pulled it out of the small bag he had with him. It wasn't the same old flip phone he'd once owned, but instead a nice touch screen that Kanari had bought him for his birthday one year when they were dating. The two chameleons had dated off and on since the fall of Ivo, alternating somewhat frequently between being a couple and being good friends. Right now, they identified as the latter, but frequently kept in contact. He hadn't told her that he'd left or even been planning to leave the planet for the sake of this war, so the fact that she was calling him as though it was just another day didn't at all surprise him. Glancing around quickly, he determined the area was safe for the time being. Taking a chance, as he wasn't sure how much time he had to talk, he answered the call. "Hello?"

The true fear in Kanari's voice stabbed Espio right through the heart. _"Espio!"_ she gasped out in a whisper, panting heavily. _"Where are you? I've been calling and calling-"_ She was nearly hyperventilating, possibly sobbing.

Given his feelings for her, which had been steadily growing over the years, Espio was immediately greatly upset by the sound of her voice, which normally made him feel more happy than anything else. "Kanari, what's wrong?" he demanded, resorting to his somewhat rare use of contractions. "What's going on? Are you hurt?"

 _"Where are you?"_ she asked again, voice breaking yet further. The young woman was in a panic, not really listening to him at all.

"Kanari, listen to me," Espio said quickly. "I didn't get your earlier calls, I was too far away. I'm near Spagonia. Where are _you_?"

 _"I-I'm in West Forest,"_ Kanari replied, now openly crying.

Not wasting a second, Espio turned completely around and began running as fast as he could. "Stay there, and stay hidden," he ordered, voice taking on a rare authoritative tone. "I'll be there as quickly as I can."

 _"There are Nocturnians here, Espio,"_ Kanarai suddenly revealed, still keeping her voice down even as she cried. _"My house was attacked. I don't know if I was followed into the woods."_

Cursing internally, Espio forced himself to run even faster. "I'll be there soon," he reiterated. Panic was starting to hit him, a feeling he was mostly unfamiliar with. "Hide as best as you can. Don't let them find you, do you understand?"

 _"Yes,"_ was the terrified, sobbing reply.

Hands shaking, Espio clutched the phone more tightly than he felt sure he ever had before. Squeezing his eyes shut for just a second, he whispered the only honest truth he could think of in that moment, four words that he had only ever uttered twice before. "I love you, Kanari."

But by then the call had already dropped.

 **~台風の目~**

Vector was, of course, both surprised and confused initially when he appeared in Eschire Village, right outside of Vanilla's home. A quick scan of the area, and he caught sight of her garden which wrapped around to the back of the house from the left side of it. The normally lush vegetables, flowers, and fruits were beginning to dry out and suffer. An apple tree outside the garden was also showing signs of illness, as was nearly all the grass in the normally lush village. The grave beneath that apple tree stood stoic and silent amongst the familiar breezes of the grassy settlement, but the croc didn't allow his gaze and thoughts to linger on it for too long. A small smiling face belonging to a once miserable child flashed through his mind before he pushed the recollection aside.

Sighing heavily, he headed quickly to Vanilla's house and knocked in that loud sort of brash way he always did. "Hey, Vanilla!" he called through the thick decorated wood. "You home?"

A couple short minutes passed, then the door suddenly unlocked. This door was never locked. When it opened, Vanilla's wan face looked up at him without any of her usual joy and warmth. "Vector?" she asked softly, as though hardly daring to believe that he was there.

Startled, Vector nodded. "Well, yeah," he said lamely. Concern bled into his tone. "What's going on? Are you okay?" Vanilla didn't answer straight away. She took a quick look around behind Vector, then ushered him inside. As soon as he was in, she shut and re-locked the door. "Vanilla," Vector asked again immediately following this, "what's happening?"

Taking in a breath, Vanilla exhaled with a sigh and said, "The Nocturne Clan has been poisoning the area since you all left for space."

"Why?" Vector demanded before she could even begin to explain.

"They tried to attack the village, the same day you departed," Vanilla told him quietly. "The Chao from the Hidden Meadows protected us with their magic, but given that they're all so deeply tied to nature... The Clan is trying to kill them all, so that they can then kill us. The Chao won't survive this toxin for long, Vector."

The Hidden Meadows. That area was among the purest patch of nature in the world, positively blooming with life energy, hence so many Chao calling it home. The meadows were just outside this small village, Vector knew, and Cheese himself had come from there. The Chao in the meadows loved Eschire, and the people of Eschire loved those Chao. It made sense that the Chao would want to protect the village, and it made sense that villagers like Vanilla would be so full of fear for both themselves and for those beloved Chao. Vector understood all of that. But he didn't understand _why_ the Clan was suddenly targeting Eschire. What did such a lonely, peaceful village mean to such a dark and wicked Clan? "What do they _want_ from you guys, Vanilla?" he found himself asking, even though he doubted she even had the answer he sought.

Her eyes were really and truly troubled, not warm and loving as they normally were. "I don't know, Vector..." she answered softly, shaking her head. "I really don't know..." Outside the nearest window, Vector couldn't help but see as the plague spread just a bit deeper into the village. A freshly rotted apple fell from the tree and bounced off the grave, coming to rest in the dirt. The Village of Life was dying.

 **~台風の目~**

Somewhere around two in the afternoon, Soren's lovely nap on the shore of the Great Lake, directly to the west of the uppermost portion of White Jungle, was interrupted by a blast of evil energy that sent him flying. He was tossed like a rag doll through the air, then crashed back onto the ground and skidded across the sharp gravel. Coughing and wincing, the young hedgehog scrambled back up onto his feet. Immediately, he saw his attackers. Five Nocturnians, and they were no wimps. These weren't ne'er-do-wells or idiots, but instead willfully violent and clearly trained individuals. And there were five of them. Soren had no training, he had no allies. He wasn't an idiot either, but he made no claims of being above average mentally. He certainly wasn't violent. Actually, he hated fighting. He was damn good at it, but he hated it. Still, if fight he must, then fight he would. It wasn't like he would ever just _let_ someone attack or kill him. _To do that would do nothing but shame the memory of family._

One of the Nocturnians spoke. "Well, someone's rather far from home, isn't he?"

Recalling the portal that had dragged him from his timeline into this one, Soren scowled. "And who's fault would that be, hm?" he asked testily. Having not slept well in nearly three full weeks, he was in a very poor mood right now. Seeing young Lia kidnapped and terrified that one time hadn't helped his attitude much. Plus, he was fifteen, so he acknowledged that he could be moody, anyway. That was beside the point, though.

"Ooh, feisty," a second Nocturnian sneered. That sneer gave way to almost random irritation in about a second. "I recommend you hold your tongue, boy, lest we rip it out."

Stormy grey eyes rolled, then he proved to himself something that he had long already known to be true. As much as he was like his father, he was also very much like his uncle… the one who had for a period in Soren's early life raised him in his timeline, if memory served. "Right, and then you'll give it to a cat, won't you?" he remarked sarcastically. As expected, they didn't get the joke. "Oh, come on, you guys don't have senses of humor, either? _Sheesh_ , no wonder I never liked your kind." All further jokes were immediately cut short before they could be voiced when the second Nocturnian and one of the others lunged forward to attack him. Dodging, he spun and kicked one of the attackers in the gut and the other in the shin. Both doubled over, the second victim howling in pain when the bone audibly snapped. Soren winced and was tempted to just run away to avoid injuring anyone anymore, but knew already that that wasn't a viable option. They would catch him. He was sure of it.

A third Nocturnian attacked him, and Soren retaliated by knocking the dagger out of the person's hand and hit them with a short Homing Attack. The fourth attacked was taken down with a Spin Dash, an attacked Soren almost never used. With both of them unconscious, Soren turned his attention to the attacker he'd hit in the gut. The person had recovered by now, and was drawing a powerful gun. Gritting his teeth, Soren did a daring martial arts move he'd seen depicted in a book once. Books were a very, very rare thing where he came from, as the Nocturnians there had destroyed each one they found. Because of that, Soren had guarded and memorized that martial arts book to the very best of his ability. That was knowledge he utilized now, in spite of his lack of any sort of training. It paid off, and the gun was sent flying away. Upon hitting the ground, it went off, and the attacker was shot straight through the chest.

There was no time for him to go into shock or even to grimace. There were two enemies left, and they were coming straight toward him. A series of kicks and punches served to knock out one of them, and a single Homing Attack knocked out the other one. Casting a very nervous glance at the dying Nocturnian then looking over the four unconscious companions, he turned and ran away. There was a reason why he hated to fight. There was a reason why deaths bothered him. He didn't regret taking the lives of those who dared to harm or kill the innocent. He felt no remorse for harming those who had no qualms about doing the same to him. His nerves came from one thing and one thing only: spirits. When one could see, hear, interact with, and be harmed by the souls of the dead... Well, that was certainly cause for alarm, was it not?

 _So much for getting any sleep_.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,293 words this time. Posted on the same day since as the last one since they're both relatively short. Also, I don't say it _nearly_ enough, but thank you _so_ much to everyone who continues to read, follow, and/or even favorite this story even after my lengthy disappearance. It means the world to me that some of you guys stuck around, or even climbed aboard after I resumed posting. Thank you all so much, and I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this installment. Posted (at about 6:00 p.m.) 08-31-17.**


	53. Alone Under Starry Skies

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This used to be chapter 58, I think. I did nothing to this chapter, save for remove one journal entry that didn't truly need to be shared. Also, this is the second to last time that I share journal entries with you all. They are important for numerous reasons, I promise you that. I swear that after this one and the last one where I shared journal entries, there will be no more chapters that focus so heavily on them. Hope you enjoy.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Alone Under Starry Skies"**

 **~台風の目~**

Neither Sonic nor Amy were fully prepared for landing where they did after being so suddenly teleported off of the Blue Typhoon. The two of them crashed side by side into the ruins of a white house with a blue roof. That color scheme was the norm in only one city that he knew of... and that city had been utterly destroyed. With a gasp, he sat straight upright and gazed out through the gaping hole in the house. The vast majority of the roof, along with the wall in front of him, was gone, creating the perfect window for Sonic to see the rest of the city. It was the first time Sonic had seen the city in nearly six full months. The last time he'd been here, it had been for a little breakfast get-together with Amy's parents. Amy had been with him, of course. The city had been intact. Everyone had been alive and well. Happy, even. But now... Now, everything had changed.

Even now, fires were ravaging the city. Once pristine neighborhoods were ablaze, filled with smoke and all manner of debris. The streets, normally so busy and full of foot traffic, were deserted. There weren't even any seagulls. Sonic gazed about the ruins slowly, emerald eyes wide and taking in yet more details. The sky was blackened with smoke. The ruins of houses lined the streets. Some houses had been gutted from the inside by fires and explosions and lord only knew what else. Other homes had been demolished from the outside from bombs and gunfire and so on and so forth. There were bodies he could see through gaps in nearby homes. Others he could see lying beneath the rubble on the pavement. The abject terror still displayed on many of their faces would be forever burned into Sonic's memory. Suddenly, he felt like gagging. Or shedding a tear. Maybe both.

A sob drew his attention to his immediate left, and he saw Amy sitting on wooden floorboards beside him. Her bright green eyes were swimming with tears as she overlooked the beautiful city she had spent so much of her life in. She didn't speak, but she didn't need to. He could see in her eyes precisely what she was thinking. _It's gone... It's all gone..._ Turning his head, Sonic followed her gaze back out through the hole in this random house. In the distance, they could both clearly see Harold and Marie's mansion-like house. Unlike many of the other homes in this city, it still stood strong. Its owners, however... hadn't been so fortunate.

Amy hadn't needed the reminder. Up until this point, she had been dealing with her grief quietly, unwilling to talk about any of it for once. Sonic had respected her wishes and hadn't pressured her into talking. Now, however, there was no more dealing with this on her own. The woman he loved so dearly was no longer smiling as she so often was. Instead, she was sobbing. Raw emotion fled down her cheeks, and Sonic didn't hesitate to drag her into his arms. With no words to offer that would do anyone any good, Sonic merely squeezed his eyes shut and held her tightly, ears nearly flat against his head in response to his own grief. It came as no surprise to him when she returned his tight hug, buried her face in his shoulder, and continued to cry.

Though he paid nearly all of his attention to Amy, some of Sonic's focus inevitably drifted to his memories of happier times. Harold and Marie may not have been his own parents, but they had certainly treated him with all the love and care of parents. They had been as much a part of his family as he had been a part of theirs. They had cared for and respected him, and he had felt the same toward them. But now they were gone, and though he could never feel the same depth of grief that Amy was suffering from, he certainly did grieve. There was no way he couldn't.

One thing would always remain true about Amy, Sonic had learned by now, no matter how terrible things got for her and around her. His wife was, always had been, and always would be resilient. Somehow, someway, she was able to get through everything that had been thrown at her thus far. Two men had broken into her childhood home, the very same home she and Sonic had been looking at, and tried to kidnap her when she'd been a kid. Her response had been to get over, not let herself be beaten by fear, and to resolve to get stronger so that she would never be victimized again. In a fight against some of Tails's bullies when she was a child, she watched as a psychotic kid wielding a small handgun had accidentally murdered another of the bullies. Rather than let herself be traumatized, she chose to move on with her life as best as she could and always remember how beautiful, yet fleeting, life could be. There were so many other incidents just from her childhood alone but, instead of frowning or crying or even shivering with fear in light of everything she had seen and been through, she more oftentimes chose to smile and to love. Now was no different.

After allowing herself some time to release and accept her feelings, Amy worked on collecting herself. Sonic rubbed her back in slow circles, trying to soothe her as best as he could without words. Though he still had none to offer her, she seemed to be okay with it and nonetheless appreciated his efforts. Eventually, she pulled away from him a bit, removing one arm from around him so that she could wipe at her eyes. Eyes clouded with worry, Sonic asked her quietly, "Are you okay, Ames?" It was a nickname he rarely used for her, but it evoked a small smile from her.

"I'm okay, Sonic," she murmured. Somehow, she didn't sound like she was lying. Not entirely. Still, Sonic wanted to be sure.

"You sure you're okay?" Sonic pressed gently.

Still smiling that small smile, Amy murmured, "Yes, I'm sure."

Nodding, Sonic again turned his head to look outside. "I don't sense any Nocturnians here anymore, do you?"

This time, Amy gave a negative reply. "No, I don't. But that doesn't mean they're not here. People can guard their minds, Sonic. Jet does it. The Nocturnians often seem to be able to so as well."

"They hide their auras a lot of the time, too," Sonic sighed. "Like Jet and dad do." Still gently holding onto her, Sonic stood, pulling her to her feet in the process. "We should probably get out of here, then."

"That won't be easy, Sonic," Amy told him suddenly. When he looked confused, she responded with, "An artificial no-power zone was set up around the city. Can't you sense it? Special senses still work here, since I can sense your mind, but not powers. I tried to read your thoughts just now. I can't."

Immediately, Sonic tried to teleport. He raised a hand and tried to summon a fireball into his palm. He tried to summon Caliburn into his hand using that special technique Amy had taught him, the very one she always used to summon her Piko Piko Hammer. Nothing, nothing, and nothing. Cursing under his breath, he looked Amy dead in the eye. "Guess we'd better hope we don't get caught, then. Come on, we're leaving this place one way or another."

To her credit, Amy wasted no time arguing with him and instead knelt down and picked up her bag, which had been teleported here with her earlier due to it's proximity to her at the time. As she slung the bag over her shoulder, Sonic led the way toward the stairs. Together, they picked their way through the rubble in the room, down the hall, down the stairs, and to the front door. Sonic forced it open, scraping it against large chunks of debris. Once out on the street, Sonic took his wife's hand and began running at an easy pace through the city. Amy ran after him, eyeing the ocean in the distance along with her parents' house, which was only a mile or two from the beach. Emerald Coast, even from this distance of nearly ten miles, had never looked so desolate and lacking in the beauty it was known for.

Shaking that thought out of his head, Sonic ran down a few familiar streets, then relied on Amy's detailed knowledge of the settlement to get them both as close to the edge of the city as they could get before Amy just had to stop. It went without saying that very few possessed the same kind of stamina for running that Sonic did. Couple that with the fact that Amy hadn't slept well since the start of this war and _especially_ since the deaths of her parents... Well, it didn't take much of a genius to figure out that she needed a decent rest. And, as crazy as it sounded, this ruined city was probably the safest place for her to get that rest. After all, no-power zones worked both ways. Sonic and Amy couldn't access their powers, but neither could the Nocturnians. It was safer for the pair to stay here for now than it would be for them to stay in their own house, located smack dab in the middle of the Emerald Grasslands surrounding the city.

Perceptive as ever, Amy clued into what he was thinking in spite of the fact that she couldn't literally read his thoughts at the moment. "We need some shelter for the night, Sonic." It was surprisingly late right now, further contributing to her fatigue.

"Yeah, we do," Sonic agreed, already looking around. "One of these houses might be out best bet." Though she looked put-off by the idea of going into someone else's home uninvited and staying there, Amy offered no complaints and no arguments. Taking this as a sign of agreement, Sonic took her by the hand and led the way into yet another home with a gaping hole in the side of it. Once inside, he quickly searched the home. All the rooms had windows, which wasn't necessarily a good thing (though he supposed a window would help him to keep watch), but not every room was full of rubble and the lingering stench of all-consuming flames. There were also no bodies, and no enemies. It didn't take him long to select one of the rooms, one of the cleanest ones in the home, and walk into it with Amy following behind.

There was no significant furniture in the room, merely a few bookcases and a small round table that had been knocked onto its side by the door. The bookcases were tall and, like the table, were made of dark wood. They were still standing, but more than forty books littered the floor. Walking to one side of the room near the far corner, Sonic shoved aside numerous books, thus clearing a place for him and Amy to sit down. As he finished up, Amy took a seat in the corner. Mere moments later, Sonic sat by her right side, and she laid her head on his shoulder. Once settled, she reached for her bag, slid it off her shoulder, and began rummaging through it. What she was initially looking for, Sonic never knew. Whatever curiosity he had about that fled from his mind in an instant when Amy, in utter confusion, pulled a journal out of her bag. "What in the world...?" she asked softly.

Immediately, Sonic recognized the book she held. "Jet's journal?" he responded, bewildered.

There was silence at first, then Amy sighed. "Kimmy."

Sonic looked at her. "What?"

"I saw her walking around with it not long before we all were teleported off the ship," Amy explained with another small sigh. "After I caught her with it, I asked her why she had it, and she said she 'found it' and wanted to read it some more. I told her to put it back where it had been, but I guess she just hid it instead."

"That girl is already turning into quite the little thief," Sonic commented, half amused and half annoyed on Jet's behalf. "...She probably gets that from dad, come to think of it. He was a thief when he was younger. Admits it, too."

"Maybe," Amy responded with a shrug. "Either way, she should probably be talked to about this. ...Again."

"I agree," Sonic replied as he took the journal from Amy's hands.

The look she gave him, completed by a small smile, was... knowing. "You're going to read it again, aren't you?"

Unashamed, Sonic gave her his own smile of his own. "I might be."

Amy settled against him again. "Well at least read aloud so I can get all the juicy details, too."

Snickering a little, Sonic opened up the journal. "Yeah, alright. As long as you promise to rest while I do that." No argument came, and her eyes closed. Satisfied, Sonic thumbed through the pages until he got back to the first one. From there, he scanned the entries until he found one that seemed worth reading.

 _ **8.** -I met someone named Jade today. It was pretty calm in the palace today, and she sat down with me on the roof. We talked for a while about random things. Physics and outer space and cooking and the palace and things like that. We managed not to bring up anything too serious. It was kind of nice, I guess, to just be able to talk to someone about nothing in particular and not feel any pressure to really say or do anything "leaderly". Overall, I guess today was alright._

-She came back just now and asked if we could do this again sometime. I said yes. I don't know why.

This made Sonic frown as his memories of what little he knew about Jade flooded his mind, then he pushed the matter aside and flipped through some pages before settling on some new entries. Amy kept her promise and relaxed the whole time, not offering any comments.

 _ **59.** -Selene was laughing and smiling and joking all day today. It was a nice change from how serious she usually is, but when I joked and asked what the hell had possessed her, she smacked me. I guess she's back to normal now. Still, it was worth it, and it was nice to see her open up for once._

 _ **60.** -I almost lost my scarf down the Meyari Falls while Selene and I were riding our horses by the falls on our way back to the capital city (and, thus, the palace). Selene says it's ridiculous to be "attached to a piece of cloth". I didn't bother trying to explain to her why it's important to me. I didn't say anything. It doesn't really matter these days, anyway. Besides, it would take a tiresome number of words to explain, and it would be even more tiresome to get  out of explaining. It's easier to just not speak, sometimes._

 _[There is a very highly detailed drawing of the falls.]_

 _ **63.** -There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls._

 _ **65.** -We live as we dream… Alone._

 _ **68.** -I did something stupid today. Athr, too. We were in a ship far above the clouds but still in the atmosphere. The door was open for whatever reason, and we just ran and jumped out it. It was thrilling and fun, but not one of our better ideas. We didn't have parachutes. Thankfully, we were over the ocean and there was plenty of land in sight._

 _Wave always said I was reckless. I guess I finally proved her right._

That last entry again gave Sonic some pause. He recalled both as he read it and afterward just how close Jet and Wave had once been. They had teased each other a lot, with Wave calling him everything from "jerk" to "reckless" or "Mr. Reckless". Jet had called her "brat" most of the time. All of this teasing had been done in good humor, though, of course. Seeing that teasing mentioned here brought back memories of happy times long since past... and Sonic wasn't sure what to make of it. In the end, he chose to simply move on and read some more. Maybe he would talk to Jet about Wave, or Wave about Jet, later. Maybe.

 _ **71.** -I held a sort of vigil for Luko earlier tonight. It's the anniversary of his death. I still miss him._

 _[There is a detailed, photograph-like drawing of Luko.]_

 _ **74.** -Kath introduced me to a girl named Tammy. She's a species that ages similarly to hawks. Right now, she's sixteen, only a few months younger than me in our years, but she certainly doesn't act like it. She's also nice and polite, but always stands up for herself readily and isn't afraid to put her foot down if she feels the need to. She's really, really intelligent, too. It was incredible listening to her. She and I were able to have a complicated conversation about various things, and it was actually a lot of fun._

 _She said she wants to be friends. I think I'd like that._

 _-I just learned she's Luko's sister… The guilt is threatening to eat me alive. She says she harbors no ill feelings, but… the problem is… I do._

 _ **75.** -True power is in the heart of the user. These people we're fighting… they clearly don't understand that. In that sense, they're not strong at all._

 _ **79.** -Kath knew my mother. That's something I knew thanks to one of those old videos I saw of her and me, back during the Metarex war. Her Babylonian name is (more like was) Syra, apparently, and that's what he's always called her. He was pretty close with her for a long time. I don't know what to think._

 _-Selene tried to encourage me to ask questions to him about my mother but… I'm not sure that I even want to know. What if the way I've always imagined her ends up being nothing like how she actually was?_

 _ **81.** -Final day of preparations. Not much for me to do._

 _-I asked Kath a couple questions about my mother. These are the answers I got: She was born on the original Planet Babylon. Her only known powers were aura ones, and they were immensely powerful. She was a warrior, but she was also kind, loving, happy, though she had a very serious side as well. She was also an intellectual. Apparently she named me. She took me here as an infant to meet Kath. That's how Kath knew I existed and that Grandmother's family had decedents. He may not know I'm Lararlei's grandson, though, just that I'm from her bloodline. From what I understand, she had a couple cousins with the same colorations as her, so I could be one of their grandchildren or whatever instead, for all he knows. All he seems to know for sure about me is that I'm related to her in some way, she chose me as her heir for whatever reason, and that Selena was my mother. I'm not sure what to think about all of this._

 _I think I'm going to try to keep it out of mind for now._

 _-I just remembered something huge… During the war against the Metarex, I saw Kath. He saved me from potentially being killed by a Therian, the one who claimed to have killed my mother. Without him, I never would have won that fight. I never would have been able to find that box full of the things that monster stole from her. I never would have learned anything about her, or myself, back then, if not for Kath. If he were still here, I'd thank him. Too bad he left already to deal with a fight near Kresztari Bay._

At this, Amy lifted her head, and she and Sonic traded a look. So much passed between them without words, then they simply resumed their earlier positions. Amy resumed resting on his shoulder, and Sonic resumed scanning the pages. It took him a couple minutes of reading to find some new entries to share with Amy.

 _104\. -One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go. Whether it's guilt that we're clinging to, or anger, love, loss, sadness, betrayal… Change is never easy. We fight to hold on… and we fight to let go._

 _107\. -I finally fixed my communicator, somehow. I even added my own touches to it. There's a good deal of ancient technology wired into it now. It's capacity for memory is vast now thanks to that. I'm kind of eager to see how else I can change it and make it more my own._

 _[There is a sketch of his communicator.]_

 _ **108.** -I only have one thing to say to people right now, but it's a message I doubt I'll ever share aloud. Do not underestimate me. I know more than I say, think more than I speak, and notice more than you realize. Underestimate me, and I will make certain that you regret it._

 _ **109.** -Things are so hard. Screw  my pains, the world is suffering. My efforts are never enough, but I'll find a way to make things better someday. Just give me time._

 _ **110.** -There's no real guarantee of victory. Maybe we'll fall short of it. Maybe we'll never even come close. But someone, someday, will know that we tried. And maybe that'll never be enough. But it'll be something. And, in this case… something is better than nothing._

 _ **111.** -We're already the walking dead. If there's anything that makes us different from the real dead, there's only one. Living and dying isn't the real issue here. It never was. What people don't understand is that if you cling to being alive, you become frightened and your eyes get clouded. If you don't have that desire to begin with, that desire to keep living no matter what the costs, then you can fight on, right to the end of the world._

 _I have no fear of dying. Not anymore._

Troubled, Sonic again turned his head to look at Amy. This time, she didn't look up, didn't open her eyes. Sonic turned back to the journal, eyeing the page and the words he had just read on it. How can someone not fear death...? Shaking his head, he turned the page and resumed reading.

 _ **113.** -I've found that writing is a struggle against silence. I don't know any other way to describe it than that._

 _ **120.** -We reached the Badlands. I didn't think anyone would ever willingly go in there with me, except for maybe Selene, but she apparently had faith otherwise. She rode up next to me and murmured in my ear: "Lead and they will always follow you." So I took the first steps into hell… and they were right behind me the whole way._

 _ **122.** -Some Syxan asshole stabbed me with a needle. There was something in it. Selene's worried as hell. Arthr said it looked like poison. I'm worried too, obviously, but I feel fine so far. My arm hurts like hell, though._

 _ **126.** -I've been awake for three weeks now. The future looks… bleak. The poison I was injected with was some sort of powerful neurotoxin. I can't speak. I literally have no voice. It messed with my motor skills, too. It's hard to hold the pencil and write. I couldn't even see anything for a solid two weeks or so. I don't know how permanent these effects are and, honestly… I'm not sure I want to._

 _-I was told just now that I shouldn't have withstood the effects of the poison for as long as I did before passing out. Then I apparently held on even longer than I should have been able to before dying (my Immortality is no longer a secret here). No one is sure why. All I know is that it's weird. It's not like I'm a poison-user who has a natural resistance to this shit. I just don't get it._

 _ **127.** -Tammy found a sort of cure. I don't feel like writing anything other than that. Life's been too boring lately for me to have anything of interest to talk about._

 _ **129.** -I taught myself how to play the piano. Arthr caught me playing it. He won't stop teasing me about it. I left a slime bomb in his room._

 _ **130.** -I actually beat Kath at chess. Not once, but twice in one day. I feel sort of accomplished. He's a tough opponent, to put it lightly. It was fun._

 _[There is a detailed drawing of a chessboard with all the pieces in the starting positions.]_

 _ **133.** -Selene basically forced me to celebrate my birthday this year. I haven't celebrated that since I was six. It was pointless and annoying but… I guess it was also kind of nice. If nothing else, I guess it's just nice that she and the others cared enough to even bother with it. Overall, this wasn't a bad day._

At this, Amy suddenly spoke. "When's his birthday, Sonic?" she murmured.

"You know... I have no idea," Sonic responded after a short moment of thought. "He never told me. Or Wave and Storm, as far as I know."

"Hm." With that, Amy fell silent again.

Sonic resumed reading. Or, at least... he tried to. The very first entry he saw, entry 147, took up an entire page. The problem was, none of it was legible to Sonic in the slightest. The symbols covering that page were like nothing he had ever seen before, but they seemed to go together like the letters in the alphabet. This was some sort of language, but he could make neither heads nor tails of it. Frowning, he took a quick picture of it on his communicator, then moved on to entries he could read.

 _ **150.** -I had some sort of a dream. I don't really know what it was about. All I know is that I woke up crying. I think I saw my mother. Not that it matters. It was just some hallucination or something similar, I'm sure. It's not like I've never experienced  that before._

 _ **162.** -For the first time, I managed to genuinely hold my own against Kath in a sparring match. It was kind of exhilarating, in a way. I almost can't believe I did it._

 _-Selene and I went out riding again. We had another race. I won this time. She kept teasing me and calling me a cheater. I purposefully rode through a puddle and splashed her. Her response? To shove me off of Neila and into an even bigger puddle. We were laughing so hard it almost hurt._

 _-Jade and I had lunch together in the dining hall. We talked some more. It was nice._

 _-Learned about a board game that's fairly similar to chess, only a lot more complicated. There's no real name for it, but most people call it Matrikal or, more commonly, Matrikali. I'm not entirely sure what that means. It's a fun game, though, and challenging. I enjoyed playing it._

 _-I asked Arthr to help me with my fluency (or lack thereof) in Modern Babylonian. He agreed. Guess that means I have more work to do. It'll be worth it, though, if only so I can finally understand all those damn comments Selene always makes in that version of the language._

 _ **182.** -Learned another name. Nyxar. Research has so far proven to be pointless. Nothing comes up under that name. Selene and the others are searching for answers, too. We need to find some. I have a bad feeling._

 _ **183.** -Dark forces haunt my dreams. I have nightmares every night. I see planet Syx first, every time. Everything after that varies. Sometimes I'm suffocated by it's aura, or sometimes the twisted clouds that I saw in its atmosphere. Sometimes I hear laughter or talking. Sometimes I see a wickedly grinning face. I once saw unnaturally red eyes. The word death is constantly in my mind when I wake up. I don't understand it at all. It's so disturbing._

 _ **197.** -I just remembered something I told Wave a long time ago. "Life's not about trying to just survive the storm, though." She responded with, "It's about learning how to dance in the rain… right?" I don't know why I remembered that conversation. It's irrelevant now._

 _ **208.** -I flew on my board for the first time in years. It was even better than I remember it being. I hadn't realized until then just how much I'd missed doing that. Sort of a silly thing to miss though, isn't it?_

 _ **217.** -Found an injured Turuk. It tried to attack me when I accidentally got too close upon stumbling across it. It was probably a stupid idea, but I calmed it down a bit (somehow) and tended to it's wound. It was bad. It looks like it was attacked by another Turuk. For whatever reason, the moment it seemed to realize that I wasn't trying to hurt it, it just laid it's head down and let me help. These things are far smarter than I think I'd given them credit for. It's resting now. I'm wary about sticking around, but I can't very well leave it here to just die._

 _Besides, this offers an unprecedented opportunity to study the Demon of the Sand. It's risky, but I think it's worth it._

 _ **253.** -I tried calling back home, dialing everyone all at once, just to see if someone would answer. No one did. I hope it's just because we're too far apart. But, either way, I guess it's for the best that I didn't reach anyone. I don't have a whole lot of time to talk most of the time._

 _ **267.** -My ship broke down. Almost  nothing is working. It's completely destroyed. Those damn Syxans ambushed me while I was on a routine patrol in space about six miles from the first moon. I managed to chase them off by firing a shit-ton of lightning at their asses, but now I'm stuck floating out here by myself. I'm too tired to teleport, as usual (which of course begs the question of how I was able to shoot so much lightning…), and I don't think anyone's getting my distress signals. That system's probably broken, too. I've been trying to repair what I can, but it's been slow going._

 _-The lights are starting to flicker on and off. Great._

 _-…And… there they go. Great._

 _ **269.** -Selene keeps telling me to try to find healthy ways to vent when I feel randomly angry. There's really no way for me to do that out here, save for writing in this or listening to my I-pod or making a Video Log or things like that. Or at least, that's what I thought._

 _I remembered what Kath had told me about my powers before. I'm drifting by the sun right now (the blast that took out my ship left it with a lot of momentum to burn off, hence the reason it's floating so fast), so that's what reminded me. Partly out of boredom and, admittedly, partly out of anger, I decided to make a gamble and see if I could make solar flares like I supposedly did that one other time. I'm guess I'm not angry enough or something, though, because the only one a managed to make was relatively pitiful in size. Still… I did it. Kath was right, I guess. Now the question becomes… is this a bad thing?_

Without thinking about it, Sonic let out a low whistle to indicate that he was impressed. "That's... wow," he said lamely.

This evoked a small laugh from Amy. "How eloquently put," she lightly teased.

Huffing, Sonic looked back at the entries. "Yeah, yeah, hush so I can read."

"You're the one who started talking," Amy pointed out easily.

"Hush," Sonic replied again in good humor. With that, he resumed reading.

 _ **277.** -Selene and I sat on the roof of the palace and talked for a while earlier tonight. It was probably around ten or so. The capitol city (which is about… sixteen miles away?) started this huge firework show about an hour later, and we watched the whole thing. It was pretty cool to see how much she brightened at the sight of the fireworks lighting up the sky. It's not often that she's that happy._

 _I never knew that she likes fireworks. I'll have to remember that._

 _ **279.** -I put my board through a battery of tests today to see exactly how much damage it could take before being basically destroyed again. Now that I have that figured out, I'm going to repair it (again) and see what I can do about enhancing its durability. Maybe I can even make it go faster. I can fly on my own with my powers faster than this thing goes, and it would be nice for this thing to move about that fast, too._

 _ **283.** -I'd forgotten how hard it is to ride my board with a passenger. It's extremely uncomfortable, too, seeing as how the passenger has to freaking hold onto me. I don't know why, but sometimes I think being touched is even more uncomfortable when Selene's the one doing it. It doesn't make any sense, though. It's not like I don't trust her. I trust her way more than I think she realizes. So why the discomfort, then?_

 _ **288.** -I… called Ross tonight after Selene fell asleep. I don't really know why. I guess I just… I needed someone familiar to talk to, someone from home. The only reason I managed to get ahold of him is probably because of the ancient technology wiring his phone. Things were… really tense and awful at first, but we somehow managed to slowly get to talking like  normal freaking people. I ended up telling him about… more or less everything that's been going on. Where I've been, what I've been dealing with, how this world's faring… That sort of thing. I don't want to read too much into it, but it almost seemed like he was trying to… comfort me. After that, I lied and said I had to go because I'd spotted soldiers in the distance. There's no one here but Selene and I._

 _I don't know what to think anymore. He hates me. I don't understand why he'd try so hard to help or whatever he was doing. I don't understand it at all. Calling him was a bad idea._

 _ **294.** -A lot of crazy shit happened. Long story short, I was dragged off by the Turuk in the middle of that last entry I was writing, a cave in killed it and trapped me, some Syxans blasted a hole into the tunnel and dragged me out, I was a hostage on their ship for a time, Selene found me and broke me out, she raised some hell, we got the hell out of there, and now we're hiding once again. She used a special one-time-use-only medicine to heal my leg just before she raised hell on that airship, so at least I can walk now._

 _I'm so glad to see her. She has no idea how happy I am. But… she seems happy, too. She wouldn't stop hugging me once we got into the place we're hiding at now. She kept apologizing, too. I tried to get her to stop, since she has nothing to be sorry for, but she pretty much ignored me. At least she's resting peacefully now. She deserves that._

 _But… There's something else that happened today that's worth mentioning before I turn in, too. She told me, not too long before she went to bed, that she cares about me, "far more than [I] even realize." Then she just… said goodnight and went inside to sleep. I don't know what to think. That seems to be the case at least ninety-eight percent of the time when I'm dealing with her._

 _Whatever. I'm going to sleep. Sat'rekal._

 _296\. -I decided I'd had enough of the dry, dead air here and made it rain, perhaps in the vain hope that it would give this place some life again. Selene was laughing and smiling the whole time as she twirled in circles in the downpour with her arms raised to the sky. I was watching her the whole time, smiling like some sort of fool. After a while, she dragged me outside with her and made me dance as well. I ended up having just as much fun as she was, even though I was getting soaked. I don't think either of us really cared about that, though. But then the absolute craziest shit happened._

 _In the middle of all this, while we were still standing in the rain like idiots, she grabbed my right forearm in her left hand, dragged me forward and just… kissed me. I- I think I kissed her back. I don't know. I just- I don't even know. As cliché as it all sounds and therefore how trite it may seem to anyone else, that's what happened, and I have no idea what to do about it. I'm so confused right now. I don't know what to do. I'm so confused… I just… I don't even know anymore…_

 _ **298.** -Something occurred to me this morning for the first time in quite a while. If the Syxans learn about Astral Babylon, we may very well be screwed._

Immediately, both Sonic and Amy were frowning at the page. The very same question that was running through Sonic's mind also seemed to be in Amy's. _Did Jet have Astral Babylon with him?_ Sonic added that to his mental list of things to talk to with his estranged friend about later, then simply resumed reading.

 _ **302.** -We've agreed to basically… pretend the kiss in the rain never happened. In spite of that, I still get kind of… awkward when I get near her. I don't like that. Feeling like this is awful. I hate it._

 _ **303.** -Ross and I talked again in the dead of night last night. I was in the library, so I didn't have to worry about being quiet, and we were able to talk longer than before. Things were… awkward and whatnot as hell, again, but he answered the call really quickly and he actually  listened to everything I had to say. I don't think he's done that since I was like… six._

 _I was sort of pacing the whole time we were talking, and I guess some of my anxiety or whatever must have crept into my voice, because he ended up asking me what was wrong. Eventually, I caved and vaguely mentioned that something sort of personal had happened with me and a friend. I was talking about the rain incident, but he doesn't need to know that. He seemed to sort of… respect that I wanted to keep it private, but he still gave me the best advice he seemed capable of give me in that situation. It was actually… kind of helpful._

 _I have no idea why I called him once, let alone twice, nor do I have any clue as to why I keep divulging so much information to him. I guess it's just because I've been feeling so… I don't know… disconnected with that world and he's there, all the time... Maybe that's why. I don't know._

 _I'd rather talk to Sonic. I wish I could. He's my best friend, after all, and I miss him and all the others something terrible… I tried calling him, but, surprise surprise... the call never went through. ...I don't think I'm going to try again after tonight. I'm just setting myself up for despair or whatever in doing that. Maybe if I ever manage to get home someday I can track him down or at least call him, but until then… Until then, Ross will likely remain the only connection I've got with that world. For better or for worse._

This made Sonic slowly frown. How had Jet gone from wanting so badly to talk to him to wanting _nothing_ more than to talk with anyone? _And will he even explain it to me if I ask?_ Sighing, he allowed his eyes to refocus on the page before him.

 _ **306.** -I found a knife embedded in my bedroom door this morning. Naturally my reaction was something along the lines of "What the f-?" I asked around a bit, but no one had heard anything last night. No one had any idea who had stabbed my door or why. Someone insinuated that I should be scared, but I'm more pissed than anything._

 _-To be on the safe side, Selene took the knife and broke it._

 _[There is a drawing of the knife from before it was broken. It has an ornate handle and a symbol engraved on the side of the blade itself.]_

 _ **315.** -I'm used to constantly having cameras trained on me. People are always watching… and I can never afford even a single mistake._

316\. -Selene pulled her hair back again today. I told her it looked nice. I could be wrong, but it sort of looked like she… blushed a little. I had to look away when she smiled. I don't even want to think about why.

 _ **317.** -Celebrated Ten's birthday today. He wouldn't stop smiling the whole day. He adores the fat stuffed elephant Selene got him. He wouldn't stop hugging it. It was pretty damn adorable. Arthr got him a kid-sized xylophone, and he seems to like it. Kath got him a little telescope, since the kid loves to look at the stars with me. That's probably something Ten can make use of when he's a bit older. Tammy got him a little RC car that she built herself. He kept playing with it, right up until he got the elephant. I got him an art bag of sorts (which basically has a bunch crayons, markers, finger paints, and so on that I've been collecting for him), and he seemed a bit intrigued by it. I'm going to try to see if he'll use anything from it tomorrow. He likes to doodle and color, so he might use them. We'll see._

 _-He literally just passed out in my arms. I've been holding him in my left arm for the past ten minutes as I've been writing and whatnot, and he just completely passed out, still hugging that elephant. I should put him to bed, but I think I'll just sit here with him for a little while longer. It's not like I get to spend time like this with him most of the time, after all._

Amy smiled widely. "That's so sweet," she commented.

"Yeah, it is," Sonic remarked, completely agreeing in spite of his earlier... why even was it? Sadness? Regret? Disappointment? Whatever it was. All conversation fell away again after that, and he once again resumed reading.

 _ **330.** -This is so stupid, but I'll be completely honest about this. Just this once. I was thinking about Wave a bit today._

 _I miss our conversations. I miss how we used to talk every day about anything at all. I miss how she made me feel like I could tell her anything that was on my mind, even if I didn't always do it. But… I don't miss the yelling. I don't miss the pain. I don't miss the nights I spent alone on the sidewalk because I didn't want to go home and get into another argument. I don't miss that at all._

 _ **332.** -Arthr asked me about my dreams and we talked, kind of akin to the conversation we had when we were six (because, yes, I still remember that somehow). When he expressed a bit of concern over the dangerous nature of my thief dream (not really sure how to word that better… I'm too damn tired), I gave him a simple response that may be one of the most genuine things I've ever said. "When I made the decision to follow my dream… at that point, I had already discarded my life."_

 _ **334.** -Twice now, Kath has asked me, "Do you have something to protect?" The first time, I answered no. He mentioned how I was fighting this war, and I responded, "I don't do it because I want to protect anyone." In a way, I suppose I simply did it because I want to live. Now, however, the situation is different. Kath, Tammy, Selene, Arthr… They're all my friends. There were more, but I've already lost them. These four are still here. They're still fighting. And… I'll gladly protect people like these._

 _-I suppose Jade is almost a friend of mine, too, but I barely know her, really. Maybe I should make more of an effort to get to know her at some point or another._

 _ **338.** -I spend nights following defeats all alone. Even my victories I celebrate in solitude. I can't pretend my cheerless life is all that rough all the time, but there's still something missing. There's something I want, a dream I have but may never fulfill. Happiness may never be mine to keep. Death may come before the end of the struggle I'm facing, but for now I'll keep living. It's all for the memories, the few that are warm and bright. Those make this existence worth it._

 _ **343.** -Music may connect us all, but we remain alone. Intimacy is a lie we all believe. There are times when we only have ourselves._

 _ **348.** -Sometimes we need someone to simply be there. Not to fix anything or to do anything in particular, but to just let us feel that we're cared for and supported. Selene ended up being that person for me today. It wasn't the first time… and I always appreciate it._

 _ **350.** -She's clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future. She smiles even when she's sad, tries to ease the pain of others even when she herself is hurting, and never stops fighting, no matter the odds she is facing. She's so beautiful… and I'm terrified to love her._

 _ **353.** -Our days on this world are like a shadow. Fleeting and easily destroyed._

 _[There is a dark and heavily detailed drawing of a campfire casting large shadows on a cave wall.]_

 _ **355.** -For some reason, I just remembered something Grandmother told me once. "Stars lie hidden in your soul… Always look to them when you need guidance. The cosmos are your timeless ally." I don't know why I remembered that just now._

 _ **366.** -You have all these notions about what life  could be… But eventually, you have to let all of that go._

 _ **369.** -Our names won't be remembered if we die like trampled flowers. I refuse to be forgotten, written off as less than worthless._

 _ **371.** -"Channel the anger swelling inside you,  
_ _fighting the boundary until you break through.  
_ _Deep in your soul there's no hesitation,  
_ _so make yourself the one they all fear._

 _There is a wild fire inside you,  
_ _burning desire you can't extinguish.  
_ _Your crimson arrow rips through the twilight.  
_ _This is the moment for war."_

 _This is a snippet of a song or something that was haunting my dreams last night. I mentioned the first two lines to Kath, and he said that that may be the key to controlling certain elements that I've previously only messed with unconsciously (save for one time). It makes sense. It explains how I was able to consciously control those solar flares while in space that one time._

Again, Sonic frowned. _So... Anger is the key, huh, Jet?_ Of course, Jet wasn't there to provide an answer. Yet another thing to add to Sonic's growing mental list. Anyway... back to reading.

 _ **376.** -Joy is an illusion of chemicals._

 _ **381.** -"Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything." Grandmother told me this last night. I don't know exactly what she meant, but I have a suspicion. The true storm._

 _ **383.** -Truth is Immortal._

Not long after reading this entry, Sonic found a section where there were a _lot_ of pages missing. According to the beginning of the very next entry he saw, someone other than Jet was responsible for the missing pages. Blinking, Sonic scanned for new entries to read that might be of interest, settled on some, and read them aloud.

 _ **726.** -Sometimes it feels like nothing matters to me anymore. Sometimes it feels like everything does. I don't know which is worse._

 _ **727.** -When you can breathe underwater, people trying to drown you doesn't exactly work very well. It's more of a nuisance than it is a traumatizing experience._

 _ **728.** -I found a journal (is it a journal?) today that had the title "Graevwynd" engraved in the cover. Inside was the writing of someone named Zelvara. Whoever this person was, they were alive a long time ago… and they knew Kath. One entry of particular interest (to me, at least) that talks about Kath doesn't directly mention him. It reads: "The things he understands are like nothing we can ever hope to comprehend. He lays them out in simple terms but, in reality, there's nothing simple about them._

 _He may be just a boy now, but he is suffering. It pains me to see a child so desperate to escape… everything. It is almost impossible to save the life of someone who does not want to be saved. He has been looking for a way out for a very long time. There is no proof of this in my mind, only suspicion, but whenever I am reminded of this matter, I recall the words of my own teacher, the man many knew as Vish na'kal. He told me, "Even in your dying days, remember… even myths leave bones." In every rumor, there is an ounce of truth somewhere. In this particular situation, that worries me greatly."_

 _This entry, among others, left me with so many questions. A few of the biggest questions I have are who Zelvara and this "Vish na'kal" person were, why in the hell I found my name in this book, why the realm Lost Hex is mentioned here, and if the Han mentioned in this book is the same Han that I know of. This is all… troubling, to say the least._

There was next to nothing to say about this, but Amy found some words to share, anyway. "Isn't... Isn't Han the name of Wave's dad?"

The memory of the story Wave had once told Sonic, about how she'd chosen (for reasons she never shared) to leave her happy life with her parents to join Sonic and Jet on their adventures, entered Sonic's mind. Storm, who was her friend and who had been living in the woods near her home, had gone with her. Why each chose to give up their lives for such a thing, and Sonic had never asked. Wave had, however, shared the names of her parents. Han and Mara. But surely the Han that Jet read about wasn't the same, right? "Um, yeah. Yeah, it is." Silence followed, so he resumed reading.

 _ **740.** -Finally met Nyxar, leader of the Syxans. The encounter didn't go well… for me. He beat the living shit out of me. Damn near made me have flashbacks of a time I'd rather not talk about. I'm pretty sure he broke a few of my bones. At least I can still write. With any luck, by tomorrow, I'll be well rested enough to teleport back home. We'll see._

 _ **741.** -My seemingly imminent death has once again got me thinking. When you're young, you spend all this time wondering, "Who am I going to be in this life?" And then for years after that you spend your time shouting defiantly at the world, "This is who I am! Take it or leave it!" But now I'm wondering… when I'm dead and gone…  Who will they say I was?_

 _ **747.** -I've been really tired lately. I feel unmotivated and my willpower to do anything is sorely lacking. That's a bad sign. I think the depression is rearing its ugly head again. I hope the symptoms remain minor._

 _-I went through a bunch of very old books in one of the smaller libraries. These books were all ones that came from the original Planet Babylon. I wish more of them could have survived, but some is most definitely better than none in this case. Anyway, I found a collection of about ten thick journals. It turns out that they were Kath's. They're all written in, too, from cover to cover._

 _-I just finished speaking with Kath about the journals. He said I'm free to read them if I'd like. I just might._

 _ **748.** -Grandmother warned me in a dream again last night to "Beware the darkness." All these years, and I still don't know what she means by that._

 _ **755.** -I had a really, really bad nightmare last night. I can't remember specifically what it was about, but I woke up on the verge of screaming. I'm still shivering and having chills, and I woke up over an hour ago._

 _ **758.** -Arthr finally declared me fully fluent in Modern Babylonian. Not two minutes later, the peacefulness of the morning was killed by a surprise attack. A few soldiers I didn't know were killed. I wish I could have saved them._

 _-It's late. Very late. I should be resting. But I'm laying here now… and I'm afraid to fall asleep._

 _ **760.** -I made a stupid mistake. My wrist burns. I swore I'd never do that again, but so much for promises. Hell, I also promised Sonic more than two decades ago that I wouldn't be gone for longer than a few months. Like I said, so much for promises._

 _ **775.** -I wanted to talk to Kath, but it turns out that he's asleep right now. He seldom ever needs to sleep, so I left him alone. I'm reading one of his journals again. It turns out that he was beat up a lot as a kid, too, only it was by his grandfather instead of his father. Based on what I've read so far, it seems like he had it way worse than I did. He never mentioned in here (that I've seen so far, anyway) if it ever stopped before he grew up. I guess it doesn't matter anymore._

 _ **797.** -I woke up a few minutes ago. Selene and I are taking shelter in a cave, and I apparently fell asleep. My head was on her lap when I woke up. She'd covered me with a blanket and was staying awake to keep watch. It's morning now, and she left for a minute to get some firewood. I was just trying not to blush. But, unfortunately, I think I lost the battle, if her damn knowing smile was anything to go by._

 _-She just came back and kissed me on the cheek as she walked by. I swear my heart missed a beat. Or six._

 _ **813.** –It's been a few years since the end of the war. A lot of the damage done to the cities has been repaired. Babylon is doing better. But… no one ever told me that grief felt like fear._

 _-Someone was talking to me today. He was an old, calm, and serious man about Kath's age, maybe older. His name is Aphearus. We ended up discussing the war (unfortunately), and I mentioned something about grief. The specifics of what I said are irrelevant. What's important was his reply._

 _"So grief isn't what you thought it would be, but it's yours to deal with however you can." He turned to leave and raised a hand in farewell as he called back over his shoulder to me, "Take care, Jet."_

 _I don't know what I should feel about what he said, but… it's really left me thinking._

 _[There is a detailed drawing of a large white wolf.]_

Sonic wasn't sure what to say about this, but the words Jet had recorded in that entry had left him thinking, too. Amy as well, judging by her expression. But... he didn't have time to dwell on it for long. He soon resumed reading.

 _ **819.** -I started recording some of my music. I'm keeping it all on my laptop (the one Sonic made for me when we were fourteen), so hopefully no one can get into it._

 _ **828.** -I rediscovered my bashosen today. I found them in Gigan Temple on Mobius ages ago, sometime before all that shit with the beast Chaos started up. They were ancient then, so they sure as hell are now. I don't think I'll use them in combat, just in case they can't handle it._

 _ **831.** -Turns out, not every Babylonian is born with aura powers (though the vast majority of us are). Guess this explains why Storm could never even so much as sense an aura. Wave, however… she could. Maybe she has these powers, too._

 _ **833.** -It's the eleven-year anniversary of the war today. People are celebrating, but I don't see what there is to be so happy about._

 _ **834.** -I had a chance to go back to Mobius today, but I didn't have the time to try to get ahold of Sonic and the others, let alone try to see them in person. It's been fifty-four years since I last saw any of them. Some of them could be dead for all I know._

 _Maybe next time I go there (if there ever even is a "next time") I can make time for a visit. But I wouldn't hold my breath._

 _ **844.** -Lucas was kidnapped… Jade and I are terrified. I can't sleep. I can't even sit down half the time. I've barely ever experienced this kind of fear before._

 _ **845.** -We found Lucas. He's okay. The poor kid is terrified still, but he's okay. I nearly cried when we found him._

 _ **846.** -Kath said something truly beautiful today. "I like to think of the entire universe as one vast symphony. And every moment… every breath… every single, tiny essence in existence… is just one note in that vast symphony."_

 _It's amazing to think of it that way._

 _ **847.** -If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough._

 _ **856.** -"Life is a big canvas. Throw all the paint on it you can." I told that to the kids today. In response, they did something actually pretty beautiful. They found a huge canvas in the art room and worked together to paint a large picture. It was a very literal interpretation of what I had said, but the end result was still more than worth seeing._

 _ **857.** -It's official. I now have not one, but  two young pranksters on my hands. Ten and pranks has been an ongoing problem for years now, but now Lucas is picking up on it as well. They exploded some sort of food bomb in the kitchen today. It took me over an hour to clean it up._

 _God, I hope Hannah never follows in their footsteps. At least not in that area._

 _ **864.** -Turns out, forensics is a breeze. I helped out the Babylonian equivalent of a CSI team solve a case today, one that most of the team thought would go cold and never be solved. It was weirdly easy._

 _ **867.** -I'm on medication for depression again. I hate the fact that it comes back so randomly. There are these cycles that I can't seem to stop going through. I'll be fine, then less fine, then depressed, then less depressed, then fine again (for lack of a batter way to explain it). It's horrible._

 _Everything else is so happy right now… Why can't I be, too? Why is that so damn much to ask?_

 _ **880.** -If you ever want to die, fall in love and you'll be killed._

 _ **882.** -I climbed the world's tallest mountain by foot today. I didn't fly, didn't teleport. I walked. I stand up here now to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way._

 _ **885.** -Hannah's really sick. Her fever won't go down. I took her to the medical ward this morning. They don't know what illness she has. I'm really scared. So are the boys. I don't know where Jade is._

 _ **886.** -On top of everything else going on right now, the Therians broke diplomacy yet again and attacked. We may be on the brink of war. Damn them.  Damn them._

 _[There is a drawing of the Therian homeworld, a planet known as Therius.]_

 _ **887.** -That's one of the remarkable things about life. It's never so bad that it can't get worse._

 _ **889.** -Arthr and I hung out for the first time in a while. It was fun._

 _-Kath and I did a lot of reading together. He introduced me to the Thread Theory, the theory that explains precisely how all the timelines (a.k.a. "worlds" or "dimensions") are connected, thus allowing us to travel between them through the use of portals. Turns out, he created the theory himself when he was twenty. It took him two years, though it would have taken less time had he not been preoccupied by running the New Kingdom of Babylon (as it was called at the time), which is now my kingdom._

 _This theory is incredible._

 _ **891.** \- The first time you smiled, Suri, the world became a more beautiful place._

 _ **906.** -The divorce was finalized. I feel like some sort of pressure has been lifted off my chest. For the first time in far too long, it's like I can actually breathe._

 _ **912.** -I'm thinking that maybe I should start to be concerned. I'm on the verge of having two teenagers in my household. I have one already (Ten), but he's not much of a concern (usually). Lucas, however, is. He has my old attitude and temper, which doesn't bode well… for everyone else. Meanwhile, Hannah ended up being an absolute sweetheart. I'm not sure how that happened, considering who her freaking parents are, but I'm not really complaining._

 _She reminds me of Cream._

 _ **913.** -War is brewing. We can all feel it. Something dark is rising, and there's nothing we can do to prevent it. All we can do is fight it, whatever it is, whenever it decides to show its face to the universe once again._

 _This isn't the first time this force has come into being. And it may never be the last._

 _ **914.** -I didn't mention it before, but I've had to use Astral Babylon twice since the end of the war, plus once to get me to Babylon initially. That makes four uses in total, counting the first time I ever used it. I fear that that number may be bolstered to five. The evil that is coming is dark, and it is terrible. I may have no choice but to use that ship to help combat it. I just hope it doesn't come to that._

 _ **916.** - [Entry is smudged and rendered illegible.]_

 _-"It was like a nightmare that could make you scream,  
_ _'Cause nobody wants to die too fast.  
_ _That wretched day of grief is so strange to me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _Remembering the day we met rips my heart in half,  
_ _'Cause no one should have to die that fast.  
_ _And now the day we dreamed is just pain for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _Day by day, we're losing our edge.  
_ _Don't you know? Forgotten is the life we led.  
_ _Now it seems, you don't know what's at risk.  
_ _The peaceful times have made you blind.  
_

 _Don't look back, 'cause they're not coming back.  
_ _Don't show fear, each time after time,  
_ _But once again, I'm hiding in my room.  
_ _The peaceful times have made me blind._

 _"So you can't fly if you never try,"  
_ _You told me, so long ago.  
_ _But you left the wall, outside the gate,  
_ _So more than ever it's real…_

 _It was like a nightmare that could make you scream,  
_ _'Cause nobody wants to die too fast.  
_ _That wretched day of grief is so strange for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _Remembering the day we met rips my heart in half,  
_ _'Cause no one should have to die that fast.  
_ _And now the day we dreamed is just pain for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _I sing for the reluctant heroes, who give me their strength,  
_ _Though life is so short.  
_ _Sing out for the reluctant heroes,  
_ _I wanna be brave like you._

 _"So you can't fly if you never try,"  
_ _You told me, so long ago.  
_ _But you left the wall, outside the gate,  
_ _So more than ever it's real…_

 _They came in like a nightmare that could make you scream,  
_ _'Cause nobody wants to die too fast.  
_ _That wretched day of grief is so strange for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _Remembering the day we met rips my heart in half,  
_ _'Cause no one should have to die that fast.  
_ _And now the day we dreamed is just pain for me.  
_ _I could see your face; I could see your voice._

 _I sing for the reluctant heroes…  
_ _I wanna be brave like you…"_

 _This is a song I wrote ages ago, sometime not too long after Selene's death. I recorded it with piano years later. I can't stop remembering it. I don't know if that's a bad thing or not at this point. Time will tell, though. It always does._

 _ **919.** -Hannah and Lucas were at each other's throats all morning while everyone was packing. The stress of everything that's going on is likely to blame for it, but it's still driving me nuts. It really doesn't help that Suri was crying constantly as well. I've got such a headache right now. Too bad the day has only just begun._

 _-We were attacked. Unfortunately, I ended up being separated from everyone else (the kids included) at one point, and my main opponent was a powerful psychic-user. Needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot I could do against their attacks (which hurt like shit, I might add). I perished briefly. That makes the twenty-sixth time._

 _-Suri got my camera out of my backpack while we were stopped for lunch. I let her play with it for a while, and she ended up snapping a photograph of herself. She looked shocked. Silver laughed when he saw that. Honestly, I nearly did as well._

 _Tails called me "Sensei" when he was talking to me not long after Suri took that photo. It's hard to believe that I was, at one time, used to him doing that. It will be a long while before I ever end up being so again._

 _He asked me some questions, but wasn't pushy about it. I still would have preferred to not be questioned in the first place, but at least he wasn't demanding answers from me. I suppose I appreciate that._

 _-Wave keeps watching me. Part of me thinks that I should try to talk to her about something, anything, but part of me thinks that I should just leave it and her be and just not say a thing. The latter option is by far the easiest to follow through with, but… I have to acknowledge the fact that the easiest option is by no means always the right one._

 _-Apparently Knuckles had to try his hand at questioning me as well. He, like Tails, was less annoying about it than the others, but I didn't like being practically interrogated. I didn't answer any of his questions. Discussing things that no longer matter is an utter waste of breath, and of valuable time._

 _-Hannah's been experimenting with her powers today. She was so proud of herself when she managed to control her wind powers well enough to control where a leaf floated. It was so sweet._

 _ **920.** -Suri is starting to randomly teleport. She somehow went as far as Shamar about ten minutes ago (it's about 1:30 right now). Thankfully, she landed on a sand dune and was fine, but Shamar is way out west. We're in the east, relatively near the mountains where Chun-nan rests. It's amazing that she can go that far already. Still, it's a hazard and has me worried. What if she teleports when we're all sleeping?_

 _-Tammy teleported here to Mobius on accident with her newest invention, a portable teleporter with enough power to, obviously, send people from one planet to another (even when said planets are millions and millions of miles apart). I don't think she'd ever been to this world before. Anyway, she appeared with no warning and nearly landed on Lucas and I. Of course, even once they realized I knew her, Knuckles and the others quickly began questioning about her. She introduced herself, saving me the trouble, and is so far getting along with everyone just fine._

 _She offered to stay and help for a while once she learned about the situation, and no one tried to say no. Shadow seemed a bit suspicious still, but that's just his nature from what I've gathered over the years. Everyone else seems fine that she's sticking with us, and Hannah is delighted to see another familiar face. Suri's just happy in general (like always) and Lucas, as per usual, doesn't seem to give much of a shit (a lot like I would have been, assuming I was in his position at his age). I guess I'm kind of happy she's here, too, since she's a good friend and all, but it's hard to feel very positive in any way during a war, even when said war hasn't completely begun yet._

 _-Suri randomly teleported again, this time straight to Wave. Wave caught her, thankfully, but that meant I had to approach her to get Suri back. We didn't converse (though she did mumble something), but it was still awkward as all hell. At this point, I will fully admit (though not aloud) that I am avoiding her. I don't want to deal with it._

Sonic turned his head to gauge Amy's reaction about all of this, only to find that she had fallen asleep. Smiling a bit, he closed the journal and set it aside. Settling back against the wall, he closed his eyes.

 **~台風の目~**

 **12,308 words this time. Of course, Here are the necessary citations from the journal entries.**

 **Entries 63, 65, and 104: These are quotes not made by me, but I don't know who said them. I found them on Google, or possibly Google Images, sometime last year.**

 **Entry 75: "True power is in the heart of the user" is a quote (maybe not word for word) from the Sonic franchise. I think I heard it in Sonic X at some point.**

 **Entry 108: "Don't underestimate me. I know more than I say, think more than I speak, and notice more than you realize." Another quote that isn't mine. I don't know the origins of this one, either.**

 **Entry 110: The entirety of this entry is a quote (maybe a reworded one) from Final Fantasy X-2 or a game very close to that one in the series.**

 **Entry 111: The entirety or close to the entirety of this entry is a quote (maybe a reworded one) that I found on DeviantArt once. It comes form an anime, but I don't remember the name of it at all.**

 **Entry 113: "Writing is a struggle against silence." I'm almost certain this quote is by Carlos Fuentes.**

 **Entry 120: "Lead and they will follow you". I added the word "always" to this quote, but otherwise this is the precise line from the song "Once In Every Lifetime" by Jem. The song comes from the movie "Eragon".**

 **Entry 332: "When I made the decision to follow my dream… at that point, I had already discarded my life." This is a quote (maybe an altered one) from the anime One Piece. It was spoken by character Roronoa Zoro.**

 **Entry 334: This is a quote from "Inuyasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler". It was spoken by an unnamed character, the father of characters Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. Many refer to him as "Inu no Taisho".**

 **Entry 338: Much of this is comprised of edited lyrics from a song from the 3DS game "Fantasy Life". It's the champion (or something) song for the mercenary character.**

 **Entry 343: "Intimacy is a lie we all believe." This a quote I saw in something I only know of "Behind the GIF", which is a series of comics.**

 **Entry 348: "Sometimes we need someone to simply be there. Not to fix anything or to do anything in particular, but to just let us feel that we're cared for and supported." I saw this quote on Google Images and don't know who said/wrote it.**

 **Entry 350: "She's clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future." I don't remember where I saw this quote, and I don't know who said/wrote it.**

 **Entry 353: "Our days on this world are like a shadow." Someone I knew in high school once said this. I don't know if he made this up or if he was quoting someone else.**

 **Entry 355: "Stars lie hidden in your soul." Again, don't know where I saw this or who it belongs to. I found many of these quotes ages ago, so...**

 **Entry 366: "You have all these notions about what life could be… But eventually, you have to let all of that go." This was a quote in a trailer for some new show... I think it was called "Magic" or something like that. If nothing else, the show heavily _involved_ magic.**

 **Entries 369 and 371: Save for the end paragraph in 371, these are all lines from the English dub of the first opening to the anime "Attack on Titan" (in Japanese, "Shingeki no Kyojin").**

 **Entry 376: This line is also one I saw in "Behind the GIF".**

 **Entry 381: "Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything." I think this is an Einstein quote, but I could be wrong.**

 **Entry 383: Make the "I" in the word "Immortal" lowercase again, and you'll have the quote I used. I don't know who said/wrote it, just that I found it on Google ages ago.**

 **Entry 741: This snippet: " When you're young, you spend all this time wondering, "Who am I going to be in this life?" And then for years after that you spend your time shouting defiantly at the world, "This is who I am! Take it or leave it!" But now I'm wondering… when I'm dead and gone… Who will they say I was? " is most definitely borrowed from something... I just can't remember what.**

 **Entry 813: "So grief isn't what you thought it would be, but it's yours to deal with however you can." He turned to leave. "Take care, [name]." This snippet is from "Behind the GIF".**

 **Entry 846: "I like to think of the entire universe as one vast symphony. And every moment… every breath… every single, tiny essence in existence… is just one note in that vast symphony." This quote was actually said by my rock music teacher in college.**

 **Entry 847: I don't know where this quote came from or who said/wrote it.**

 **Entry 856: "Life is a big canvas. Throw all the paint on it you can." I don't know where this quote came from or who said/wrote it.**

 **Entry 880: This is a line from Coynar Maynard's (I may have misspelled the name) cover of Adele's song "Hello".**

 **Entry 882. "I stand up here now to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way." This is a quote from the movie "Dead Poets Society".**

 **Entry 887. "That's one of the remarkable things about life. It's never so bad that it can't get worse." This is a quote (maybe a reworded one) from the comic series, "Calvin and Hobbes".**

 **Entry 891. "The first time you smiled, the world became a more beautiful place." I found this quote on Google Images and don't know who said/wrote it.**

 **Entry 916: The lines there are from the slow version cover of the English version of the opening to anime "Attack On Titan" (in Japanese, Shingeki no Kyojin). It was performed by a YouTuber with the username "LovelyMusicAngel" and is readily available for a listen should any of you be interested. Also, yes, this is the same song that appeared a few chapters back when Jet was watching those videos on his camera.**

 **Here are some pronunciation aids:**

 _ **(I've listed a few of these before, but they're still here as reminders.)**_

 **Meyari: "Mae-yahr-ee"**

 **Luko: "Loo-koe"**

 **Syra: "See-r-uh"**

 **Kresztari: "Kress-z-tah-ree"**

 **Matrikal: "Mah-tree-call"**

 **Matrikali: "Mah-tree-kah-lee"**

 **Nyxar: "Nix-ahr"**

 **Arthr: "Arthur"**

 **Syxan: "Six-in"**

 **Therian: "There-ee-in"**

 **Syx: "Six"**

 **Turuk: "Too-rook"**

 **Graevwynd: "Grave-wind"**

 **Zelvara: "Zell-vah-ruh" (A quick note: This name is made up, but I took inspiration for the name from the name "Zavala". That name is from the game series, "Destiny".)**

 **Vish na'kal: "Vih-sh nah-call"**

 **Han: "Hah-n"**

 **Elso: "Ell-soe"**

 **Aphearus: "Uh-feer-uh-ss"**

 **Bashosen: "Bah-show-sen"**

 **Gigan: "Gee-gin"**

 **Sensei: "Sen-sae"**

 **Shamar: "Shuh-mah-r"**

 **Chun-nan: "Choon-nah-n"**

 **Sat'rekal: "Saht-reh-call" (Definition: a formal "Goodnight" in Ancient Babylonian)**

 **Final Note:**

 **I also used a prompt in that chapter "Second Chances", the one that focused on Jet. It was provided to me by StarryMoon33 and reads "United we hate and divided we stand." This is line in a song her father wrote or helped write. I forgot to include this citation before, so my apologies.**

 **Posted (at about 9:25 p.m.) 09-01-17.**


	54. Black Paper Moon

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: This chapter used to be the 59th chapter, I believe. I didn't do terribly much to this one, admittedly. All I did was remove scenes that didn't truly need to be here, as well as removed all mentions of Eri. All other scenes were necessary to varying degrees, whether it be for the sake of building up to bigger aspects of the plot, or even just briefly showing you all where some of the main characters are. And as for the warning below, I couldn't remember where in the heck the mention I described there is located within the chapter and I seem to have missed it even when reading the original version of the chapter, so… I just left the warning to be safe.**

 **WARNING:**

 **Remember the explanation at the beginning of this story that tells you guys specific reasons why this story has an M rating? Remember how one of the things I listed there was mentions of drinking? That comes into play here. No, I'm not showing anyone drinking, but it is mentioned in one small little paragraph. Just thought I'd warn you all.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Black Paper Moon"**

 **~台風の目~**

The continent of Artika was known on Mobius as "The Winterland". It was the northernmost continent in the world, entirely covered in snow and positively crawling with Nocturnians. Twinkle City was the latest place on the continent that had fallen under attack. Metal City, Rhombus (also a city), and Twinkle Amusement Park created a sort of triangle around Twinkle City, and they had all had fallen. There was so much smoke in the air that Kimmy and Lia could see it even from where they were miles and miles away in quiet, isolated Candlewick Village. The village was somewhat protected on either side by Mount Claggerhorn on the west and Mystery Lake on the east. They did nothing to fully safeguard the little village... but the special magic here did.

Peering out a window with wide eyes, three-year-old Kimmy's tail swayed slowly from side to side. She stood on a bed in a one-room home where she and her seven-year-old cousin were being allowed to stay. They had been teleported into this village nearly two hours ago, and a quiet old woman had allowed them into her home. Turning away from the window and the sight of Twinkle City's distant destruction, she plopped down on the bed she had been standing on. Lia sat by her side, ears low and practically sulking. The young hedgehog was very much like her father in that she didn't like asking for or accepting help, especially from total strangers. Little Kimmy, meanwhile, was far more concerned about how they were ever going to get home. She feared for their safety, she feared for the safety of their families, and she feared that they would never see those families ever again. Not after inexplicably vanishing off of the ship earlier. "How are we ever going to get home...?" she whispered to Lia.

"How should I know?" Lia whispered back. "It's not like this old lady is gonna help us!"

"It's not nice to call people old," Kimmy pouted at her cousin. "My mommy says it's rude."

"But she _is_ old!" Lia insisted in that special whisper-yell that only children could truly master.

" _Lia_!" Kimmy whisper-yelled back.

"But it's true!" Lia hissed.

"Now, girls," the old lady (a light brown cat in a white kimono) suddenly cut in from across the room where she was knelt of a small fire with a pot of some soup, "would either of you care to explain how you got here?" With her back to them, there was no telling what she was thinking or feeling, or even if she had heard the girls' whispered conversation mere seconds before.

Kimmy and Lia traded a look, then Kimmy blurted out, "The bad guys teleported us here."

"Kimmy!" Lia exclaimed. "Stop telling her stuff!" The kitten hadn't actually told the woman anything else yet, but her saying _anything_ went against that whole "don't talk to strangers" concept, Lia was sure. And, besides that, Lia harbored no sense of trust toward this woman. Everything on this continent felt dark somehow, and Lia didn't like it at all. There was a secret here. A deep one. It... _bothered_ her.

The woman gave no signs of having heard Lia. "'The bad guys'? So you children have been in contact with the Nocturne Clan, then?"

Again, Kimmy offered up information without any hesitation. "Uh-huh," she nodded. "We've been fighting them. Well, my mommy and daddy and her daddy and a whole bunch of others have been."

The much older cat's head inclined. "I see," she murmured. Suddenly, the woman stood and turned to them, sandals softly scraping against the wooden floor. "You girls possess within you power ancient beyond mortal comprehension. There is a garden in this land, a place deeply connected to your inheritance. It may be in your best interest to pay the garden a visit."

Amber and ruby eyes traded a look, then Lia leveled the old woman with a deeply suspicious look. In a very Shadow-esque way, she demanded slowly, "...What, _exactly_ , are you talking about?"

Slowly, the woman offered a small smile.

 **~台風の目~**

Cream and Charmy landed together in, of all things, a field of flowers sometime after vanished off of the Blue Typhoon. Cheese plopped down unceremoniously in Cream's lap. For several moments, Cream lay in the same position she'd landed in, on her back with her limbs and ears somewhat spread. By her side, Charmy lay on his stomach with his arms up by his head. A small groan alerted her to the fact that he hadn't been knocked out or anything. "Ow..." Charmy muttered, pushing himself with an arm and rolling onto his back.

Pulling her gaze from the strangely peaceful blue sky, Cream turned her head and looked at her friend. "Are you okay, Charmy?"

A sigh. "Yeah, I'm okay. You?"

"Yes, I'm alright." Leaning up a bit, Cream looked at Cheese. The Chao was still laying in her lap. "What about you, Cheese?"

"Chao Chao..." Cheese responded, rubbing at his little head with even littler hands.

 _Good... We're all okay._ Sighing softly in relief, Cream sat up and looked around. Charmy soon followed suit, and the two of them locked gazes for a moment before turning their heads in separate directions. The very same question that Cream was plagued with seemed to be on his mind, to. _Where are we?_ The place looked immensely familiar to all three of them. It was a place they all knew well, especially Cream and Cheese. Surely this was the Hidden Meadows, the meadows from which Cheese had come from near Cream's home, as it appeared to be. But, if that was the case, then why did it not _feel_ right? Everything she saw indicated that this was the very place where she and Cheese had first met. So why were her senses screaming at her that this was not at all that place?

She was feeling dreamy. Sleepy, almost. Abnormally peaceful. A couple quick glances to her companions showed that they were feeling the very same way. It was so strange, but Cream suddenly lacked the will to do anything about it. Laying back down, she gazed into the sky once more, eyes following the slowly drifting clouds. In those clouds, she saw the vague shapes of all kinds of things, some familiar and some not. They entertained her, fueled her odd dreamy state. It was in that moment that, for the first time in a full century, she had a vision. In that vision, she saw faces as vague as could be and heard the names of people she knew for a fact she had never met. Ethan, Skylar, Tris, Kan, Mei, Natallie, Emi, Kaia, Grey, Kohaku, Ava, Alex, Alec, Will, Zeryn, Meredith, Joey, Sam, Sarah, Tsuki, Trekk, Soren, and Cadora. Immediately following this strange vision, she had another premonition of sorts that made her eyes widen. She felt her body freeze as realization hit. _We're in another realm._

 **~台風の目~**

As many on his homeworld knew, this wasn't the first war Ten had been involved in during his young life. As a baby, he had been involved in the Syxan War on New Babylon. His parents had been killed in that war, no one knew where or how or even exactly when, and he had been orphaned. Jet had found him who knew how long afterward wandering a battlefield. In many ways, Ten had been deeply involved in that war ever since, in spite of all of Jet's attempts to keep Ten's involvement in the conflict as minimal as possible. Because of that, many Babylonians liked to whisper and snicker that Jet had "won the war with a child on his hip". By all technicality, while it wasn't literally true, it was close enough to the truth that people simply wouldn't let the matter go. Ten _had_ been involved in the war in a small way, and that would never change.

However, one had to remember that he had only been a baby then. He retained no real memories of the war or anything much in relation to it. He only knew what war was like due to accounts from others. Was he ready to _really_ participate in a war? Hell no. Was he ready to fight, to potentially take lives or possibly have his own stolen from him? Absolutely not. Was he ready to risk losing it all for the sake of _maybe_ one day winning everything back? Not a chance. Was he ready to put himself through all the pain and suffering and exhaustion and lord only knew what else that his adoptive father had gone through in order to win the Syxan War sixty years ago? No. Never. But was he willing to fight on, anyway?

Oh, yes. That he was.

Willing most certainly did not equal _prepared_ , however. He wasn't prepared for virtually anything that went along with being in a war, nor was he prepared for suddenly appearing just outside the ruins of his family's home sometimes-home in Green Forest after vanished off of the Blue Typhoon. Straight away, some of the training Jet and Kath had put him through kicked in and he scanned the area thoroughly with his senses to determine if there was danger. A chill ran up his spine when he realized that this area was now crawling with Nocturnians, as was nearby White Jungle. Swallowing hard, the young chocolate brown hawk sprinted for the ruined house and practically dove inside through the halfway unhinged front door. Immediately, he stopped moving. Inside his house was no Nocturnian... but instead a black and red hedgehog. Amber eyes met stormy grey, and immediately they knew. They were surrounded, and each one was the closest thing to an ally the other was gonna get.

 **~台風の目~**

 _Such a sweet little thing._

Dark eyes stared down at the tiny bundle of blue feathers held in equally dark arms. The baby and her sickeningly pure aura were wrapped up, quite fittingly, in a white blanket as soft to the touch as a cloud often looked to be. The baby slept. Too peacefully for Shade's personal liking, but she slept and that was all that mattered here. So long as the baby slept, it would be all too easy to manipulate her aura, hide it from the senses of others, fill it with more corruption than had already been forced into it. The Nocturne Clan had finally secured their one true Vessel of Darkness, and their future was more secure now than it had ever been. This baby, this tiny little waste of life, was the key to growing the Nocturne Clan's power infinitely.

Without this vessel, it would all be over. At least, a significant portion of the Clan's plans would be over. Ix would be furious too, of course. Shade didn't doubt that she could utterly _destroy_ her leader should he ever honestly threaten her life, but for now she remained loyal. She was cold, calculating, violent, dark, and malevolent, along with other things, but she was still loyal. Loyalty prevented her from doing anything harmful toward her leader, but that was irrelevant now. Losing this baby would incite the man's wrath, yes, but that just meant that she had all the more reason to not lose the child.

Besides, she had in her arms the youngest child of the Babylonian king. She had leverage. She had a means to make him and his other children _suffer_. Inflicting pain and suffering in its severest form was something she _loved_ , and she could honestly say that she loved very little. Most everything, she loathed. Deeply _detested_ , in fact. Embracing that inherent malevolence she possessed within her... Well, how could she ever hate that? Laughing suddenly without fear of waking the baby (she'd cast a spell that kept the pathetic thing deeply asleep), Shade turned and walked deeper into the ship upon which she was boarded with Ix and numerous other Nocturnians. Surrounding this ship were thousands of others. Their destination:

Therius.

 **~台風の目~**

Kaden awoke cold and afflicted with a throbbing pain in his head. Headaches. God, they were terrible. Cursing internally, mostly because he hated pain and he hated being cold, he slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and opened his eyes. His vision, he found, was surprisingly blurry, but he was still able to see all the white around him. Only then did he realize that his fur was wet and clumped together in some places. So, he'd fallen into a bunch of snow. That explained the cold, not the headache. Blinking several times, he tried to clear his vision, but this didn't yield very many results. Almost instinctively, he shifted his weight to his left and reached his right hand up to touch the side of his head. His hand came back wet... and warm. Blood, then. Not good.

Clearly, he'd hit his head, quite possibly on a rock when he'd fallen here after being teleported off of the Blue Typhoon. But... surely his reflexes would have allowed him to save himself from landing so badly, right? Given that, all evidence indicated that he'd somehow been unconscious already by the time he'd hit the ground, or perhaps very nearly. However, that did nothing to explain to him how or why this was potentially true. His eyes closed again briefly as he tried to recall specifically what had taken place before he'd ended up... wherever in the hell he was now.

He remembered... pain. Vaguely, he did recall a scuffle. Some Nocturnian (not Ix or Shade, he was sure) had attacked him, interrupting whoever or whatever had been teleporting him. If memory served, he'd been hit on the head during that scuffle, and after that he was fairly certain he'd reflexively teleported himself somewhere. The biggest remaining question in his mind was, where was " _here_ "? In an effort to find an answer to that, he again opened his eyes. His vision remained blurred, but he felt more coherent now. Coherent enough, at least, to realize that he was missing a glove. His right glove, specifically. Suddenly, he was glad that he couldn't very well see at the moment.

The black, backward crescent moon marking in the fur on the back of his right hand was a birthmark of sorts. Since the day of his birth, he had been marked. Marked as the prince of Mobius. From what he understood, the mark had been bestowed upon him through magic by one or both of his parents. Because it was given to him through magic, none of his descendants had this mark. He, however, did have the mark... and he was no longer sure how he felt about it. For the longest time, he had hated that mark and everything it meant. He had hated people in power, but not without reason. The six elders of Chun-nan were largely responsible for this, he suppose. They had beaten him, neglected him, abused him in ways that could damn-near be qualified as torture. They had been his sole experience with authority for too many years of his early childhood, and they had been among the absolute worst people had ever met.

But then... Then he reunited with Saran, a man he'd last seen when he'd been about two. At age six, he and Saran reunited, and he'd been reminded that not everyone with power succumbed to the wicked intentions it might tempt them to follow through with. At the time, he'd also reunited with Neferti, Saran's wife and a woman that was very much like her husband in that she had power and authority but wasn't wicked or evil in any way. Then at age ten he'd met Locke and, subsequently, Locke's tribe elder and somewhat distant cousin. That man's name was Linan, and he'd been so much like Saran. Kind. Wise. In power, but not corrupted. The same could also be said for Yan-Shu, the tribe healer and second-in-command in Locke's tribe and someone else Kaden had come to trust despite this person's position of authority. For so long, Kaden hadn't understood how any of them could be that way. It hadn't equated to what Kaden had understood at the time about people in power.

From age fourteen to twenty, though, he hadn't been around any of those wonderful people. Saran had died. Neferti had died. Locke had stopped coming around to Chun-nan, as had Linan and Yan-Shu. Again, Kaden had only been around the elders, and the good things he had become comfortable feeling about people in power had inevitably faded away. Time had passed, however, and Locke had returned. In a way, Linan and Yan-Shu had as well. He and Locke had met Analia sometime later. She had taken over Saran and Neferti's (mostly Neferti's) former role as the leader of the Tribe of the Moon. Kaden's former hope had begun to return. And yet... his hatred of authority and those with it had remained for a very, very long time.

It wasn't until Jet had reunited with him and everyone else that, in a way, Kaden had seen... himself. He had seen someone accustomed to pain and suffering, someone who knew what it was like to be the one suppressed and beaten down. He, like Kaden, _knew_ what wicked authority was and what it did to people. Instead of turning his back on his inheritance, his role as leader, as Kaden had done, Jet had embraced it as best as he could and done everything in his ability to not be the people he had learned to hate. Nowadays... Kaden was thinking that it was high time he personally did the same. This just wasn't quite the time to do that.

Reaching out almost blindly, Kaden located his glove and slipped it back on, heedless of the blood still on his palm and fingers. Then he stood, albeit unsteadily, and began to slowly walk. Before anything else could be done, he had to determine where he was.

 **~台風の目~**

The desolate land upon which Analia stood roared with dark power. Evil energies born of an untold number of years of corruption threatened to tear apart the planet from the inside out. Quite literally. The ground quaked. The sky shattered. Stars seemed to rain down from the heavens to punish this dead world. There was no life remaining. Not anymore. The name that this world had once been given was all but lost to the ruthless tides of time, for tide did not ebb and flow... and pushed ever on and on and on.

The corruption present here was so great that it had long since killed off anything and everything that had once had the misfortune to call this place "home". Even the rocks were melting. So intense was the wickedness of this energy that none other than she could ever stand here without succumbing to its influence and perishing... or becoming a being far worse than any in the Nocturne Clan. But that would be the case no longer. The Clan itself had doomed this world over a quarter of a million years ago, but she intended to purify this world and rid it of the dark forces their enemies had dragged here so many ages ago. She would put this poor lost soul of a planet to rest. Only by saving his world could she ensure that, at least here, another Nocturn Clan would never come to be.

Their dreams of a secure future would not come to be. Not here.

Raising her hands, she closed her eyes and focused all the Light and purity she housed within herself. All of her love and joy, her hopes and dreams, her faith and her trust, her friendships and her bonds with her family... Everything about her was poured out into the surrounding area and, bit by tiny bit, she felt a change. A Planet Egg once tainted with lies began to find its peace for the first time in over twenty seven thousand years ago. Innumerable lost souls were finally able to find their way from this realm to the next. Energies evil beyond words slowly started to give way to something... purer.

Analia had come to this section of space on a whim, hoping to find her partner or her children or anyone else that mattered to her. Instead, she had found this poor dead and further dying world. Though no one she was missing was here or had ever been here, she did not regret at all the fact that she had come here. Here, she had done some good yet still, and for that she was almost... thankful. After all... what was the purpose could the Light possibly serve if it was never given the opportunity to heal those the evil portions of the Darkness had hurt? What purpose did she had to exist if she did not heal and restore? They were important questions, surely. Important questions she simply did not have the time for.

As the world finally found its peace and faded away, the current living embodiment of the Light turned and flew away.

 **~台風の目~**

Bickering. Like children, even. It was all Knuckles and Silver ever seemed capable of doing when they were alone together, particularly when they were alone together and nowhere near anyone else. Case in point, the time at the beginning of the Dark Gaia mess when Silver, after barely having left his home timeline and entering this one, had laughed his ass off at Knuckles for supposedly going as red as a tomato in the face upon getting angry. _Not_ that Knuckles ever went red with anger. Ever. That would look stupid.

Still, there was no real way to adequately deny the fact that he and the young hedgehog bickered an almost odd amount, especially when one considered how few times the two of them were actually alone together like this. Like, legitimately alone. Silver joked that they bickered so much during these situations because, as he'd put it, "We have to make up for all the lost time, you know?" Of course, he'd been laughing as he'd said that. And, of course, Knuckles had disagreed with him. Granted, yes, he may have smirked a little, but not because he agreed. Silver had just been being Silver, and Knuckles had simply chosen to find it entertaining. That was all. It wasn't like he enjoyed their petty arguments. He wasn't a child like a certain silver-colored hedgehog he knew.

And yet, here he was, locked in an argument/debate with said hedgehog as they walked through some dark and isolated jungle in the dead of night on a planet who-really-knew-where. And what was that argument about? Of all the stupid things... colors. They were arguing about _colors_. Knuckles was honest-to-god pulling his own hair on the inside, screaming at himself _"WHY?!_ " as the argument dragged on and on and on. Why was he even participating in this? Why was he defending his responses like they actually mattered? Why was he thinking up his next comeback? Why, why, why, why, _why_ was he letting Silver use this topic of all the topics to tick him off? _God, there must be something wrong with me. Like, horribly, irreparably wrong. Clinically, even._

Something unexpected broke up the argument, sending Silver's words trailing off and making those pointy ears perk straight up. Violet eyes strained as those sensitive ears did their work. Up ahead, a small red shape. Coincidentally, one of the colors Knuckles and Silver had been arguing about mere seconds before. The identity of the child couldn't be mistaken for anyone else, and Knuckles felt this horrible, stabbing, unmanageable weight finally leave his chest, shoulders, and heart. It was Jason. He were safe, and his father had no qualms about throwing all notions of dignity aside in order to sprint straight toward the boy. He didn't even give a shit that he lost his hat somewhere along the way. Jason's grumbling sleep-talk cut off abruptly as his father dragged the boy into a tight hug.

In the background, Silver just smiled, expression half-genuine... and half-strained.

 **~台風の目~**

 _"We have nothing to fear but fear itself"_. That was a quote Blaze had often tried to believe in growing up, but Kaden had been quick to drive that belief out of her when he had begun properly training her. He had been firm in his teachings that it was unreasonable to try to tell oneself not to feel fear. Even he knew fear, and that was no laughing matter. There were so many things to fear in existence, and he had done everything in his power to teach her that it was okay to fear those things, even to hate those things, whatever they might be for her. Part of accepting fear, however, lay in understanding the fears one had. On that note, she had taken a risk one day and asked him to share his fears with her. After some time, he had obliged.

He feared the elders of Chun-nan because of the abuse and neglect they had put him through, because of what they had tried to force him to become.

He feared Kathros for once torturing him.

He feared muzzles and being muzzled as a result of some of the torture he had endured.

He feared water for how dark and cold it was, because of how utterly lifeless and trapped it made him feel when surrounded by it.

He feared spiders for a reason he had never been able to explain, even to himself.

He feared love and the loss of love because he couldn't stand the pain that came with either.

He feared having children because he had no idea how to raise them, because he never wanted them to hurt in the same ways he had been made to.

He feared his own power and all the things that came with it, all the negativity, all the raw energy, all the responsibility, the evil beings born of it... everything.

He feared the many things that were expected of him, the expectations he never felt capable of living up to.

He feared losing everything.

Touched by his offering, his willingness to share with her what he had shared so, so few people throughout the course of his very long life, Blaze had found within herself the courage to share her own fears and the reasons behind them, just as he had done before her.

She feared Iblis for everything it and Mephiles together had done to her world.

She feared losing Silver, for he was her closest friend and the only one she had had for so much of her life.

She, too, feared water, if only because it robbed her of her fire, her main means of defending those she cared for and the only remaining thing she had left of her parents.

She feared death because she feared missing out on all the beautiful things she knew life could offer.

She feared losing Kaden, in a way, as he was in many ways the closest thing she'd ever had to a parent or grandparent.

She feared seeing this world end as her own world once had.

She, too, feared losing everything she had and more.

Nowadays... she had one more fear to add to that list, a fear she had never once considered back then would ever come to be. Having never expected to be a parent, she had never once anticipated the fear of losing a child. But now... Now she was faced with that very real fear. She was a mother now, and little Kimmy was her baby. That baby was still so young, and she was now missing, as was Silver. Two fears were attacking her at once as she wandered through the snow, cold and alone, on a desolate world she didn't at all recognize. The two people she loved the very most were missing, quite possibly in immense danger, and she could do nothing to save or even just somewhat _help_ them. It tore her apart and, by the time she sensed her teacher and closest friend besides Silver in the distance, she was on the brink of tears. Wiping away those exceedingly rare droplets of emotion with the heel of her right palm, she ran to him without thinking. If anyone could help her now, surely it would be him.

 **~台風の目~**

Deserts were such harsh environments, to say the least. Most oftentimes, they were unbearably hot, arid, and dusty. Why Locke felt so comfortable working on archaeological digs in such environments was beyond Rouge's understanding, but that didn't mean she didn't see the appeal in the heat... at least sometimes, anyway. She longed for the heat, in a way (even though she would have hated it if she'd been experiencing it), if only because this desert was one of the rare few that was actually cold. There was even snow here, as weird as that was, which clued her in right away to the fact that they weren't on Mobius. Snowy deserts didn't exist there, anywhere. So this was another world, then, which was just _perfect_. ...Not that she had the time to gripe about that, even just internally. Besides, she supposed she should at least be grateful for the fact that she and her father-in-law had wound up in the same area. At least neither of them were alone.

As she flew across the mostly flat terrain through the rain (not snow, rain, which was yet another way that this place was strange in her opinion) toward Locke, the two of them suddenly found themselves besieged by enemy forces. Shots rained down at them from the cloudy heavens above, as plentiful as the innumerable droplets of rain that had long since soaked through their fur. The bitter cold was painful enough, but the searing lasers were worse. Way worse, in fact. Desperate for shelter, the two lost treasure hunters sought out a cave and dove inside. Out of sight, out of mind, and out of range their friends' trackers. Actually, she was pretty sure that they had been out of range of everyone else's communicators already, but even still. That did nothing to lessen the weight of the truth that they were alone. For better or for worse... they were alone.

Poking his head out of the cave and using one hand to hold his hat down on his head against the wind, Locke squinted out into the storm. Lightning flashed across the dark sky, and his usually happy violet eyes widened in shock and alarm. Within split seconds, he had withdrawn fully back into the cave... and he brought with him news that Rouge had never wished to hear. "It's the Nocturne Clan, there's no doubt about that... and they have ships."

Their once largely low-tech enemies had apparently upgraded.

 **~台風の目~**

 **5,301 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. A quick citation: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." No idea who this quote is by, but it sure ain't written by me. Posted (at about 12-22 p.m.) 09-02-17.**


	55. Vessel of Darkness

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: I deleted the original chapter 60 ("The Lost Hex), so that is no longer part of the story. These edits are for the chapter directly following that one, chapter 61. I messed with a lot of little things here and removed present-tense mentions of Selene (some mentions of her from the past were left as they were important), but it would take way too long to tell you guys _all_** **of what I did. Just know that everything left here was important in some way or another** _ **.**_

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Vessel of Darkness"**

 **~台風の目~**

It had been two days since the children and most of the others on the Blue Typhoon had disappeared, two days since Jet had directed Shadow and Tails to go to the meeting place of what Tammy had referred to only as, "The Watchers". The image of the place was still displayed in real time on one of Tails's screens in the control room and, in spite of the early hour, the young fox was awake and occupying himself with carefully looking over the marvel of technology. The massive sphere slowly very slowly rotated on an axis, just like any planet would, and the six rings surrounding it slowly turned as well. Untold thousands of individual lights shone like tiny stars from all over the sphere and rings, at odds with the sheer blackness of the space surrounding the place. It was all Tails could see right now, but it still utterly fascinated him, to say the very least about it. According to his computers, they were less than eight hours away, at this speed, and he couldn't wait for that time to pass. He couldn't wait to get there.

His companion, meanwhile... Well, Tails and everyone else had always known that the moody mixed-species hedgehog was, well, moody. _Happy_ was rarely an emotion one could associate with Shadow, unless he was with his daughter. But even then, it wasn't like the guy ever smiled. He certainly wasn't doing it now, and with good reason. The entirety of his family, save for Analia (who had, of course, left of her own accord) was currently missing. Also missing was the only real person that Shadow genuinely seemed to be genuine friends with. Namely, Espio. They were all gone, along with nearly everyone else. And, to top to off, he was stuck on the ship, unable to teleport far enough to get to Mobius or any other planet to aid in the search for the missing members of the group. He was stuck here, heading for a place he neither knew nor trusted, in spite of generally trusting Jet (regardless of the fact that the two seldom got along well).

Shadow was _not_ a happy camper, and Tails couldn't blame him.

 _Well... at least he's not doing anything to violently vent his discontent,_ the young fox mused as he chanced a brief glance at the dark hedgehog. Like Tails, Shadow had barely slept the night before. Unlike Tails, however, the hedgehog was rather used to sleepless nights, and always had been. Standing by one of the windows in the control room and staring intently out of it with his arms crossed, Shadow showed no true signs of needing rest. His crimson eyes were locked on nothing in particular out that window, and he appeared so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Tails's gaze. _How unlike him,_ Tails murmured in his mind. _If this isn't proof of worry, at least coming from him, nothing ever will be._

Not even a full minute later, Shadow shifted and turned to face him. Today, Shadow had donned a slightly different outfit than just the shoes he normally wore. He had opted to put on some black fingerless gloves of a similar style to Kaden's, and strapped to his right bicep was a small case with a few special, spherical capsules contained within. They were tiny and undoubtedly powerful, but Tails knew not what they did. What he did know, however, was that Shadow toting those around was a sign that he was ready to seriously fight at a moment's notice, should he need to. Tails just hoped things wouldn't come to that. "Tails."

That one word was all it took for Tails to pull out of his thoughts. Blinking, he quickly asked, "Yeah?"

Shadow gestured to the window with his head. "Someone's out there."

Taking the hint, Tails immediately turned back to his computers and began typing rapidly. His fingers flew across the keys, activating scanners, turning cameras, and so on. Slowly, the frown he had gained vanished to be replaced by an expression of confusion. "Hey, Shadow, there are actually two people, and one of them's just Tammy." The young sparrow had left the ship some time ago after saying something about scouting ahead, so seeing her was no surprise overall. But the other person… well, Tails wasn't so sure what to think.

This eased Shadow's obvious tension somewhat, as even _he_ had begun to trust Tammy by now. Some of his tension remained, however. "And the other?" he questioned.

Tails could only shrug. "Some other Babylonian," was the best answer he could provide. "Male, brown feathers and amber eyes. Looks like a hawk."

Shadow's usual frown deepened. "That sounds like Ten."

"Yeah, but this hawk is older," Tails responded, pointing to the data his scanners had picked up. "He's at least eighteen. Ten is... fourteen, I think he said." Silence followed for a long moment, then Tails broke it. "Tammy wouldn't lead someone untrustworthy onto the ship with us, so I'm going to let them in when they get here. …'Here' being this room, I mean."

In response, Shadow looked away with a small scowl. However, he didn't bother to argue, which Tails was sort of grateful for. "Fine."

More silence ensued. Tails watched on his screens as the two Babylonians rapidly flew up to the ship. Within twenty minutes, they were onboard the Typhoon and walking toward the control room. To pass the time, Tails idly wondered who the hawk was and why neither of them had teleported to the ship instead of flying. At least one of those questions, he could answer. _Almost no one can teleport somewhere they haven't ever been to before, unless they can see the place in question. So, that hawk could have teleported here twenty minutes or so ago when they undoubtedly saw the ship, but they couldn't have teleported here from wherever they were before. But Tammy could have teleported whenever she wanted to. As for why they didn't teleport at all… maybe they were talking?_

His thought scarcely had a chance to finish before Tammy and her companion were entering the room. "Hi, Tails," Tammy greeted tiredly, but with a friendly smile, as they walked in. Just as Tails started to ask the obvious question, she spoke again and introduced, "This is Arthr."

Further explanation was not needed. "You're Jet's friend!" Tails realized aloud, eyes widening a bit. "The one he knew when he was a young kid!"

Arthr blinked a few times in surprise, then laughed a little in a Silver and Marthal-like way. "Yeah, I am, but how did you know?"

"Oh, he was one of the people who read Jet's journal," Tammy helpfully supplied, smile growing. "He or one of the others probably asked Jet about it."

Sheepish, Tails said, "Hey, I was only part of the snooping because of Silver." Arthr just laughed a bit.

Now, Shadow opted to speak. "Why are you here?" he demanded, very clearly directing his question at the new Babylonian.

This made Tammy go serious. "Kath sent Arthr to help out," she responded immediately. "He didn't say why, exactly, but he told Arthr that he would be needed here. I just went to help get him here"

Amber eyes glanced over Tails's screen, then Arthr pointed and said, "That's probably why. You guys are going to the Watchers."

Mildly surprised, Tails turned enough to glance at the image Arthr had seen while Shadow frowned and cautiously inquired, "You know of them?"

"Yes," Tammy confirmed with a nod. "We're both members. So are Jet and Selene. ...Well, Selene was a member. And Kath's the leader by all technicality, since he created the group."

A small moment of silence passed them all by, then Tails ventured to ask, "Who... _are_ the Watchers, exactly?"

"We're a group of protectors, essentially," Arthr answered carefully. "When there's trouble in the universe, regardless of where it is, we do what we can to help. For example, if there's a planet in danger of being destroyed by the Therians, we'll do whatever is in our power to save the planet and stop the Therians. Obviously we can't be everywhere at once and we'll never be able to resolve the countless conflicts that arise each day, but we do what we can, when we can."

"Why would sensei tell us to go there?" Tails asked, though he somehow doubted either Tammy or Arthr had the answer to that specific question.

"Oh, right, forgot to mention-" Arthr started to say before Tammy, for whatever reason, cut him off.

"The Watchers aren't strictly Babylonians, and they're Kath's group, by all technicality. However, they're also powerful warriors, soldiers, sorcerers, and so on that are invaluable members of the Babylonian army at times. Overall, the Watchers take orders only from Kath. However, during times of war, particularly wars as large as this one, they also take orders from Jet. His army is gathering, Tails, and that includes the Watchers. Right now, the place where the Watchers meet is among the safest places you can be in the entire universe. Next to nothing can happen to you there."

Eyes wide, Tails again turned to look at the unspeakably massive meeting place on his screen. For the first time, he noticed the distant signs of countless ships constantly flying in and out of the area. Many entered the sphere or rings through one of the innumerable lights, then simply stayed. All visual evidence indicated that Jet's army certainly _was_ gathering... and this was one of the very places where it was doing so. Jet was making good on his promise, and Tails felt more relief in that moment than he had in a long time. _Maybe we have a chance in this war, after all..._

 **~台風の目~**

It was very late in the evening by the time Amy fell asleep by Sonic's side. The two hedgehogs were still on Mobius and had left Apatos some time ago. Traveling at high speeds, they had made their way across the vast Emerald Grasslands in an effort to make it to their home. Upon finding it utterly surrounded by Nocturnians, they had abruptly changed direction and gone instead to a city on the lower northeastern side of the continent of Yueisha. The city they wound up in was a ways to the east of Green Forest, and a place where Sonic had once had an apartment both before and for a while after the birth of the twins. It was the apartment where he had, for a time, lived with his son and future (at the time) daughter-in-law.

The city was known as Lester, and it had been largely abandoned in the last century for due to the oddly unstable ground it had been built on. The ground had been slowly sinking and shifting, felling some buildings, swallowing up others, horribly damaging yet others... For the sake of safety, people had abandoned the city, which meant there was no one here that would be put at risk by Sonic and Amy staying here. So, needless to say, it was here that the two hunted hedgehogs chose to stay. Utilizing thief skills Jet had imparted to him during their teenage years, Sonic had easily broken into a small apartment building where he and Amy were now staying. Amy was asleep in some generic, vaguely uncomfortable bed that someone had left behind years ago while Sonic was bundled up on the couch in the next room. He'd forgotten how cold this city always was, being as close to the sea as it always had been. Maybe that was why he couldn't sleep.

Truth be told, Sonic knew there was another reason, one that was both absurdly simple and anything but. He'd had a lot on his mind since the day Jet had returned. In fact, he had been compiling a list of things he'd wanted to talk to discuss with the hawk. Reading Jet's journal not long after that had added more things to that list. Some of the questions he'd had had been answered not too long afterward, but there were still so many things leftover. It didn't help that reading Jet's journal with Amy during that night they had spent in Apatos had only created yet more things to add to Sonic's mental list. But the problem was, Jet was rarely willing to discuss things at length with people, let alone things like Jade or things pertaining to what Tammy referred to as the Syxan War.

But, then again... Perhaps there was a way to get him to talk. Looking down at his communicator, Sonic recalled something that Wave had mentioned to him in passing at least once before. During the night the group had spent in Hyale, she had actually talked to Jet, who hadn't offered her so much as a single word before then. Only, they hadn't actually " _talked_ " to one another, technically. Instead, they had messaged each other back and forth in a private chat thread on their communicators. Essentially, they had texted. Looking back, it was easy to see that Jet had always preferred communication that didn't require him to actually speak to people in person. It was why writing in a journal worked so well for him. Maybe, just maybe, if Sonic tried talking to him through _texts_ , Jet would be more willing to converse…? If nothing else, it was worth a shot.

In under a minute, his message was typed and sent. Now it was a waiting game and, as he waited, Sonic took the time to gaze out the window and organize his thoughts. When that was done, he allowed his thoughts to drift away from the matter at hand, to wander. One of the very first and most random thoughts that entered his mind was, _Heh. I can see my old apartment building from here._ Sometime later, his tired mind chose to wonder as he looked at his own fur, W _hy blue? Why do we call it that?_ After deciding that he was crazy for even wondering that, he glanced down at his communicator and was surprised to see that he had received a reply nearly ten minutes ago. Apparently, his communicator's volume was turned off. After quickly turning the volume up just a bit, he typed a response.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _You're right, I'm not going to let this go. If you don't want to talk right now, given everything that's going on, I'd understand perfectly. But I'd still like to talk sometime._

A couple minutes later, a reply message came. The fact that Jet bothered to respond was a bit surprising, to say the least, but Sonic was far from complaining.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _I can't stop you from sending messages._

Actually, that was true. Very true, in fact, and Sonic couldn't quite shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe… Jet had tried to imply that he wouldn't mind so much if Sonic did just that. But maybe that was just wishful thinking.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _So you'll talk with me?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _I doubt you'll give me much choice._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _You make your own choices. I'm merely making a request._

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Just say whatever the hell you're going to say. This is wasting time._

That sort of made Sonic want to laugh. In that message, Jet had almost sounded like his old self, and it was sort of... nice to see. It helped to lighten his mood, just a bit.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Alright, alright. I have a lot of things I want to discuss, so I guess I'll just jump right in. One kind of random thing I was wondering was why you built a house in Green Forest, of all places. I mean, I remember you always liked how quiet it was there, how much solitude could be found in the forest, how vast the forest is, and things like that, but why did you choose to live there?_

This question was, as Sonic stated, rather random. However, he was hoping that asking about something as casual and non-intrusive as this would help Jet feel more willing to later answer some of the more serious question Sonic had. And, because the question was so basic, Jet was able to answer quickly.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _You answered your own question._

Sonic smirked slightly.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _A nice change from the palace, huh?_

No response to that, so Sonic pressed on. This time, he asked a question a bit less simple. It wasn't terribly serious, but it also wasn't as casual as the first one.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Hey, I've been wondering, how in the hell do you run your kingdom when you're not there?_

Honestly, he was still trying to get used to the fact that his estranged best friend even had a kingdom, but that thought was brushed aside when Jet's reply came not even a forty seconds later.

 **Sein:**

Normally, I'm seldom ever not there. However, when I have to leave, Kath takes over things. During the rare few times where neither of us are physically present in the kingdom, I manage things on my communicator.

Well, that was news. Sonic's immediate question was _how_? That wasn't a question Jet deigned to answer when Sonic asked, however, so Sonic just moved on. This question was one he had asked Hannah about once, and she had provided him with an answer. What he wanted to know now was whether or not she had given him the whole story.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Whatever. Anyway, next question. Back during the war, you taught yourself how to build and repair Extreme Gear, right? Why?_

The answer that he was given this time was a bit slower to come.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Some Syxans destroyed it, and it needed to be repaired. My board was a necessary asset of mine back then. If I was too tired to fly of my own power, I needed something like my board to help me quickly travel long distances. It would have been stupid and illogical to have just left it be after it was blown up._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _...Okay, point taken. I didn't know all that before, but it makes sense._

 _Oh, speaking of vehicles and the like, I've been meaning to ask where your ships and Sparrow (I think that's what Tammy called it) are. I think Tammy mentioned your Sparrow was damaged, but didn't she say that you could borrow Kath's?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _My ships are at the palace, and so is my sparrow. Kath's is there, too, but I don't need to borrow it._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Got a friend to repair it?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Not a friend. And she owed me a favor._

The fact that Jet had bothered to offer that last little bit of almost inconsequential information seemed to suggest that he was opening up just a little bit more in this conversation. If only for that reason, Sonic decided to press his luck just a bit.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Oh, okay. Anyway... mind if I ask about something a bit more serious?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Do as you please. I can't stop you, anyway._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Hm, good point. Anyway, as you well know, I was there when your journal got, well, snooped through. One of the entries we wound up reading was where your claustrophobia was mentioned. It seemed to me like it's gotten worse than it used to be, and that was even before the entry where you mentioned running into that Nyxar guy the first time. Do you know why?_

Always in the past, Sonic and Wave had been among the only people ever allowed to speak with Jet about his phobia. It was something he typically never wanted discussed. Sonic just hoped that this time would be different. ...Especially since he'd made a vague reference to the fact that Jet had been tortured sometime followed his first encounter with Nyxar. Hopefully that won't make him just stop replying to me.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _No, I don't know._

Well, it was a very short answer, but at least he'd answered at all, Sonic supposed. It was better than nothing, surely. Still, Sonic decided it was time to ease some of the tension he felt he had created in this conversation.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Alright. Well, next question, then. When's your birthday?_

That earned a very quick reply.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Why does that matter?_

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Saw a birthday party mentioned in your journal, got curious._

A minute or two passed before Jet finally sent a response.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _June 17th._

Now Sonic truly smiled. As he began to type, he thought of his next question and asked it. This one was casual, too, just in case.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Cool. Oh, I just remembered another thing I wanted to ask. Tammy told me once, not long after I met het, that the average number of kids in a Babylonian family nowadays is six to eight kids. Is that true, or was she just messing with me?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _You're right to be suspicious, but she wasn't trying to fool you. Six to eight children in a family, not including adopted children, is normal. ...And that's with each spouse a person has._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _So, if I was a Babylonian and I got married, had kids, divorced or became a widower, got married again, and had more kids, I should technically have two sets of six to eight kids?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _It's not that you should. That's just what most would consider "normal"._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Still, wow. That's a lot of kids._

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Compared to the family sizes in the past, that is rather small._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Wow. So, do you ever plan to have that many kids?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Do you really think I have the time for more children?_

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _...Probably not, but that doesn't necessarily mean you don't want more of them. So, do you?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Four is challenging enough._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Fair enough._

A bit of silence passed before Sonic settled on what to ask next.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Okay, this next question is more serious again._

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Fine._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _I've been wondering, since that night we spent in that cave in the Badlands, what you saw in your nightmares. You know, those weirdly vivid ones you, Blaze, Dad, and I all had that got us all inured somehow. In mine, I saw needles and floods and that sort of thing._

Though it took time for Jet to answer, he eventually did do so.

 _Sein:_

 _I saw various things. Murders of friends and family, altered memories from my childhood in Ross's... "care", and things of that nature._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _And... was there anything else?_

It took Jet significantly longer to respond this time.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _They made me relive portions of six to seven months of utter hell._

"Torture" wasn't directly stated, but Sonic knew that that was exactly what Jet was referring to. Tammy had mentioned that the Syxans had had Jet in custody for about six months, and how it was during that time that he had experienced torture. Sonic knew no other specifics beyond that, and he wasn't exactly sure that he wanted to. And yet... there was no denying how deeply those six months had affected Jet, his thoughts and behavior, his emotional well-being, and so on. As horrific as it was, his torture was still an event that would never cease to be an important aspect of his past. If only for that reason, Sonic very, very carefully broached the subject further.

Bit by bit, he got more information on what all his friend had gone through during those dark, dark months. Psychological torture, such as constant exploitation of his phobias (claustrophobia, mainly), severe sleep and sensory deprivation (that latter of which was especially horrible for him, since his senses were often severely understimulated already due to autism), solitary confinement, and more. Then, of course, there had been the physical torture. Abacination, beatings, brandings, bone breaking, strangulation, limb crushing, starvation, whippings, and more... And then there were all the many various horrifying instruments that had been used on him as well. Jet never once went into much detail, but Sonic had heard enough.

All of this left Sonic wondering something new. Torture, of course, affected people in many various ways. Was this why Jet so often seemed to be upset with and unable to trust people? Was his torture and the things he'd gone through back then tied to why Jet behaved this way toward Sonic and others? The only way Sonic could get an answer was asking, so that was exactly what he wound up doing. In response, Jet (very reluctantly, it seemed) told Sonic another horrific story... this one involving psychological torture like nothing Sonic had ever heard of before.

The Syxans had done so many things to Jet that had damn near destroyed his mind in various ways, Sonic learned. Jet didn't go into detail about most of those things, however, and instead focused on explaining (with as few words as possible, granted) how those monsters had somehow used magic and created false memories and forced them into his mind. Some of the memories had been simple and easy to tell apart from his real ones, others just hadn't been. They had been designed to create reason for strain between Jet and his allies, and a good portion of those false memories still bothered the young hawk to this day.

A number of those memories involved Sonic in various ways, ways that Jet wouldn't specify, and they affected the way Jet found himself automatically reacting to many of the things Sonic said and did. Though he did his best to catch those automatic, often bordering on hostile reactions, he wasn't _always_ able to catch himself. Those reactions he failed to stop were the ones Sonic most often saw. For that, he actually apologized, albeit very briefly. His behavior and whatnot around Sonic wasn't because he was upset with the hedgehog, and it wasn't exactly because he didn't want trust the hedgehog, either. It was because of all this messed up shit going on in his mind that he was still trying to deal with, and Sonic saw no reason for Jet to apologize for it. The fact that he'd even bothered to explain any of this to Sonic was, in a way, apology enough for having been kept in the dark about this before.

But… needless to say, after all of this was discussed, Sonic was eager to steer the conversation elsewhere, back onto something less serious. The question he wound up asking was one that had held him interest for some time.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Besides storm and aura powers, what other powers do you have? I think you mentioned in your journal being able to control solar flares?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Whatever power of nature you can think of, I probably have it. Though that isn't to say that I can readily use it._

A very bold statement, and Sonic decided to test it using the most obscure things in nature he could think of.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Okay, so... what about ash, smoke, sand, or something like animal telepathy? Oh, and what about plant powers like what Suri somehow used that one time?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Yes._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _...Wait... you're serious?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Obviously._

Stunned, Sonic typed his next message.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _How did you even awaken these powers? Where did they come from?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Some, such as the solar flares, appear to have been awakened of anger. The rest, I don't really know. And as for where they came from… my best guess is that they came from Grandmother, or at least some other ancestor who shares our blood. Others possibly stem from my being Immortal, but I haven't had the chance to ask about that yet._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Is anger really the key to controlling some of those powers, by the way? You made mention of that in your journal somewhere._

 _And wait, ask who?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _It seems to be the key with some of them, yes. And who else would I ask about such a thing?_

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _...Okay, I get it. Alright, then. Oh, that reminds me, I read something else in your journal (sorry about that) that was about Wave. Do you really think she has aura powers?_

The answer Jet gave was simple, direct, and firm.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Yes. She's used my aura gun before, something she couldn't have done if she didn't have those powers._

Unsure what to say about that (besides the obvious thought that this could be useful and that she'd need training), Sonic simply moved on.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _I have a new question. You seemed like you knew those two village leaders in Hyale, like they're your allies or something. Are they?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Yes. Hyale has been allied with Babylon for over sixty years._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Why?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _They reached out to us, seeking allies who could help them fight battles they felt certain were coming in the future. It's possible they somehow predicted the coming of this war._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _I suppose that's true enough. Oh, and that reminds me, you promised to get your army involved in this. What's the status on that?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _It will be fully prepared in a few days, maybe just one if all goes well. I can't rush this any further._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _I understand, don't worry. Thanks for informing me. Anyway, I have another question for you. Do you have any idea what Ix meant when he referred to you ask "the future Sixth Guardian"?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _No._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Okay, well, do you have any idea what his ultimate goal is, or how he plans to accomplish it?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _I have an idea, yes. However, I know too little right now to tell you anything with any degree of certainty._

Sonic sighed, but not because he was upset. Merely because he had suspected this was the sort of answer he would receive.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Okay. Next question, then, I guess. I was wondering, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to that Luko person you mentioned in your journal. I know he died, but..._

 ** _Sein:_**

 _He was attacked by a Turuk in the Badlands. I'm fairly certain I wrote that. If you'd bothered to do a decent job of snooping and looked at all of the entries from that mission, you would likely have seen it._

Sonic nearly laughed at this unexpected bit of humor, but managed to refrain from doing so so as to not disturb Amy. In the end, he opted to just shrug, agree, and move on.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Was he your friend, Jet?_

Jet's response to that seemed surprisingly... heartfelt.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _I like to think that he was._

Smiling a bit, Sonic typed a new message.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Speaking of Turuk and the Badlands, whatever happened to that Turuk you mentioned in your journal? The one you saved?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _I'm assuming it's still living out in the desert. I haven't seen it in years._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _But you have seen it since you saved it?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Several times._

For whatever odd reason, Sonic smiled.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Okay. Moving on… Did you have Astral Babylon with you during the war?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Yes._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Where is it now?_

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Okay. ...Are... you still in contact with Ross?_

The rapid-fire Q&A was finally ended when Jet took more than two minutes to send a simple reply, and Sonic fully understood what the reason for hesitation was. His question had been a risky one, after all.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _...Not anymore._

After that, Sonic asked another series of question that were serious, but not as serious as some of the others he had asked previously.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Why does war bore you so much now?_

He could almost _hear_ Jet sigh.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _I don't know, exactly. It just... doesn't feel as challenging as it once did, I suppose. There isn't much of a better way to describe it._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Do you still think of Wave as a friend?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _I don't know. I think a part of me wants to, but… I don't know._

Sonic's smile faded away into a sad expression, but he didn't press the matter any further. It wasn't his place to pry.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Do you really not fear death anymore?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _I haven't feared death in decades, Sonic._

Another bold statement and, given the various actions and whatnot that Sonic had observed from his estranged friend during the course of this war, he had no real reason to doubt what he had just been told.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Why don't you like to talk nowadays?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _It's a waste of time and breath, far more often than not._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _We'll agree to disagree on that. But, moving on… before leaving Mobius, how did you even learn about the Syxan War?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Kath contacted me about it a couple weeks after Wave and I broke up, and I arrived at the planet less than an hour later. Before you ask, I don't know why he did it, or how he even connected to my communicator. I never asked._

 _Senzan:_

 _Okay. And you used Astral Babylon to get there, right?_

 _Sein:_

 _Yes._

 _Senzan:_

 _But, Jet, why did you choose to leave Mobius behind to aid in the war?_

 _Sein:_

 _...Partly out of a sense of obligation, I suppose. I was told that the people requesting my help were Babylonian, a fact which was easily proven to me before I even left. Even back then, when I still believed the titles I'd inherited labeling me as Prince of Babylon and the One True Heir were empty, I suppose I still believed I had to help if I could._

That sense of duty was something could understand, truly, and it made sense to him. He often felt the same way about Mobius and his title of one of the heroes of the world. However, there was no real time to waste contemplating all of that. If he wanted to finish this conversation by daybreak, he needed to move on.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _I understand. Did you meet Selene pretty soon after arriving there?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _We met just minutes after I stepped off of my ship on the palace grounds. She, Kath, and a few others had been waiting for me there._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Oh, okay._

There was no response to that (what sort of response could one expect from that, anyway?), so Sonic found himself sending a second message.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _This is probably a bad question to ask, but I kinda want to know, so here goes nothing. What's death like for you? As an Immortal I mean._

The delay between this message being sent and Jet's being sent seemed almost... thoughtful.

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Death is really no different for an Immortal than it is for anyone else. When we die, our souls are still sent to the appropriate Realm of Death, be it "Heaven" or "Hell" or the Master Emerald or whatever, provided we remain dead long enough. The only existing difference between an Immortal and a mortal in regards to death is that, for Immortals, death is only temporary. Otherwise... no matter what happens... death is still death. Nothing will ever change that._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _But there are plenty of other differences between you Immortals and us mortals. Like your powers._

 ** _Sein:_**

 _Yes._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _I know about the whole inability to permanently die thing (barring certain circumstances), the time, space, and matter manipulation (essentially, manipulation of reality), but what else is there? There must be more._

 ** _Sein:_**

 _There is much more that we can do, but I don't quite know how to accurately describe some of them. Some of those powers, for example, involve the use and/or manipulation of energies that don't have true names. And I'm considered immensely young by Immortal standards, meaning there is not much that I have yet been taught._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Well, what are the ones you can explain?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _The easiest one to describe is shapeshifting. From what the other Immortals have told me, we have the ability to take on the form of any living thing we desire, regardless of race or species or gender or breed or whatever else, to better help us hide among mortals._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _You can shapeshift?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _No._

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _...?_

Oh, Sonic could _hear_ Jet sighing in annoyance at _that_ message.

 _Sein:_

 _Again, I'm considered too young to be entrusted with certain abilities, the shapeshifting being among them._

Sonic sent a basic message saying something simple and useless like "okay", then steered the conversation elsewhere. This time, he brought up Jet's medical conditions. He knew about some of the medical conditions (such as PTSD and seizures caused both by autism and PTSD) that Jet had, as well as some of the symptoms he suffered through (such as difficulties from the autism and anger related to the PTSD). However, he didn't know _all_ of the conditions his friend had. He _wanted_ to, though, because how else could he help Jet with these things if he didn't know what conditions Jet even had in the first place? Amazingly, Jet actually willingly gave him a small list of conditions he had been diagnosed with. Sonic doubted this contained everything, but... something was better than nothing, truly.

 _ **Sein:**_

 _PTSD, depression, autism, seizures, possible minor epilepsy, insomnia, survivor's guilt, hallucinations (which could be fully stopped through medication), anger management issues, infrequent muteness_

One of those conditions caught Sonic's eye. They all did, really, but that one reminded him of another thing he felt the need to ask about. Namely, whether or not Jet had actually engaged in self-harm during that massive depressive episode he'd had long before he'd even been tortured. Jet's answer didn't come for a long time, but when it did, it was vague and indirect confirmation. It wasn't an answer Sonic liked at all, but at least he had gotten a truthful answer. Still, Sonic didn't want to linger on this topic, and he doubted Jet did, either. As such, he went to his next question.

 _Senzan:_

 _In your, journal, you mentioned potentially being on the verge of war with the Therians at one point. Is that still the case?_

 _Sein:_

 _We've been on the verge of war with them for over a decade, and there have been a number of skirmishes._

 _Well, shit. That's... bad._ His words did the severity of the situation no justice, he was sure, but he had nothing he could say that was more appropriate.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Are those bastards still using slave-carriers to attack your people and take them as slaves?_

 ** _Sein:_**

 _If they ever try it, I'll kill them._

So that was an apparent "no", then. Which was good, of course, and it satisfied Sonic enough that he let that matter drop so as to ask one last question.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _You mentioned one more thing in your journal I want to know about... What's the "true storm"?_

Before he ever received a reply, Jet's communicator took massive damage and was disconnected. The signal was lost.

 **~台風の目~**

Soren wasn't quite sure how to react at first when he saw a boy around his age enter the ruined home he had been hiding in. In his field of vision, a few various nonviolent spirits moved about, completely unseen by the other teen. The other teen's eyes were amber, a brilliant color in this lighting, and they were staring in surprise. However, those eyes quickly looked away as the boy spun around to look instead at the Nocturnians surrounding the ruined home.

This place, Green Forest, was nothing but dark, dusty ruin where Soren came from, but this one was different. It was full of life, which was a beautiful thing in and of itself. However... this forest and the one Soren was familiar with shared one unfortunate similarity... and that was that they were both positively _crawling_ with Nocturnians. Soren _hated_ Nocturnians, and it seemed this boy did, too. All the more reason to believe that this stranger wasn't a threat, Soren supposed.

Though, the other teen certainly was dangerous, it seemed. Before Soren had properly assessed the situation and decided what he should do to combat their foes, the brown feathered boy (was he a Babylonian?) was already jump-starting the inevitable fight. As Soren's stormy grey eyes watched, a bright yellow ball of pure energy formed in the other teen's hand with enough heat and power that it made the air around it visibly ripple. It seemed to be spinning, maybe, and Soren wasn't given any time to consider what the hell that ball even was before the other boy's hand unexpectedly moved.

With a deft and unusually powerful flick, that palm-sized ball of energy was sent hurtling across what would become their battlefield. The very second it hit something (it just so happened to be a tree, not that it seemed to matter), the ball exploded with so much violent force that the ground seemed to jump and splinter. The tree was obliterated, and the ruined house (which had already been barely standing) collapsed entirely. More than forty enemies were caught in the blast and found themselves utterly vaporized in nearly an instant. All at once, Soren decided several things about this kid. One, he was powerful and making an enemy of him was probably a bad idea. Two, he would made an amazing ally, not that Soren had actually had many of those before. Three, it was much more likely than Soren had initially thought that this fight could be won. Fourth and finally, if this kid was willing to use this kind of force on the Nocturnians, he most certainly wasn't an enemy of Soren. Good.

There was no more time to waste with simple observation. It was time to fight, and Soren had more than his fair share of experience with that. ...As unfortunate as that was. _Not the time to think about this,_ he told himself sternly. Forcing himself to focus, he threw a small bolt of very carefully controlled bolt of Darkness into the agitated crowd of enemies. The bolt struck one enemy and instantly multiplied like wild lightning, taking out at least twenty or so foes. Soren cringed, knowing many of those monsters wouldn't survive, but forced himself to continue fighting regardless. When dealing with enemies like these, it was quite literally kill or be killed. He hated it, really hated it, but there was nothing he could do about it except fight.

By now, the other boy had bravely (or stupidly) run out into the fray to continue his portion of the fight. Brilliant yellow explosions of various sizes and levels of power ripped apart the battlefield, such as it had become, and Soren decided straight away that he needed to help. Utilizing his extreme stealth, the very same stealth that had allowed him to walk right into the Nocturnian camp and save little Lia not too long ago, he made his way onto the battlefield as well. As he moved, Lia herself entered his mind for just a second, long enough for him to be reminded that he hadn't actually properly met her, nor had he met her father. He hadn't even met them in his own timeline. A part of him sort of wanted to meet them here, but... the rest of him thought it was for the best that he remain without them.

Shaking his head, the young black and red hedgehog focused again on the battle. Using his Darkness, stealth, and physical attacks, he aided the other teen in quickly felling more foes than he cared to even try to count. There were screams, curses, explosions, fires, booms, and on and on and on... Everything began to blur together. Too much fighting. Too much violence. He hated it. He _hated_ it. The spirits, the nightmares, the flashbacks of the deaths... It was all going to get so much worse, and he knew it. For every Nocturnian life he took, his suffering increased. How would he ever make it through this? How was he ever going to be happy if this continued?

A hand came to rest on his shoulder. Tenderly, as if afraid he would break if too much pressure was applied. A voice, a new voice, spoke to him. The tone was... caring. Concerned, even. "...You okay?"

Troubled grey eyes looked up to meet worried amber. A long moment of silence passed between the two of them before Soren finally found it in himself to speak. "Um... yeah." Inwardly, he sort of cursed himself for saying "um" like some silly twelve-year-old. ...That silly twelve-year-old having once been him, of course. But that was irrelevant.

The worry in those amber eyes remained, but it lessened to a degree. In its place, some relief appeared. "Good. You kind of worried me there. You know, when you just fell on your knees and started kind of spacing out." This made Soren shrug a bit, and he watched quietly as the other boy sat down cross-legged in front of him. "My name is Ten, by the way."

Now, Soren felt himself frown slightly. "Ten?" he echoed. "...Like, the number?"

The boy, Ten apparently, laughed sheepishly. "Yeah. I mean, _technically_ , it's my nickname. My real name is Elan, but everybody's always called me Ten, so... yeah."

Silence again settled between them for a short while, then Soren let out a sigh. "...My name is Soren." Not that he exactly wanted to share his name, but... Well, growing up in a ruined timeline didn't mean he was without manners. ...For better or for worse.

"That's a cool name," Ten smiled. "Like... Like Azerel. Both are cool names."

"'Azerel'?"

"Oh, that's the name of a wolf I know."

"...Oh."

"By the way, you look a lot like a couple people I travel with."

This statement caught Soren a bit off-guard. "What?" he asked sort of dumbly.

"They're hedgehogs, like you," Ten told him, still smiling. "They have black fur like you, and red streaks in their hair. Also like you."

Nervous, if only sort of, Soren tugged the collar of his shirt down a bit, just enough to partially reveal a white patch of fur on his chest. This was the mark of his family, and he _had_ to know. "Do they... have this?"

"One of them does, yeah, but I don't know about the other one, since she's a girl, and..." Ten trailed off, looking sort of embarrassed for some reason.

Needless to say, Soren understood what Ten was getting at, so he let it go. "Are they related?" he ventured to inquire instead.

"Yeah," Ten nodded. "The girl is the daughter of the guy. I don't know either of them terribly well, but I do know their names."

Though he already knew, Soren had to ask. He had to have this confirmation. He just had to. "...What are they?"

"Shadow and Lia."

Immediately, Soren vividly recalled everything he knew about his family in his own timeline. His father had been captured and executed when Soren had been five. His baby sister had been murdered on the very day of her birth. Their mother had been taken into slavery by the Nocturnians, never to be seen again. But in this timeline... At least here... they were alive. Maybe not all of them, but two out of three was still _far_ better than none. And who knew? Maybe all of them were still alive here. But... what of it? He was still better off being alone. It was better for the safety of his family that he stay away from them, given the fact that he was constantly being hunted. If his family wound up being killed here, too, especially because of him...

That was something he didn't think he would ever be able to live with.

 **~台風の目~**

Alternate realms were something Cream had taken some interest in over the last hundred years or so. With Kaden's help, she had learned about a fair few different realms beside their own. She knew enough about realms nowadays to realize that, while she, Cheese, and Charmy were on Mobius like their communicators were indicating, they weren't in their own realm right now. Based off of everything Kaden his vast collection of books had taught her, she suspected that she ad her two companions were currently in the Realm of Dreams, where all dreams (the kind one had when asleep) were born. She couldn't be certain, however, though she supposed it _would_ explain while they were all so sleepy and distracted. In this realm, whatever realm it actually was... she dreamt. She dreamt, she relived the past... and she saw the future.

(-)

The first thing Cream saw was a memory of a wonderful afternoon from the century of peace she, her friends, and her family had together enjoyed.

 _Cream watched with a smile as Cheese chased Charmy and Bokkun around and around the yard surrounded her charming little house. Even after all this time, she and her mother still lived in the same home in the same village where they had met Sonic and Tails for the first time. Neither of them were here now, but that was okay. The four kids were having enough fun as it was already. This game of tag had only just begun, and already everyone had been it at least once so far. Every except for Cream, that is. She was currently standing near the left side of the house, watching and waiting until it was time to bolt. The three boys drew ever nearer to her, laughing and grinning and panting all the while. Cream prepared for the dash. Closer. Closer. ...Now!_

 _Without any warning, the young bunny turned tail and fled around the house toward the backyard, tossing a quick, "Hi, Mother!" over her shoulder as went._

 _Vanilla turned from her gardening just in time to see her daughter vanish around the side of the house. Charmy, Bokkun, and Cheese followed, in that order. Vanilla smiled. "Hello, dears," she called back._

 _Mere moments later, Charmy was tagged for the second time, much to his humor-filled disbelief. "No way!" he exclaimed. He quickly resumed grinning as he spun around to face his long-time friends. "I'm gonna get you guys! Especially you, Cream!"_

 _Laughing, Cream again turned and fled, this time with Bokkun and Cheese by her side. "Just try it!" she called back teasingly as she ran. Behind her, she heard the distinct sound of a bee's wings flapping as fast as they could go., Trading energetic grins, the bunny, the alien, and the Chao all bolted in separate directions. They weren't going to make this easy for him._

(-)

Next Cream saw a peaceful vision of the past, one that was tinged with sadness… and one that she had no explanation for seeing.

 _"Dont'cha ever miss him?"_

 _Shadow looked up from what he was doing (namely, repairing one of his guns) and turned briefly to look at Tails. They were both in Tails's workshop, a place Shadow actually found quite useful and, well, nice. "Omega is not a 'him'," he corrected simply as he turned and resumed his work. He chose not to remember how utterly destroyed the robot had been so many years ago. Omega was repaired now, but with his original memory chips still unable to be repaired… Well, Omega would and could never be the same without them._

 _Tails smiled to himself a little, and a bit sadly, as he tightened some bolts on one of his newest projects. "Well, his voice module certainly makes… made… him sound like a him." Shadow opted not to argue with the truth and simply continued working. Tails spoke again without much pause. "Seriously, though, don't you miss Omega? I mean, now that he's off aiding the World Army with training soldiers and that sort of thing," he refrained from pointlessly adding how needless said army and soldiers were now in this time of peace, "he's gone nearly all the time. I know I sure miss him sometimes."_

 _Shadow finished repairing his gun and held it up for inspection as he thought about what Tails had said. Yes, Omega was gone most of the time, and yes what he was doing was considered a pointless endeavor by most, but Shadow didn't disapprove. He had learned many hard lessons throughout his life, and one of them was to never been unprepared. It was like his father had once said in one of his more pessimistic moments... The fighting and wars never truly stopped. There were merely times between them when people could catch their breath. And, foolishly, those same people called those breaths "peace". But Shadow wouldn't allow himself to become comfortable like them. He would always be ready. He would always be prepared. And... unfortunately... he would always miss his friends when they were gone._

(-)

Next was a dream. Or, rather... a nightmare. It was blissfully short, but still bothered her greatly.

 _She saw herself, Bokkun, Cream, Cheese, and Charmy were running through a very dark and evil-looking forest, desperately searching for a way out. As they ran, enemies all around chased them and tried to kill them. The kids ran even faster, to the point where they felt like they would trip and fall with every step. But they couldn't do that. To trip and fall would be to invite... death._

(-)

After that nightmare ended, Cream had another oddly vivid dream that seemed to serve no purpose.

 _Shadow watched in disbelief as his half-brother recklessly ran out onto the battlefield to grab one little stray dog that had wandered into the danger-zone before booking it back onto the ship. The doors closed for the second time behind Sonic, and the Typhoon rocketed up into the lime-green sky, leaving ill-looking purple landscape behind. Clouds soon overtook anything else he could see outside. Turning back to Sonic, Shadow silently reflected on how foolish the other hedgehog was... and just how happy and relieved that poor dog looked._

(-)

The next thing Cream saw was an oddly peaceful vision of the future.

 _She saw Sonic and Amy. They were walking together through a lush, grassy park, smiling and laughing all the while. As they walked, Amy mentioned something about the joys of being a child._

(-)

Immediately following that happy vision was another one… but this one was from the past.

 _She saw Kaden and Sonic in a large, very nice kitchen. They were both laughing and smiling (a rare thing for Kaden) as they interacted. At one point, Kaden deliberately smeared frosting on his son's chin. With a laugh, Sonic returned the favor by swiping his own frosting-covered fingers over his father's cheek._

(-)

When that vision ended, everything faded away... and Cream drifted off into sleep.

 **~台風の目~**

It took two minutes. Two minutes for Jet to be unexpectedly attacked while he was talking to Sonic and for his communicator to be essentially destroyed. Two minutes for him to destroy his enemies and for peace to return to the isolated area he had been flying through. He had spent hours and hours searching for any signs of any of the missing people, especially the kids, with no luck. Truthfully, he had (and still did) needed to rest for some time by now, but... Well, insomnia had long been a companion of his, unfortunately.

Perhaps it was due to his lack of sleep recently, but it took Jet about a full minute to realize that a nearby alien plant-like lifeform was talking to him. When he focused on it, ceasing his flight with sword in hand and turning his head to the left, it smiled at him and repeated itself. "I asked if you were alright, stranger."

Binary and musical notes and language. That was what Jet's mind ran in, rather than plain words and impressions like most people's'. It made it difficult, at times, for him to come up with verbal replies, even replies that should have been as simple as "yes" or "no". This was a different situation than normal, thankfully, though. This time, his mind was able to quickly formulate a positive reply to the question but, for some reason, he found himself feeling disinclined to voice it. He'd been okay with fairly openly talking with Sonic earlier, but now he suddenly felt the exact opposite. So, instead of talking, he merely offered a nod in reply. After that, he returned his gaze forward and resumed his flight onward through the blackness of space. As he flew, very carefully scanning everything around him for even a trace of one of the missing people's' auras, something happened.

The funny thing about pure auras was that they allowed those who had them to see, hear, and otherwise interact with the spirits of dead Babylonians who also had pure auras. It was how Jet had always been able to hear his grandmother's voice when activating and using Astral Babylon. Her spirit had attached itself to the ship, at least for a time, rather than going into the Master Emerald. And, once in a while, her spirit reached out to him when he wasn't even near the ship. The first time she had done this had been before he'd even gathered all the Arks of the Cosmos in order to activate Astral Babylon for the first time. On that day and on multiple occasions afterward, she had warned him to "Beware the Darkness". Today, right in this moment, she gave him that warning again. And _finally_ , as of right now, Jet found that he understood what she was talking about.

Something fairly unique about him was the fact that he was able to pick out even the tiniest, most minute and vague details about people, situations, and so on without even being consciously aware of it more than half the time. When this happened, the information his mind had gathered often did its best to present itself to him in his dreams when he slept (the few times he didn't just have nightmares like usual). This had happened the last time he had slept, whenever that was, and something dark had been brought to his attention.

The Nocturnians wanted a vessel of Darkness.

How he'd come to know this, Jet wasn't really sure. It wasn't like anyone had _told_ him, after all. But, regardless, he knew it now, and the extent of the plot he had become aware of... _bothered_ him. As a different previous dream had indicated to him, the Clan was far too interested in pure auras for anyone's good. As he well knew by now, pure auras were, unfortunately, _so_ pure that they could somehow foster Darkness within them. Be it the evil form of Darkness like the kind the Clan possessed or the more neutral but undeniably negative and violent Darkness that Kaden had, it didn't matter. Pure auras could be exactly what the Clan wanted to use them for: vessels to hold Darkness, to nurture it, to strengthen it, to give it limitless power off of which to feed. The Nocturnians wanted a vessel with which they could grow their power to make themselves unstoppable, and they had already taken plenty of steps toward achieving that goal.

When that strange rock Jet had found in his desk in the palace had flashed in the camp on Mobius and, in a way, attacked everyone, Darkness had been subtly released into the area. Everyone with pure auras had been affected by it, and that meant that three people had been unknowingly put in danger then because of his stupid mistake (namely, not immediately getting rid of the rock upon finding it). Had Selene been there, he knew, she would have been just fine in spite of also having a pure aura. She had been using her aura powers since practically the day of her birth. Using them had been as instinctive to her as anything could be, and she would have protected herself using the very aura that would have made her a target. As such, she wouldn't have been affected.

With Jet, things had gone a bit differently. While he had been _sensing_ auras all his life, he hadn't even known that aura powers existed until joining the Syxan War on New Babylon. Using those powers had become largely instinctive for him, but not the same degree that it was with his storm powers. As such, he hadn't automatically protected himself from the flash, and Darkness had entered his aura. But was he a vessel? Hell no. He had become aware of the Darkness hiding within him not twenty minutes later and, under half an hour after the attack, he had banished it all from his aura. But with Suri, the last target... things hadn't been so easy.

Being that she was just a baby, she hadn't been able to defend herself from the flash, and doing things like removing Darkness from her aura was a very delicate process. One wrong move could do immense damage to her fragile powers, senses, and body. As such, Jet had enlisted Tammy's help in removing the Darkness from her aura (something even those with normal auras could do) once he'd determined for certain that it was even there in the first place. Since the day of the attack, they had been working together to very, very carefully try to remove the Darkness from her aura. It had been a very slow process, though they had been having some success, but now Suri and all the other kids (along with most of the others) were gone.

The Clan had their vessel... and Jet didn't think he had ever felt more terrified for any of his children ever before.

 **~台風の目~**

 **10,529 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed this relatively mellow-ish chapter. Don't worry, we'll be getting more action soon. Posted (at about 2:00 p.m.) 09-03-17.**


	56. Wings of Eternity

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: Besides altering some dialogue here and there and removing a journal entry or two, I did nothing else to this chapter. It was mostly fine as-is. As stated in the ending author's note for this chapter, this is the last chapter where I share journal entries with you all. Also, don't worry, we'll be getting back to some more action and whatnot soon here.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Wings of Eternity"**

 **~台風の目~**

Nocturnian ships, as it turned out, were nothing to laugh about. At least, the ones Analia was currently staring down weren't. They were large, large enough that each and every one of them was comparable in size to the Blue Typhoon. Some were even larger than Tails's prized ship, near as she could tell. To make matters worse, each one was clearly carrying more than its fair share of weaponry. According to what she could determine through the use of her Light magic, there were bombs, swords, machine guns, rifles, daggers, bows and arrows, grenades, poisons, spears, and more on each ship. It was frightening, to say the least, and she couldn't figure out how in the _world_ the Clan could have possible gathered all of this so quickly. Though, of course, they did have magic and sheer numbers on their side. Armed though they were, however... the Clan was by no means prepared to deal with _her_.

The biggest mistake the Nocturne Clan had made so far, at least that directly related to her, was messing with her family. In particular, her youngest children and her partner. The Clan, Ix more specifically, had named those three as specific targets of his. Kaden, the Child of Night. Sarai, the Disciple of Night. Sen, the Disciple of Light. Ix knew who, and more importantly what, they were, and he intended to kill them all. He and his wicked clanmates had made all three of them vanish off of the Blue Typhoon. The monster had threatened all of them, and she refused to let him get away with it. She was _going_ to find her family, no matter _what_ Ix did.

And these ships were in her way.

With a delicate and uncharacteristic frown of anger, Analia raised her hands up high and closed her eyes. As she focused, pure white Light slowly gathered bit by bit around her. The Light gathering around her body teased her hair into motion, twining around silky strands and easing them into gentle waves of motion. Her white tanktop and skirt rippled a bit as a result of the energy she was calling forth from deep within her. When her eyes finally opened again, they were brighter than normal and full of a kind of immense purity that most simply did not posses. That purity was unleashed in an almost hellish current of energy that hurtled straight toward the cluster of Nocturnian ships that she had so unintentionally stumbled across in the middle of deep space.

The resulting pure white explosion accomplished precisely what she'd wanted it to, but death was never satisfying to her. Still, she remained determined to do what was necessary to fight the Nocturne Clan, stop them, protect all those she cared for, and defend all those innocent lives that the Clan was threatening. Though the thought of having to kill her enemies to accomplish her goals always made her ill, another part of her mind always tried to remind her to be positive and not doubt herself. All that she did, she did for the good of others. For the sake of hope, she had to remain optimistic, not allow herself to be held back by fear. Now and forevermore, she couldn't let anyone or anything defeat her. Her determination to both succeed and to live was far too strong for that.

As she flew away and resumed her search, she could only hope that her friends and family would remain positive and determined, too.

 **~台風の目~**

It was difficult to see through all the snow that the wind picked up from time to time and blew around the area. When the snow wasn't whipping around her head and body, all Blaze could see was flat, white, blank, nothingness. That is, that was all she could see for a while. Eventually, however, she saw something small and blackish in the distance. When she realized just what (or, rather, who) she was looking at, she began to run, hugging herself for warmth all the while. Knowing he would hear her easily despite the distance separating them, she called out to her sensei, "Kaden!"

Immediately, his extremely sensitive ears perked up and he stopped walking. As he paused and turned to face her, she ran toward him, noticing as she did so that his fur really was blackish. She knew full well what that indicated (namely, that his Darkness was rising and causing him problems), but she didn't let that deter her. Dark or not, she always trusted her teacher. He was, after all, her closest friend besides Silver. And, more than that, he was _family_. She trusted him not to deliberately lash out at her, regardless of whether or not his powers were affecting him. As such, she approached him without fear. He waited all the while, like he always would have done, then turned and resumed walking without saying a thing to her (which wasn't normal behavior, but could be blamed on his current state of negativity).

Of course, Blaze followed Kaden. Being near him helped her to feel safer. It always had for various reasons, one of those being because of the connection they shared with one another. Due to their semi-shared powers (she had Shadows, highly diluted Darkness, which had been given to her by him), they were bonded in a way. They always had impressions of each other's thoughts and feelings, each could sense vaguely where the other was (provided they were near enough to one another), she could tell when his Darkness was rising within him and causing him problems, and so on. But his Darkness, right now, was only one of their problems.

They were lost and alone in the snow, quite possibly on a world they had never been to or heard of before. They had to find shelter if nothing else before focusing on other worries. It was a logical thought process. Logic, she knew, helped him control his emotions better and should have helped her focus on something besides what she was now missing. However, distraction did little to comfort, and her mind still chose to fret over her missing family. She worried as well about her teacher and what was happening to him, too. Nothing made sense. _Why is this happening all of a sudden…? And where are Silver and Kimmy…?_

They were questions she feared wouldn't be answered any time soon.

 **~台風の目~**

Watching the "heroes" struggle, Shade decided, was great fun. They had been struggling since the day of the Clan's revival to stop Ix and his followers, to fully unite themselves together, to understand what exactly it was the Clan was trying to do... It was rather humorous for her to consider just how badly the little "heroes" were already losing this war. They had lost so much of Mobius to the Nocturne Clan already, and they had been unable to prevent the Clan from reaching or spreading throughout outer space. Yes, they had defeated quite a few Nocturnians, but those Nocturnians had all been small-fry. Utterly disposable. The Nocturne Clan had suffered no heavy losses. The heroes, however, had. They had lost much of their world, as well as the resources on it. Their fairly powerful robotic companion, as well as some child, had been defeated. To make matters worse for _them_ , they had nearly all been separated, making them so much easier to kill or kidnap or whatever else.

Even if they hadn't been separated, though, it wasn't like they had ever been fully united. Most of them had been, sure, but there had still been a rift between the Mobians (particularly Sonic) and the king of Babylon. So long as those two arguably powerful individuals remained unable to mend their former bond, they would forever be unable to bring an end to the Nocturne Clan's reign of terror. Of this, Ix was sure. It brought Shade, his most powerful warrior, no end of amusement.

Another source of amusement for her was, of course, just how uninformed her enemies were. They knew obvious things, like the fact that the little black and red hedgehog girl had been kidnapped from under their noses, but they didn't know the finer details. Did they know why the girl had been taken? No, of course not. Most of them didn't even know what pure auras were, so how could they _possibly_ have been familiar with the concept of a Vessel of Darkness? Perhaps a few of them were, but as a whole the group was utterly lacking in knowledge. They didn't know that the Clan had been seeking a Vessel of Darkness, someone with a pure aura. They didn't know that the Clan had known all along that one of the children in the group of "heroes" had one. They hadn't known that most Nocturnians couldn't detect levels of purity (or lack thereof) in auras, thus forcing them to just swipe a random child for someone like Shade or Rukir or Janol to examine.

Though it had quickly been determined that the little girl they had nabbed hadn't been the child they had been looking for and that their time had been wasted, it no longer mattered. Now, Shade had the proper child, the sickly sweet and innocent baby with royal Babylonian blood coursing through her veins. And power... so much power. This tiny little baby was truly a force to be reckoned with, Shade knew, and her aura... it was so pure... She was perfect. Absolutely the _perfect_ vessel. Her father would have been, too, but he had unfortunately taken notice of the evil energy that had been planet in his aura. He had made very quick work of banishing it, but his daughter... she was much, much too young to know how to do so. She remained the Clan's perfect Vessel of Darkness... and Shade couldn't have been more pleased.

 **~台風の目~**

Jet knelt on the asteroid, saying not a word as he picked up a child-sized communicator. It was Hannah's, there was no mistaking that, and it was damaged. Not severely, but enough to send waves of concern through his body. The fact that neither Hannah nor her siblings were here any longer didn't help whatsoever.

There was no one here to judge Jet right now, no one to scorn him for his emotions, and yet he felt that his face was blank. He felt unreadable as always. Unreachable. Uncommunicative. He had closed himself off again, perhaps even more than before, despite having no one to hide from here. Perhaps it was just in a subconscious attempt to cope with his own emotions, but truthfully… even he didn't always really know why he wore his mask when he did. However... he also knew that now wasn't the time to try to figure it out, either. The longer it took for anyone to find the missing children, his and everyone else's, the higher the chances of one or more children dying were. That was a chance he refused to take. Yes, his army was gathering, and yes it would be ready in about a day at the very soonest but, even pretending it was ready _now_ , that still wouldn't have done them any good. Even with an army by their sides, innocent lives could still be lost far, far too easily. The Syxan War had proven that much to him, if nothing else.

Standing, he slid his old grey backpack (the one from Sonic of the ruined future) off of his right shoulder and rummaged through it for just a moment before pulling out a small device. Turning slightly, he aimed it into empty space and pressed his thumb to a small scanner. After a special DNA scanning process was complete under a second later, a thin blue laser shot out. The resulting flash was bright enough to blind, but the end result was worth it. His sleek black ship, which had been digitally stored within the device, was left floating in the space when the flash died down barely a moment later. Satisfied, he returned the device to his bag and flew to the ship. Tossing the bag into a back seat, he climbed in and, without a word or even a specific thought, he flew off once more.

Sometimes, there was just nothing to say… not even in the relative safety of one's own mind.

 **~台風の目~**

It was still early when Sonic and Amy sat down together in the kitchen of the home they had spent the night in. They were still in the city of Lester and, for now had no immediate plans of leaving. They had been discussing various things all morning, and Sonic had brought up a new topic. He explained to her about a mysterious dream he'd had a scant few nights before. During this explanation, he shared with her the poem-like message he had heard in said dream. When Sonic finished speaking, Amy drifted briefly into her thoughts, thinking about the words he had just shared with her.

 _"In ages long past,_  
 _Chaos ruled it all._  
 _From it was born the Darkness and the Light._  
 _Together, they created the Storm._  
 _Light, Dark, and Storm_  
 _Push against the evil,_  
 _Fight against that which would consume us._  
 _But Malevolence waits._  
 _It watches... and it waits._  
 _When it comes,_  
 _If Guardian and Warrior do not find a balance,_  
 _All will perish.  
The Night is waiting..."_

After a long moment of thinking this over, Amy commented slowly, "Some parts of this are really easy to make sense of, Sonic."

He gave a small nod, a thoughtful look on his face. "Especially the very first part."

"The part about the realms of Chaos, Light, Darkness, and Storm, right?" Amy asked for the sake of clarification. She, like Cream, had learned a great deal about realms and the like during the last hundred years using books in Kaden's secret library.

With another nod, he looked over. "Yeah. Which brings up my parents and Jet," he pointed out. "Light, Darkness, and Storm."

Amy nodded her agreement. "Yes," she murmured. A small moment of thought, then she said thoughtfully, "Okay, so this… poem or whatever it is involves you, your parents, and Jet. We know that much. But what I _don't_ know is what this supposed 'Malevolence' thing is or what 'the Night' is supposed to be." Her head turned to face her husband. "Have you ever heard of the before?"

Sonic shook his head. "Not a clue." He began thinking a little, but came up with nothing. "I never have."

This earned a small sigh from her, but her disappointment quickly vanished. "Wait, maybe your parents do, or even Locke. Or maybe Jet's friend, um… Kath, I think? Was that his name?"

"It is, and they might know, but we can't exactly ask them just now," he pointed out.

"I know, but that's not the point," Amy responded. "My point simply was that we can ask them later. And the term 'Guardian'... that's come up before. From what I heard from Analia before, Ix told you all at one point who his main targets are. He made mention of a 'future Sixth Guardian' then, right?"

He nodded, thinking about it to make sure. "He did say that. I think he directed it at Jet, actually."

"Alright," Amy replied slowly, thoughtfully, "then… who's the 'warrior' that was mentioned?"

Sonic frowned. He honestly wasn't sure. It could have been so many people. "There's no telling…"

Once again, Amy began to think. As with before, she did so out loud. "The poem talks about you, Jet, and your parents. We've established that the 'Guardian' mentioned is probably Jet. It says that he and the 'Warrior' need to 'find a balance'. Given that, it doesn't make much sense to say that the 'Warrior' is Kaden or Analia…"

"It could potentially be Kath. He's quite the fighter," Sonic pointed out.

"But he's not even mentioned in the poem," Amy countered. "It doesn't make much sense to me to just suddenly throw him or even anyone else in there. And, besides that, he and Jet don't seem to have any problems between them, no bond to mend, nothing. So saying that they need to find a balance doesn't seem very logical." She shrugged. "At least that's how it seems to me, anyway."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, you're completely right." He had some sneaking suspicions, but he seriously wanted to get the other possibilities out of the way before voicing them.

The look Amy gave him was very, very serious. "The only remaining option is the only _logical_ one, Sonic, and that final option is you... as I'm sure you guessed."

"Yeah... I just wanted to eliminate any other choices for certainty, you know?" he sighed. "Now it's imperative that I try and get Jet to open up to me a little."

"That was already important," Amy sighed, not responding to Sonic's first sentence, "but I agree that it's especially important now." She then glanced to the bag on the couch. "By the way, did you tell him that we have his journal when you were talking to him last night?"

Sonic shook his head softly. "No. I didn't think to at the moment."

"Well, unless you're planning on reading it some more, you should probably let him know we have it so that he can take it back," Amy said.

"Let's go ahead and read some more for now," Sonic decided for the time.

For whatever reason, this made Amy smile (and shake her head). "Alright, if you insist, Mr. Snoopy-pants. Go ahead and go get it, then." Sonic stood and went over to the couch and opened the bag it was in, pulling it out, before heading back over to Amy. Amy then decided to take the journal from him. "It's my turn to choose some entries, since you did it all last time," she said with a smile.

"Alright," he shrugged.

Without further ado, Amy opened the journal to look for an entry to read. Soon, she began to read some.

 _ **5.** -Since no one's going to read this, ever (and if they do, I'll kill them), I'm just going write this. I freaking  hate people sometimes. I swear to god, if someone asks me one more time how I plan to rule this kingdom once the war's over, I'm going to just haul off and punch them. Why is it so hard for people to understand that once this world is safe I want nothing to do with it? This isn't my home. My home is literally millions and millions of miles away, probably even billions. This is not my home, and what happens to it after I fulfill my promise is their problem, not mine. I don't care what anyone says. Once this war is over, I'm going home. I never wanted to be away from everyone this long, anyway._

 _Oh, and Selene made me give "my" horse a name today. I called her Neila. It means "Rider of the Wind". I guess it's fitting._

 _ **10.** -Arthr reminded me of something important that he told me once when we were little. He'd asked me back then if we'd always be friends, and I'd told him we always would be. He'd responded with: "Then that means we'll always see each other again, even if it takes a long time sometimes." Today when he reminded me of that, he said that I needed to remember it whenever I started thinking about everyone I left behind to come to this world and deal with the war. I don't really see the point of it anymore. It's looking less and less likely that I'll ever return home. The war's getting worse all the time, never better. If it never ends, I can never leave. That means that I can never see them again. Maybe it's just best for me to resign myself to that fact now rather than try to cling to a hope that's as likely to become reality as the clouds turning green._

"Wow," Sonic breathed. _I knew he could get negative like this… but this is worse than I imagined he'd get._

Amy personally didn't have much to say about these two entries, so she just kept reading.

 _ **11.** -I'm tired of this life. I'm tired of the way things are. I'm tired of feeling lost. But mostly, I'm tired of the pain. I'm tired of the sadness. I'm tired of being afraid. I just want to escape… to never return._

 _ **14.** -People come, people go. Most choose to leave rather than stay. Some talk to me, most don't. Few have anything more to say than "hello". I prefer it that way. Without their words, there is no pain, no grief, no attachment, no bond to be severed. There is only, at times, sadness and loneliness. And that, I can deal with._

 _Sonic couldn't find a way to muster a reaction to just how much his friend had changed in the time he'd been gone. Turning her head, Amy looked at him. "That's so sad…" she murmured, lacking better words to express her thoughts on these two entries. He nodded a little and glanced back to the journal. Taking the hint, Amy resumed reading. These entries were from the failed Badlands mission Sonic had read about before._

 _ **30.** -I'm almost certain I'm sick now. Luko says I collapsed earlier. I don't remember it at all. The last thing I remember clearly is walking over a sand dune above the ruins of some ship. Probably one of the ones we lost out here last year. They managed to get it open, so we're all inside it now. It's not much cooler in here, but at least we're not directly in the sun. It's nice and dark, and a few of the beds are still usable. A couple people had to double up, but at least we can sleep more comfortably now than we have been since coming out here._

 _[There is a sketch of the buried ship, then a sketch of the room that Jet and the others were in. People are drawn on the beds.]_

 _ **35.** -It feels like the days are blurring together more now than they were before. I feel like I'm constantly in a sort of daze. This is the most awake that I've been in… about a week. Maybe longer. Suki says she managed to get me to sleep a few times, but I don't remember it. I don't even remember the last time I sat down before now. It must have been a while ago. We traveled so far today… I'm really tired. I almost don't care if I'll wake back up later or not. I just want to sleep._

 _ **49.** -It finally happened. I actually saw grass for the first time in far too long. It was just a tiny patch composed of a few withering green blades, but it was still grass. I don't know how it was alive. Suki pointed out that there might be water below them, so we dug it up. There was no water. The grass is dead._

 _[There is a drawing of the patch of grass before death and afterward, both done based off of memory.]_

 _ **53.** -I feel terrible. I've had to sit here all day because every time I stand I start to black out. Suki looks so afraid. Even Luko looks concerned. I hate this. I hate all of it._

 _ **54.** -I woke up in the hospital a few minutes ago. I don't know how long I've been here, and there's no one around to ask right now. I don't even remember anyone finding us. I think I remember falling again. After that, nothing. But… I guess I'll worry about it later. Sitting up like this is painful, and I'm still so tired. I'm going back to sleep._

After reading those entries, Amy moved on to some others.

 _ **78.** -Kath was almost killed. Selene and I are still nowhere near him, but Tammy called and filled us in. She and Arthr were there when the attack happened. If they hadn't acted when they had, Kath might have been murdered while his back was turned. Just the thought of him dying makes me sick. He's one of my closest friends, and one of the only friends I have in general anymore. I don't think I'll be able to handle it if he dies._

Sonic blinked once. "Kath was almost killed?"

Shrugging, Amy said, "I guess so, if Jet wrote about it."

"Yeah… he wouldn't lie about it," Sonic said softly. Nodding quietly, Amy began reading again.

 _ **82.** -We've been in space for about a day now. Nothing especially exciting has been happening, but it's still been enjoyable. …So long as I ignore our destination, of course._

 _-I saw a supernova in the distance. Arthr was practically giddy when he noticed it. Selene says I was, too. She said it was "cute". I'm not cute._

 _[There is a rough sketch of the supernova, as well as a planet near the explosion.]_

Sonic snickered a bit at the last part, and Amy just smiled as she kept reading.

 _ **83.** -I busted my communicator in a fight today. We were ambushed by Syxan soliders, and they boarded the ship I was on. They blasted me into the ship's power core and it exploded. My communicator was smashed to hell. So was my arm. It hurts like hell to move, but I'm more concerned about my communicator. I'm not Sonic or Tails. I can't fix that thing. Tammy doesn't know how to, either, and neither do Athr and Selene. Kath's also no help, since he's so damn busy running the kingdom. I don't know what to do. I need this thing to  work._

 _-The ship I'm on now is finally moving again. We lost three of these in the attack earlier. I hope we don't lose any more. We're vulnerable enough as it is already._

 _ **88.** -Maybe if I continue  pretending to be fine, one of these days I'll actually start being fine. It's a stupid thing to hope for though, isn't it?_

 _ **91.** -It took weeks, but I finally managed to get Selene to her home city for a while. Her smile was the most rewarding thing I've seen in far too long. I still don't know why I can't get the image out of my head. Maybe it's just because her smiles, or at least her genuine ones, are so rare._

 _[There is a drawing of Selene's head and smiling face. This drawing was lightly colored with pencils.]_

Sonic smiled a little. "He must have really liked Selene."

"More like loved, eventually," Amy responded with a smile of her own. "It certainly seems to have been the case."

With a small nod, he leaned back a bit. "Maybe he still does… even though she's gone." As she murmured her agreement, Amy scanned the pages and soon began reading again.

 _ **92.** -This is literally the most exciting thing that's happened to me in the last few days. Some guy approached me and called me rude. My response was an eye-roll and this sarcastic little comment: "Wow, you're like a detective or something." He turned bright red in the face and stalked off. Selene and I exchanged a look, totally poker-facing it, then we just busted up laughing. It wasn't even really that funny, but whatever. Definitely one of our better days._

As Amy laughed, Sonic snickered softly. They continued expressing their amusement for several seconds and, once she regained a measure of her composure, Amy resumed reading.

 _ **103.** -Today was a good day. Call me crazy if you want, but I love to see people happy and succeeding. Life's not a competition, it's a journey, and it's always a wonderful thing to see people enjoying theirs._

 _ **113.** -I've found that writing is a struggle against silence. I don't know any other way to describe it than that._

 _ **119.** -There's still several weeks of traveling ahead of us before we reach the nearest edge of the Badlands. Selene somehow convinced me to play my flute for everyone this afternoon as we rode through a particularly level and calm area in the mountain range we've been traversing. Everyone was quiet as I played it. It was pretty nerve-wracking. I've never played in front of anyone before._

 _One person approached me after I was done and said that listening to my song was the most peaceful and beautiful experience they'd had since the start of this war. Other people were agreeing. I didn't know what to think or say, so I just nodded a little. Selene looked so smug, like she'd known something all along that I hadn't. I really can't figure her out sometimes._

 _Anyway… this flute is so old, and it's made of wood. I don't know how it's not broken. I hope it remains intact. This isn't like a piece of tech. Once it breaks, that's it. This thing's irreplaceable and… it's special. I really hope it can survive this war._

Upon hearing this entry, Sonic frowned a bit in thought. _I wonder if that's the same old flute I saw him carrying around not long after the day we met._ After a small moment, he shook the thought away and listened to Amy again.

 _ **136.** -It's snowing. My ship was shot out of the sky, and now I'm stuck out here, in the snow, by myself. I have no idea where I am. I'm too tired to teleport or to even just fly. I can't find shelter anywhere. This whole place is just a vast, white plain. The ship's no good, either. It exploded. I barely managed to save a backpack's worth of gear and food from it before it exploded again. That was about the time it started to snow. It's really cold out here, but I'm okay for now. I don't know how long that will last, though. With my luck, probably not long._

 _ **137.** -I fell through a sheet of ice that I didn't even know was there. It was covered in a thick blanket of snow. I think I almost went into shock when I hit the water. It was unreasonably difficult to pull myself back out. I'm still completely soaked. It's been  hours and I haven't dried off at all (not that that's really surprising, considering the weather). I can't stop shivering… I'm shaking so badly I swear it almost hurts. I don't know how I'm even writing legibly right now._

 _ **143.** [There is a simple sketch of a snowflake that wasn't given much detail. Nothing was written.]_

 _ **144.** [There was a small sketch so light that it was smudged away by other pages over the years. Nothing was written.]_

 _He's still drawing all the time, it seems, Amy thought, smiling just a bit again. Or at least he was. It was a random, idle thought, but she allowed it to remain for now as she scanned for new entries and read them._

 _ **151.** -I didn't mean to fall asleep again. Going to sleep while freezing is one of the worst things I could possibly do in this situation, but I did it anyway. It was an accident, but even still. I'm damned  lucky that I even woke back up before dying or some shit. I'm such an idiot sometimes._

 _ **175.** -The fights today were hard. I ran into some troops who lost their general last week. I took over things. I'm trying to get them back to civilization. They're exhausted and hungry and at their wits end. They more than deserve a break. I just hope they all live long enough to get it._

 _ **180.** -People are infuriating. The soldiers are really and truly at their wits end out here. I get that. I'm not much better off in that regard. That doesn't excuse all the damn fighting, though. They've been arguing with each other, arguing with me, causing a divide in what's supposed to be a unified troop and, to make matters worse, there's been physical fights. I had to intervene in three of them today. The last time it happened, I had to knock out the two combatants to get them to knock their crap off. No one fought after that. Things are really quiet now. It's nice._

 _ **186.** -All my fear means nothing._

 _ **189.** -Finally reached civilization again. I know this city. It's not one of my favorites, but I much prefer it over the wilderness. At least when I'm tired and in need of a real bed. Otherwise, the wilderness is much nicer. There's nature on this world like  nothing I'd ever seen before coming here. It's incredible. I just wish that I had more time to actually sit down and enjoy it when I'm out there. But, with the war going on, that's not likely to ever happen._

Turning her head to Sonic, Amy murmured, "We'll have to ask him about what sort of nature he was talking about here sometime."

If only because he was curious, Sonic nodded "Yeah." Silence fell between them for a second before Amy resumed reading.

 _ **192.** -I don't know why I'm here anymore. All our efforts are never enough. We're not winning. I guess we're not exactly losing, either, but that's still not a good thing. All it's going to take to turn the tables against us is a bit of luck on their part. They don't even need skill at this point. We're so completely screwed as it is. I don't know what we're supposed to do anymore._

 _In hindsight… I guess I never did to begin with._

 _ **209.** -This place is desolate. There's no food and no water if you don't bring your own. The climate is harsh and alternates between two extremes: intense heat during the day and fierce cold during the night. I'm better prepared now to survive here than I was the last couple times I came here, in part because I know what to expect, but survival in this place will never come easily. It will always be a struggle, a fight to the bitter end for the right to live. This place is ill-suited for life, prefers to brutally steal it away rather than preserve it._

 _The Badlands will always be a place I hate._

 _ **211.** -I forgot to mention it before (not that it's truly important enough to merit an entry about it, but whatever), but Arthr and the others made me start doing these Video Logs a while back. They see it as another form of "venting" and "coping" or whatever, I'm sure._

 _Anyway, I did another one today. In a way, I guess it kind of documented just how bad this wretched wasteland really is. That's kind of a good thing, in a way. Now, even if this place somehow heals one day, we won't ever truly forget what it was like here. If we never forget that, we can never dismiss it. We can never make the things that people suffered through here mean less than they should. The memories may be painful, but we need to hold onto them. We can't just let them go, lest the past somehow end up being repeated or, worse yet, forgotten entirely._

 _ **212.** -Even though we're both busy as hell and constantly in danger, Selene somehow made the time to give me a quick call and wish me a happy birthday. That's the second time she's done that and only the second time anyone's bothered since I was a kid. I don't know whether to be annoyed… or kind of appreciative. Maybe a bit of both, if that's possible._

 _ **218.** -Spent three days studying the Turuk. They heal very quickly. It didn't attack me the moment it was capable of doing so like I'd thought it would. It just looked at me for a moment, then burrowed off into the sand and disappeared. I don't know what to make of it._

 _-Saw a small pack of Kuth. It's rare to see a pack of them. They're usually very isolated and prefer to go solo, for lack of a better way to put it. It was interesting to see their pack dynamics. It doesn't seem to have been a family group, but all the members seemed to get along well enough. It was kind of cool._

 _-It just occurred to me what "Kuth" means. It means "Giant Beast". That's an exaggeration. They're large, very large, but they aren't giant. For one thing, they're only about a full head taller than me, sometimes not even that much. It's very rare that you see one taller than that._

 _-I found a flower. It was just a single flower, but I swear it was the most beautiful thing I've seen in months._

 _ **219.** -I have a newfound respect for this place. I'll probably never stop hating it, at least somewhat, but I definitely respect it now. There's far more to this wasteland than I'd ever realized before. And, in way, this place really isn't a wasteland at all._

 _The next one Amy read was directly after the entries Jet and Arthr had written during Jet's massive depressive episode. The rest following that one weren't directly after that episode._

 _ **252.** -It's been a long while since I've had a chance to write. I'm still kind of depressed I think, but it's not as bad as it was before. Last time it was… debilitating. I can manage it now, though. I'm doing better. The anger's not as bad as it used to be, either. That was the one I was most concerned about, if only because anger has so far proven to be my biggest trigger as far as unlocking new powers in a violent way or losing control of my pre-existing powers in a similarly violent way. It's not good. But, like I said, it's doing better.  I'm doing better. That's what matters._

 _-Just found out Selene can cook. I don't know how I never knew before. She made us rice over the campfire and put some sort of orange Babylonian sauce on it. It tastes amazing. I think I recognize the taste and smell of some of these spices. I'm going to have to ask her for the recipe for this sauce. I want to learn how to make it. It really does taste amazing._

 _-Apparently Arthr can cook, too, though he only, by his own admission, possesses modest skills. But even still._

 _ **258.** -Selene just asked me perhaps the most random question I've ever heard from her. She asked if I ever want to have kids someday. I've already got Ten. He's basically mine at this point. Beyond him, though, I don't think I want any. I'm doing a shitty job with just the one kid. I'd rather not screw up any other little ones' lives._

 _ **261.** -Been back for a few days now. Wrecked my board unintentionally. I was flying over the woods and something shot the damn thing. Needless to say, I crashed. It's pretty much totaled, but there's no one here who can fix it. I'm going to try to teach myself how to do it. At this point, it's not like it'll matter if I screw it up, anyway. There's no way it'll work as it is right now. The worst I can do is nothing. I can at least try._

This made Sonic blink. _So that's what happened, huh?_ As he thought this, Amy continued to read, unaware of his thoughts.

 _ **264.** -My pain is constant and sharp and I don't wish for a better world for anyone._

 _ **276.** -Both moons were out and full tonight. One looks light, soft blue in the night sky while the other is white. The white moon's noticeably larger than the blue one. It was really beautiful to look at. Obviously I've seen nights like this before, but I think this might be the first time I've been able to really sit down and appreciate it._

 _ **284.** -Selene says I'm starting to seem "emotional" again. The first time she said this a while back, I asked her what in the hell she was talking about. She said that I keep seeming depressed, only to become angry later and then slip back into depression sometime afterward. She said that I appear to go through these cycles multiple times a day. If that's true, I've barely noticed it. I promised, mostly at her insistence, to try to pay more attention to my mood throughout the day. I doubt it will help, though._

 _ **287.** -Selene and I were racing through the desert again today, barely managing to stay ahead of our pursuers. We're hiding for the night again. I think I'm actually going to try to get some sleep tonight._

 _-I just woke up a few minutes ago. It's still night out. I couldn't figure out why I was so warm, even though the nights here are almost ridiculously cold, but then I opened my eyes and realized why. Selene gave me her blanket on top of mine. She was sleeping without anything. I gave them both to her. She needs them more than I do._

 _ **289.** -I decided not to mention my late-night call with Ross to Selene. She doesn't seem suspicious. That's a good thing. I'd rather not talk about it. We need to focus on reaching our destination in one piece, anyway._

 _-Selene and I ended up having an argument about which direction we're supposed to be going in. She's still angry. I'm sitting outside the cave right now. I don't want to be in there right now. It's stupid that our fight reminded me of the fights Wave and I used to have, but the fact of the matter is that it did. It's so stupid. And me being so upset over it is even more insanely stupid. I'm such a goddamn idiot._

 _ **290.** -Today was miserable. We fought again. I'm not even sure about what, this time. It didn't seem particularly focused on one thing. I'm sitting outside the place where we're resting again. Pretty sure this is going to be another mostly sleepless night._

Since this entry and the one right before it reminded Sonic of nights Jet had spent on his couch following huge fights between him and Wave, that made the hedgehog frown in sympathy. Needless to say, he knew first-hand just how hard Jet took fights with people he cared for so deeply. However, he didn't spend too much time thinking it over. After all, Amy was still reading, and he wanted to listen to what she dug up in his friend's worn journal.

 _ **311.** -Apparently there's a rebel group of sorts, people who want to completely do away with the royal family. My family. They're ready and willing to assassinate. As if I'd let them._

 _-Just learned a little bit more about this group. Supposedly, if they get the chance to stab my door ten times, I'll be murdered. As if._

 _ **319.** -I'm slowly learning that life is okay._

 _ **320.** -Some people keep saying for me to wear a smile, no matter what I'm feeling inside. So, what? I'm just supposed to wear a mask all the time and pretend like everything's alright when nothing ever is?_

It wasn't something she chose to say, but Amy immediately thought, _And yet… that's exactly what you do now._ Sighing internally, she continued to read.

 _ **329.** -I'll find a way to make things right… Just give me  time._

 _ **339.** -I was in a meeting, a sort of council, and one of the people there said that, "Today's comrades will be tomorrow's enemies." I called him stupid._

 _ **348.** -Sometimes we need someone to simply be there. Not to fix anything or to do anything in particular, but to just let us feel that we're cared for and supported. Selene ended up being that person for me today. It wasn't the first time… and I always appreciate it._

 _ **351.** -All good things must eventually come to an end._

 _ **356.** -No matter what happens, I always have to force myself to believe that life is better somewhere. Because this life I'm living now… is hell._

 _ **357.** -Selene kissed me again… I don't think I'll ever get used to that. But it's… nice. Really nice. … God, I hope no one ever reads this._

A small smirk appeared on Sonic's face. "I think that's by far the most gushy thing I've ever heard him say. ...Or, I guess, read after he wrote." Amy just giggled.

 _ **358.** -Twenty-seven years into the war. It's seeming less and less likely that we'll win. Sometimes I wonder if we should just give in and save ourselves the trouble. The rest of me wants to slap myself every time I think like that. Still, this war never seems any closer to ending than it was the day before. I'm so tired, but not because of lack of sleep. I'm just tired._

 _ **361.** -Selene and I are headed out together. We're going on a surveryance (not sure if that's actually a word and don't care) mission of sorts right now. We're headed to a massive uncharted region of wilderness in the far northeastern portion of Babylonia. We're mostly out heading there to make sure that no Syxans are camped out in the area, but we're also genuinely trying to learn about our planet, too. I'm actually kind of excited. I love the nature on this world._

 _-…I just realized that I wrote in Babylonian again. I've got to stop doing that… Anyway, the translation for this one is pretty simple and should be obvious. "Babylonia" means "Babylon"._

 _ **368.** -We seem to have reached the age where life stops giving us things and starts taking them away._

 _ **379.** -I will never let my fear decide my fate._

 _...Or let it affect you at all, usually, Sonic added silently. A second later, he decided that that wasn't entirely true (after all, it was partly fear that was driving the young father to search for his kids so quickly). As such, he brushed the thought aside and resumed thinking to his wife's voice._

 _ **382.** -All the power in existence doesn't do you any good if you don't have the courage to use it._

 _ **384.** -Why are we looking when there's nothing left to find?_

 _ **720.** -A lot of the pages before this one were torn out by someone. I don't know who, and I don't know why. It ticks me off a bit, but there's no undoing the past._

 _All I have left to say here is just a brief recap of a few important things I wrote about on those missing pages. I found out I can control rock and water, and I somehow revived a patch of dead flowers when I walked through them. Grandmother visited me in a dream again and warned me to "Beware the darkness" (the very same warning I was given back when I was gathering the Arks for the first time during the mess with Shadow and Astral Babylon and all that). Selene broke her leg a while back, but it's fine now. Arthr, Ten, Kath, and Tammy are all fine, though Ten was sick up until yesterday. We're now thirty-seven years into the war. I have no hopes of winning._

 _ **730.** -Everything is just so nonsensical during a war. All the death and destruction… none of it makes any real sense to me. Maybe it never will._

This made Amy sigh out of sympathy. "I think he and I have a certain understanding on this matter," she murmured. Lacking any real words to offer her, Sonic just put his arm around her shoulders to provide a measure of comfort. She responded well and, soon, she was reading again.

 _ **733.** -I gave in and bought myself an aura gun today. I don't like guns. Back when I was, essentially, living in a ghetto at about age thirteen or so, I was threatened with guns more times than I care to count. I was nearly shot so many times. I hate guns… but now I need one._

 _ **734.** -Did a lot of work on the gun. Improved it. Further work is needed, but it's passable for me now._

 _ **737.** -Life doesn't get easier. It never gets easier. People just get stronger… if they manage to survive at all._

 _ **745.** -Just found out (from Ross himself) that my father's Babylonian name, the name he was given at birth, was Raul. Makes me wonder why he goes by "Ross", but it doesn't really matter. It's just something somewhat interesting to contemplate when bored._

 _-Ten went swimming for the first time in one of the palace's pools. He was laughing squealing and splashing the whole time. I don't think I've ever seen a happier kid. At least not since I've been here, fighting this war._

 _-Ten apparently decided that he's a tough little guy. He got mad at Arthr over something silly (I think Arthr wouldn't give him a cookie or something) and promptly tried to shove Arthr over. Multiple times. It was hilarious and adorable at the same time._

 _-Selene passed out in the library. I almost didn't have the heart to wake her. She's in bed now, and so is Ten. Arthr made a joke about him and I getting into trouble now that we're the only ones up. He suggested rigging the whole palace for numerous small pranks or something. Honestly, I was sorely tempted._

 _ **750.** -I spent all night studying. I should have been sleeping, but I have too much to do. I'm tired of borrowing other people's ships all the time. I want my own, but I don't want to buy one. I want to make my own. But, in order to do that, I need to learn  how to. Hence the studying._

After reading this, Amy paused and stared in surprise at the entry. "Wait, he learned how to build his own ship?"

With a small shrug, Sonic replied, "I guess so, yeah." He'd known only that his friend had a ship, not who specifically who'd made it. When neither of them could think of anything to say after that, Amy resumed reading.

 **7** _ **59.** -I don't know where all my fear is coming frown. I keep thinking that horrible things are going to start happening again soon, and I feel terrified._

 _ **762.** -For the first time since I escaped from Ross, I was choked. Some Syxan was using a psychic attack, and I couldn't do a damn thing against it. Solid psychic energy was literally wrapped around my throat and constricting it. I couldn't  breathe. If it wasn't for Arthr, I probably would have suffocated. It still hurts to breathe._

 _ **763.** -I had another nightmare. This one was a vivid recollection of some of the things I went through as a kid. In particular, I found myself reliving a beating that landed me in the hospital. I don't know why I was remembering that, especially now that it was all so long ago. I don't know where these nightmares are coming from. I'm losing sleep over them._

 _I just want to sleep._

 _ **764.** -I decided a few months ago to start seriously studying things in my free time. It gives me something to do while camping each evening besides sitting around and being bored or anxiously worrying about things that the medicine I'm not taking may or may not be able to help control. So far, I've taken up theoretical physics (which, as it turns out, is stupidly easy), multiple languages (Onul (so-called "ancient echidna"), Asi (Therian), Keni'nan (Syxan), Mar'klin (Klemarian), and Fent'ul (Soran)), mathematics, engineering, and botanical studies. Not sure what I'll delve into next once I run out of study material for these areas (which will be soon, in spite of how many books and other sources I have on the subjects). Maybe I'll start learning how to play other instruments. That would be fun._

I need some fun.

"So he and Locke can speak the same language, now?" Amy asked, awed.

"...Apparently," Sonic responded after a small moment.

Silence at first, then Amy spoke up again. "Well, anyway… These next entries are from after his… torture." She and everyone else knew about that now, but it was still hard to talk about.

"Okay," Sonic responded quietly.

 _ **772.** -I spent the better part of the morning feeling like shit and throwing up. Jade found me and stayed with me until the episode passed. She then helped me up and made me lay down. I really don't want to think about any of it right now. I'm exhausted._

 _ **773.** -I had a series of nightmares in the form of flashbacks all throughout the night. I couldn't seem to wake up from them. Makes me never want to sleep again._

 _ **774.** -I don't feel like I'm in shock anymore. At least, not as badly. I'm not as numb as I have been. I still don't feel okay by any means, but I guess I'm a little better. I'm still afraid of sleeping in my room when it's totally dark, though. I usually just leave the balcony curtains and doors open, but sometimes I have to use my desk lamp instead. It makes me feel like a child, but at least it lets me sleep._

 _-I managed to eat a full bowl of oatmeal at breakfast. I don't feel like I'm going to throw it up. Guess that's a good thing. I don't know if I'll be able to eat anything else today, though._

 _-Selene managed to get me to admit to her that I'm terrified of certain things now because of… what happened (I can't even say it, or write it). I wouldn't tell her specifically why, and she didn't try to make me, anyway. She promised to help me through this, though. I didn't have it in me to say thank you. I couldn't even return her smile. I haven't smiled in over six months. I'm not sure if I'm even capable of it anymore._

 _ **777.** -Selene told me this today: "You already fought half the battle. You survived. Now you just need to learn how to live again." The problem is… I don't think I can  do that._

 _ **785.** -Selene said that I seem happier lately. I'm not. I'm just doing a better job than I thought I was of hiding it. Guess that stupid comment Sonic once made about me being a "good" actor has  some merit, if only to a point._

 _ **786.** -Prior to coming to this planet, I knew how to play the drums, guitar (acoustic and otherwise), and flute (particularly the wooden ones, but I could play others as well). Since coming here, I've learned how to play the piano (and keyboard, as they're basically the same thing), violin (as well as the cello and viola, which are very similar), harp, and saxophone. I'm currently working on learning how to play a Babylonian instrument known as a Metola (pronounced "Meh-toe-luh"). It's very similar to a guitar, but it has a unique sound to it that I don't feel like taking the time to describe._

 _I guess all of this counts as some form of minor accomplishment._

 _[There is a rough sketch of the Metola.]_

 _ **788.** -Distracting myself from everything isn't working anymore. I've started having vivid night terrors again, and I had another PTSD-related seizure today. I still feel a little shaky and sick from that, but I don't really remember it. I definitely remember the anxiety attack I was having right before it, though. I have no idea what triggered the attack, but I have no doubts that more of them are yet to come._

 _ **789.** -I was feeling well enough today (physically, at least) to do some light sparring. The doctors actually  wanted me to, since I haven't been able to be very active since escaping that place. Since Arthr was busy, Tammy and Selene are gone (they're off fighting somewhere), and Kath is asleep again (he's seriously starting to worry me), I sparred with Jade instead. Turns out that she's actually very powerful. She has some psychic abilities, as well as the usual aura ones (the latter of which all Babylonians have to some degree), which meant I was a tad disadvantaged. I have zero psychic abilities, so there wasn't much I could do to counteract her attacks. My aura powers helped a little, but they're not similar enough to psychic powers to do me much good in such a situation. Guess this means I've found a weakness of mine. But at least it was an ally who helped me find out about it and not an enemy. That, more than anything else, is comforting._

 _ **791.** -I had a lot of nightmares. It's really late right now, but I'm too afraid to fall back asleep. I don't want to have more flashbacks again. That's what these nightmares are: flashbacks. I woke up on the verge of screaming. I had to bury my face in the pillow so that I could let it out without alerting anyone. I normally would have bit back the urge to scream, but I just couldn't this time. Guess I can only bury these things for so long._

 _I really, really wanted to talk to Sonic. He was always the person I knew for a fact I could go to about anything that was hurting or frightening me. Wave was, too, but not for as long. And, besides that, I doubt she wants to talk to me. But, of course, there's really no chance that I'll be able to get ahold of either of them, anyway. I didn't bother trying; there was no point. I was tempted to call Ross but, in the end, I didn't do it. I didn't even call Selene._

 _-I ended up waking up Arthr. I didn't say that I'd had more nightmares, just that I couldn't sleep. He seemed to understand, though, and he stayed up with me for a few hours. I feel a bit better now, but I still don't want to try sleeping again._

 _ **792.** -On top of everything else going on right now, Kath is very ill. That's why he's been sleeping so much lately: because he's been running a fever that's so high that it's been sapping all of his energy. We only found out about this because I mentioned to my doctor, Ako, that Kath has been sleeping a lot lately (something everyone knows is abnormal) so he went with another doctor to check on Kath. That's how we found out that he's ill. So, basically, things have officially gone from bad to worse yet again._

 _ **798.** -Ross called me. I wasn't expecting that, but I guess it wasn't a bad surprise. Selene was sleeping, so I walked out of the cave to talk to him. He was just calling to check up on me, since it's been months since we last talked. He ended up wheedling out of me (somehow) that I'm with Selene, whom (on a day I described in one of my missing pages) I admitted to him that I like. …A lot. He teased me about it, but it wasn't the cruel teasing I grew up with. It was gentle. Harmless. Thinking about it after the fact made me smile a little. I could probably figure out why if I sat down and thought about it some, but I don't want to._

 _I also ended up telling Ross (of my own volition) some vague details about why I didn't call him for so long. I didn't admit anything directly, but I thing he figured it out (which isn't surprising, as he's pretty damn smart when his anger isn't blinding him). He seemed to get pissed off, but not at me, and he hid it pretty well. Still, hearing the hints of anger in his tone made me… I don't know, shrink away a little. It was sort of a reflex. I didn't intend to do it. It just happened. I guess I started talking quieter as well. I didn't even realize it at first._

 _When I was fourteen, I apparently reacted like that a lot. Sonic told me that it seemed to him like I was afraid of anyone being angry at me, not just Ross. He said that one of the few times he got angry with me (one of the times I refused to eat or something like that) I reacted fearfully, doing more-or-less what I did now. Apparently I backed away, too. I don't remember that, so I don't think it was a conscious reaction. I do remember what he said to me after the fact, though, when he buried his anger and calmly told me that I needed to eat. He told me in later years that it seemed like I'd "shut down" or something like that and just did as I was told without arguing. That part I remember. I remember being afraid to argue further, not because I thought Sonic would hurt me, but because I was afraid that if I made him angry again, he might leave and not come back. That, and I was afraid in general of seeing him or anyone else get angry._

 _It's ridiculous that I'm apparently still afraid of people's' anger. It's so stupid of me._

 _There was again silence. Neither of them knew what to say. Maybe there wasn't anything to say, Amy supposed. If only for that reason, neither hedgehog spoke about the entries Amy had just read. Instead, they moved on._

 _ **801.** -The thought of death scares me so badly sometimes that it's occasionally the only thing keeping me up at night. It really shouldn't frighten me that much, but it does._

 _ **802.** -Selene and I... kissed. Again. My head felt like it was spinning the whole time, like I was dizzy, but in a good way. It was amazing, and I felt really good and even happy (for the first time in ages) for a while afterward. She held my hand for a while as we walked. It was really nice. The contact was comforting, in spite of the fact that normally I don't want to be touched by anyone._

 _ **803.** -I forgot to write it before, but the whole reason we're walking is because her ship crashed as she was coming to get me, and she (like me) is too tired to teleport anywhere right now. Hence the walking._

 _-Today was eerily peaceful. It feels like the eye of the storm, and that thought has me scared to death for some reason that I can't really explain. Something terrible is coming, and I never want to see what it is._

 _ **807.** -I talked to Kath today. I called him in the early afternoon, and he answered. He sounded really tired, and it seemed like his focus was drifting constantly. I think his fever's getting worse. It's worrying Selene and I a lot._

 _-Turns out, Alkarus can turn into a bow, too. Good thing I know how to shoot._

 _ **808.** -My damn gun won't work. All the Syxans we were fighting had guns, but I was limited to a blade. Alkarus can turn into a bow, but it only has one arrow of its own when like that and it's not like I'm carrying others. Needless to say, I was injured in the fight. So was Selene._

 _ **814.** -The people and the friends that I have lost and the dreams that have faded… I can never forget them._

 _ **817.** -I hate paperwork with a fiery, burning passion._

This sort of made Sonic smirk. "I'll bet he does, too. He used to hate sitting still to do paperwork to enter races and stuff when we were younger. And for keeping record of our finances and whatnot."

Amy smiled. "Somehow, I can believe that." A few moments passed, then she resumed reading.

 _ **820.** -I'm starting to get bad about not writing in this. I've just been so busy lately that I haven't felt bothered to do it, I guess. Being king is a lot of work… about as much as I'd expected. Kath helps me with some things, but it's really not his responsibility so he doesn't do it often (nor do I ask him to). I don't know how he did this all by himself for so many years. It's exhausting._

 _ **823.** -Panic. I  hate that feeling._

 _ **824.** -If you're going to lie to me, you should at least have the decency to be  good at it. At least then you won't piss me off as badly as you otherwise will._

 _ **829.** -Finally fully finished work on my ship. It's ready for use now._

 _ **830.** -I saw a litter of teeny tiny Celestial Wolf pups in the garden today. They were  so cute. If I could've, I would've stayed there and watched them way longer than I did. Too bad I had paperwork to do._

Again, Amy giggled while Sonic smirked. Neither had anything to say that they felt was worth sharing, but their amusement remained.

 _ **835.** -I upgraded my ship, board, and communicator, for lack of anything better to do. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. I'm tempted to upgrade my laptop, but maybe I'll leave that one alone._

 _-As of this afternoon, I've recorded 137 songs onto my computer. This is the product of either mere insanity, or genuine creativity. Guess we'll never know which it is._

 _ **837.** -I met (or rather, reunited with) Arthr's mother today. She still remembers me, even though I was ten the last time we saw each other. She's so much like I remember her. It's painful and wonderful at the same time._

 _ **843.** -Lucas opened his eyes today  finally. He should've opened them ages ago, but he didn't. The doctors seemed concerned up until this point, but now they're saying he's fine. Thank god. I've been terrified for months._

 _His eyes are dark blue like his mother's. I swear they're among the most beautiful things I've ever seen._

 _-Ten still seems fascinated by his new baby brother. It's pretty damn adorable._

 _-Lucas said his first word. It was "Kari". We don't know why he said a random name, but whatever. It was adorable, anyway, especially because he looked so proud of himself for saying it in the first place._

 _-He's is still in that phase where he's going to sleep late and waking up very, very early. Usually, I'm the one who ends up getting up with him. It's not like I'm getting much sleep most of the time, anyway, so I suppose it doesn't really matter._

 _ **848.** -Eighteen years since the end of the war. Lucas and Ten are doing fine, and so are the others. Things are peaceful still. I'm as busy as ever, but it's okay. Life is good for once, and I'm happy. We're all happy. That's what matters._

 _ **849.** -I still miss you._  
 _As the days and weeks pass,_  
 _I still miss you._  
 _As the pain of grief softens,_  
 _I still miss you._  
 _As new memories are made,_  
 _I still miss you._  
 _As I smile and laugh,_  
 _I still miss you._  
 _Today and every day,_  
 _I still miss you._

As she had done several times before, Amy looked over at Sonic. "Do you think he wrote that about Selene?"

"My guess would be… almost certainly," Sonic responded. He was torn, looking over that poem. Half of him wanted to feel sad because Selene had died. And yet, Jet seemed to be doing his best to continue on and be at least content without her. So maybe it would be best if Sonic didn't add to Jet's sadness?

Amy continued reading.

 _ **854.** -Environment can shape people's personalities. That's why I try so hard to keep the palace a safe, happy, and welcoming place. I don't want my kids to grow up in a bad environment like I did. I really don't._

 _ **859.** -"You can't get yesterday back, today is already here, so make the most out of tomorrow." Yet another uplifting quote, brought to you courtesy of none other than Arthr._

 _ **861.** -I woke up alone in bed again. I don't know where Jade keeps going at night, but it worries me. Something is definitely wrong._

 _ **866.** -It never ends, does it?_

 _ **869.** -Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about._

 _ **881.** -"No matter what anyone tells you, words and language  can change the world." One of Kath's insights from years ago, written in one of his journals._

 _ **883.** -When you close the doors to your past, doors to your future will open. But is the past really worth abandoning?_

 _ **888.** -Hannah is better now, but not fully over the illness. The doctors say she'll live, though. I still feel like crying._

 _ **897.** -Suri, Hannah, and Ten got absolutely covered in mud. Lucas was the only one who managed to stay clean somehow. Needless to say, immediate baths were in order. Suri had a blast with hers. I think she was mostly just enjoying the fact that she could pop the bubbles the soap was making. It was so sweet and innocent that I couldn't help but smile._

 _ **898.** -Sometimes I feel like I have zero control over my own life. Then, sometimes, I feel like I have too much control, too much authority. And still other times I feel like none of that matters, anyway, because even if I do have control it can all too easily be taken away and wielded by someone else._

 _My cheek still stings._

 _ **899.** -I've ended up recycling some of the old lullabies I used to sing to Hannah. Now I sing them to Suri. Thankfully, Suri likes them, too. They help her sleep. I never tried lullabies on Ten (though, looking back, they may have helped), and Lucas only liked it when people hummed, but the girls apparently both prefer lullabies with words. Sometimes Hannah still likes to listen to those old songs when she's going to bed. Her favorite is the one about the butterfly._

 _ **904.** -I wrote, quite a while back (around the time that Jade and I got married) that I thought my luck was changing for the better for once. I guess it did for a while, but the idea that it would last was apparently too much to hope for._

 _ **905.** -I had to host a gala at the palace today. It was a social convention put on for the sake of diplomacy with some of our allies from other worlds. I guess it wasn't that bad, but I was bored out of my mind for most of the night. At least the kids managed to keep out of trouble for the duration of it. It probably helps that the two biggest troublemakers (Hannah and Lucas) passed out around nine, just an hour into the event. Ten is old enough to know how to behave at an important event, so I wasn't too worried about him, and Suri stayed with Kath most of the time. It gave me about four less things to worry about than usual._

 _All in all, I suppose this wasn't a bad night._

If either of them had anything to say, neither of them had a chance to voice it. Not even twenty seconds after Amy finished reading that last entry, there was an explosion and both she and her husband were sent flying. A bomb had just gone off… and the journal went up in flames.

 **~台風の目~**

 **12,519 words this time.** **For the record, yes, I'm done sharing journal entries now. However, you guys have by no means seen them all, by this point. Just saying.**

 **Some things I feel need some mention: One, the final paragraph in Analia's scene was inspired by this quote: "I am too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful, and too determined to be defeated." –Unknown.**

 **Two, Kaden's vision problems are as a result of something else I explained in that chapter where he awoke on the ground with a head wound, so I recommend you reread that chapter if you need a reminder.**

 **Three, in the final scene, I again must give credit. Great thanks to Blazing Winds for writing for Sonic for me in most of that last scene.**

 **Four, the words Turuk and Kuth are pronounced "Too-rook" and "Kooth". The word Onul is pronounced "Oh-nool". Asi is pronounced "Ah-see". Keni'nan is pronounced "Ken-ee-nah-n". Mar'klin is pronounced "Mar-klih-n". Klemarian is pronounced "Kleh-mah-ree-in". Fent'ul is pronounced "Fen-tool". Soran is pronounced "Soe-rah-n".**

 **Finally, here are the obligatory citations and the like for the journal entries.**

 **Entry 10: This is directly referencing Chapter 7 of "Every Hero Has a Story". I recommend you read it for the sheer cuteness of seeing little kid Jet. XD**

 **Entries 11 and 14: These are lines from a couple old poems I wrote but decided to take out of the poetry book I've been writing for ages. They became journal entries if only because it was either do that or delete them.**

 **Entry 92: I'm pretty sure that the "Wow, you're like a detective or something," is from the show House.**

 **Entry 113: "Writing is a struggle against silence." -Carlos Fuentes**

 **Entry 186: "All my fear means nothing." I pulled this from the song "Sanctuary" by Utada Hikaru.**

 **Entry 339: "Today's comrades will be tomorrow's enemies." I found this quote online and don't know who originally said or wrote it.**

 **Entry 348: "Sometimes we need someone to simply be there. Not to fix anything or to do anything in particular, but to just let us feel that we are cared for and supported." I found this quote online and don't know who originally said or wrote it.**

 **Entry 368: "We seem to have reached the age where life stops giving us things and starts taking them away." This is a quote that some professor-type character in the "Indiana Jones: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" movie said.**

 **Entry 785: The "good actor" comment is a reference to a scene from "Hero", back during the arc with the beast Chaos.**

 **Entry 849: The poem or whatever it was in this entry wasn't mine. I found it online and don't know who originally wrote it.**

 **Entry 859. "You can't get yesterday back, today is already here, so make the most out of tomorrow." I found this quote online and don't know who originally said or wrote it.**

 **Entry 869. "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about." I found this quote online and don't know who originally said or wrote it.**

 **Entry 881. "No matter what anyone tells you, words and language can change the world." This quote is from the movie Dead Poets Society.**

 **Entry 883. "When you close the doors to your past, doors to your future will open." I found this quote online and don't know who originally said or wrote it.**

 **Posted (at about 1:20 p.m.) 09-04-17.**


	57. Hesitation

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: Not too much was done with this, save for removing Selene and the entire first scene. I also added quite a few details to the Shadow scene. Hope you all enjoy.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Hesitation"**

 **~台風の目~**

Over the last hundred years, Blaze had learned a lot about her friend and teacher. Particularly, she had taken pains to learn as much as she could about his Darkness. In understanding his power, she had hoped to understand her own. After all, her Shadows were merely a highly diluted portion of his Darkness. So, she'd studied and talked to people (such as Analia) who knew about the Darkness. Through this, she had learned so much more than she had ever hoped. For example, Analia had explained in relatively high detail just how the power loop Kaden had once mentioned to Blaze worked. Essentially, the more Darkness Kaden used, the more his body would generate to compensate. More power would be created than would be expelled, which helped explain in part why Kaden so rapidly went fully Dark when he began actively using his powers (as, the higher the levels of Darkness within him, the more quickly he would transform). This constant use and creation of power in Kaden's body created a never-ending cycle or "loop" of ever-building levels of power that simply never went away, even after Kaden returned to his usual form.

That made situations like this one especially dangerous, Blaze knew. Kaden's Darkness was loose, even if only somewhat. Normally, as he described it, he kept it "chained up" deep down inside of himself. He'd explained to her about the matter of inner worlds, entire worlds that people could make within their own psyche and interact with, and in his somewhere he seldom went was the Darkness and the six powerful chains holding it all back. If some of that power was loose now, than that had to mean that at least one of the chains was damaged, maybe even broken. And she had no idea why.

What she did know, though, was that her powers were working in this area. It was likely some sort of no-power zone, one of the uncommon ones that only cancelled out only specific abilities. Perhaps it was a good thing, she supposed, if only because of the way that her Shadows and his Darkness bonded the two of them. His current negativity would have been affecting Blaze, too, and that wouldn't have helped Kaden any. Which, in turn, would have made things worse for her, and a noticeably bad cycle would have been started. For that reason, it was quite possibly a good thing (at least for now) that she didn't have her powers. But... she felt so weak without them, so utterly useless and even helpless. To be perfectly honest, she also felt sort of... robbed. The reason for this was simple: her Shadows had been a _gift_.

Around seventy-one years ago, Kaden had finally fully explained to her the story of both how and why she'd gotten those powers. Eons ago, an Immortal in another timeline had used some unknown form of energy to cast a measure of his or her powers across timelines, and that power had later embedded itself in someone in this timeline (someone Kaden seemed to know but never specifically named). Quite a while after a drawn-out conflict with a creature he'd referred to as "the Time Eater", he, Locke, Analia, and Marthal had returned to their homes to rest, relax, and recuperate. Since this had been before the time of Dark Gaia's attack, Kaden had lived alone in Chun-nan and had not yet been in a relationship. This meant that he'd had all the time in the world to be left alone and think.

And think he had, because there were few things he was better at doing (though he certainly did have a number of impressive skills and talents). He'd thought for quite a long time, he never said just how long, about the story about that Immortal, and about just how many timelines the Time Eater had revealed to him and his friends. So, so many of them had had a version of Mobius in them, and the vast majority of the ones he'd seen had essentially become _hell_... And it was this single fact that led Kaden to decide to try what that Immortal had done, but in his own way. Unlike the Immortal, Kaden had used magic (specifically, the magic in his sensei's Saran's staff, which Kethro probably still had) to cast a measure of his Darkness across countless timelines. In using that magic, he was able to use a spell to ensure that only someone with a good heart would get the Darkness, meaning the process was much more controlled than the one that had inspired Kaden.

This was how Blaze had gotten the powers, why they were so special, why they bonded her and her teacher. And... it was part of why she so feared not having them. However, she also feared them for a reason that was, of course, infinitely more important to her. That reason was... her family. Without her powers, how was she meant to help her husband in fights and protect their young daughter? How was she meant to remedy the situation when, like now, they went missing. How was she ever supposed to find them? Granted, yes, she had Kaden here to help her, but-

A wicked and malevolent voice yelled at the both of them before her inner panic could fully set in. Shortly after it began yelling, Kaden completely stopped walking and just stared (though his eyes still weren't focusing properly, she noticed). His expression was so calm it was almost cold. The owner of the voice, Blaze soon saw, was a Nocturnian, which explained why she didn't recognize the language. His (she thought this person was a he, anyway) words were full of venom and malice and dark laughter at Kaden's expense, which only made Kaden scowl. This guy, who seemed to be some sort of somewhat high-ranked soldier (judging by how much better his armor and weapons were compared to all the small-fry they usual saw), was already ticking Kaden off, which was not good. His Darkness already seemed to be affecting him rather badly, and the angrier he got the worse it would get. If this guy did just one more little thing to further anger Kaden, then he was probably as good as d-

"Long live the _king_!" the guy suddenly bellowed, sending a huge dark purple energy attack hurtling at her sensei, ripping up snow and the rock far beneath in the process.

Yep, that would do it. Blaze didn't need the special senses that came with her bond with Kaden to sense his anger spike completely against his will (as was probably the guy's goal). His normally bright emerald eyes had already been darkened somewhat by the power within him, and they darkened just a bit further as he shut them, still scowling. His jaw was visibly tight as he clenched his teeth together in an effort to prevent himself from doing something foolish like use his Darkness to fight back. Which, if only because of instinct, he likely would do. Knowing better than to get in the way of him or the attack coming straight at him, Blaze merely watched all of this occur over the course of three short seconds. Not one second later, something inside her sensei seemed to snap for some reason, and for just a moment his control was lost. His hand snapped out and a huge blast of Darkness was released from him palm. It completely obliterated the attack in its path, then wiped out the enemy himself, and Kaden simply turned away and resumed tensely trudging through the snow.

Just as Blaze made to follow, there was a sudden burst of light in the area. Much too belatedly, Blaze realized that it was a wave of electricity. Kaden's reaction time had been slow under three and a half minutes ago when that enemy had begun shouting at them, like it hadn't registered to him at first that anyone had been talking, and his reaction time unfortunately didn't improve now. Blaze had no time to shout a warning to him, though she did try, and he himself didn't notice the attack until a good couple of seconds after it began hurtling toward him. And by then it was too late.

In horror, Blaze watched as Kaden was struck. The ensuing flash of light blinded her long enough to ensure that she didn't see where he was sent flying to. However, she didn't lose track of him for long, since it was no longer snowing as badly as it had been earlier and visibility had subsequently improved. When she spotted where he'd landed, she ran to him, already having a very bad feeling. For a reason she didn't understand, electric shocks (at least ones of a certain level of severity or above) were often all it took to trigger one of the grand mal seizures he was prone to, which were usually caused by flashbacks and the like caused by his PTSD. And, sure enough, he was laying on the ground, convulsing both from the seizure and from the lingering electricity still visibly coursing through his body. She, like various others in her group of family and friends, had been taught what to do when someone was having a seizure for the sake of being able to help Kaden in situations like these, so she quickly turned him on his side (getting shocked a good bit in the process) and stayed right there by him just in case.

While Kaden remained unconscious and convulsing in the snow, Blaze scanned the area for any signs of an enemy that might have been responsible for the attack. But... she saw nothing. It was so odd... _There must be someone here. But... where?_ Several minutes passed, and Blaze's attention was drawn back to Kaden when she noticed that he had stopped convulsing and was waking up. As he shifted, she noticed a bit of blood in the snow where the right side of his head had been resting. Concerned, she took a risk and touched him (which, of course, made him frown and shift some more as he tried to wake up further), but only for the sake of checking for an injury. With a hand on his cheekbone, she carefully turned his head. Sure enough, there was a gash-like wound there (which she hadn't seen before because of his hair and how dark his fur naturally was, even when he wasn't being affected by his Darkness). The wound didn't look terribly fresh, judging by all the dried blood around it, but it had been reopened a bit. Maybe this explained why his reaction times had been so off and his eyes had been unfocused.

It worried her, to say the very least... though he had always insisted that people needed to stop worrying about him. Even back during the century when Mobius had been at peace, he had had people worrying over him because of things like the seizures he suffered from, and simply because he was a special needs individual… something people tended to forget. But even back then, when things had been so much happier and less stressful and whatnot, he'd retained a very negative view of some things, and the topic of people's worry had always been one of them. And, for some reason, she remembered rather well one of the conversations she had had with him so long ago on that very subject.

 _In the aftermath of their most recent training session, Kaden and Blaze were simply relaxing in the sunshine in his front yard. Somewhere inside, the twins were busy playing with their mother, leaving teacher and student to enjoy the peace and quiet outside. Kaden was lounging in the grass on his back with his arms up behind his head like a pillow and his eyes shut. Blaze, meanwhile, was sitting with her arms loosely wrapped around her knees near her chest as she said in response to what he himself had said mere seconds before, "Of course people worry about you. They have no reason not to." That was apparently something Kaden disagreed with, judging by the indelicate snort he let out. "What?" Blaze challenged, feeling bold today. "If nothing else, you are..." she paused, fumbling around for an adequate word, then finished lamely, "nice."_

 _Now Kaden openly scowled. "I'm not 'nice'."_

 _"And how are you not?" Blaze challenged him again._

 _Appearing annoyed all of a sudden, Kaden listed off, "I'm literally the living embodiment of the more 'neutral' form of Darkness, I worked as a goddamn assassin before I was even seventeen years old, and I've killed more people than you've probably ever met in your entire life, among other things." A sort of sigh seemed to escape him, then he muttered, "You tell me, Blaze."_

The memory ended as suddenly as it had begun, and Blaze refocused on the present. By now, Kaden had recovered and gotten up and was now trying his damnedest to get the snow out of his fur (he _hated_ being cold, especially when being cold also involved being _wet_ ). Also standing, Blaze again scanned the empty white landscape for any signs of an enemy, but she couldn't see anything yet still. "Kaden, what attacked you?" she asked quietly. "I can't see anything."

"Hell if I know," Kaden muttered, still picking snow clumps out of his fur as best as he could. "Whoever or whatever is out there is hiding their aura." A second of silence, then he thought to add, "And not making noise."

This likely meant that the attacker was utterly stationary, which raised the possibility that it wasn't _living_ at all. "Is it some sort of a weapon?" she ventured to guess. "A machine of some sort?"

"Unless this planet is populated, the odds of that are extremely low," Kaden responded simply, finally giving up on ridding himself of the snow clumps in his fur.

 _If no one else is on this planet besides possibly some Nocturnians... then how will we ever get out of here?_ Blaze wondered out of sheer concern. She knew Kaden had a ship, but clearly he wasn't anywhere close enough to it to teleport it to himself. Otherwise surely he would have done it by now, right?

Without warning, Kaden reached a hand out, grabbed her shoulder, and physically moved her out of the way so that he could walk forward. Blinking in confusion, Blaze watched him do this, allowing herself to be moved, then watched as he moved several feet away and, seemingly for no reason at all, became engulfed in the hellish blue flames that had helped to secure his place in legend so early on in his life. As the snow around them melted away into utter nothingness, Kaden shifted and released a deadly blast of his signature Dragonfire into the air. Blaze followed it's path with her eyes, then stared in alarm as the flames struck an invisible barrier hiding a large Nocturnian ship full of enemies that she, of course, hadn't been able to sense due to her currently unusable powers. But, thankfully, Kaden had sensed them one way or another, and for better or for worse he was in no mood to deal with their bullshit. A second torrent of fire was enough to take out some weapon they had began charging up (Blaze had instantly noticed the electricity gathering around it). The third attack blew up the ship, and then it was just... over. It felt sort of anticlimactic, but that was something that Blaze spent no longer than a few brief seconds contemplating.

The raging fires surrounding Kaden slowly died down as he again turned and, quite suddenly, actually used some of his Darkness. She watched in awe as a sphere of Darkness appeared before him, then slowly faded away to reveal none other than his ship. Stunned, she found herself demanding, "What did you not do that earlier?" The fact that he'd used Darkness to do this was one obvious reason, but she chose to ignore that because it wasn't quite what she'd meant. And, normally, she would have been more respectful about voicing this question, but, damn it, she hated being cold and wet, too!

Though it took a second of visible struggling, Kaden managed to bury his Darkness to about the same level that he'd had it at before. Only once he accomplished this did he speak, "We were in a minor no-power zone," he muttered, confirming Blaze's suspicions. He jumped up onto the nearest wing of his ship and, suddenly, Blaze realized that he had spoken in past tense. Which meant they'd moved out of that zone and she hadn't even noticed it somehow. "I wouldn't have been able to use enough power to get this here." Saying nothing else, he opened the cockpit and, with practiced ease, jumped inside. Sighing a bit at how negative his mood still was, Blaze approached the ship and was soon climbing inside the second seat. If nothing else, she supposed she was glad for the warmth of the cockpit as the glass overhead shut again. As she was buckling up, she heard Kaden's communicator vibrate and saw the screen light up, though he didn't bother to look at it. She, however, did. Leaning forward, she read the message he had just received. It was from a friend of his, someone she'd only ever heard of before and never actually met.

 ** _Solana:_**

 _Hey, I'm with Tchen. You know, Rouge's granddad. We're ready to fight now. Got together as big a group of fighters as we could. We'll do our best to help defend Mobius while you lot take care of things in space. Try not get yourself killed, alright?_

Relieved beyond words that more people, people Kaden seemed to know and trust, were going to be helping in this war, Blaze sighed heavily and buckled herself in just in time for the ship to take off.

 **~台風の目~**

Split seconds. That was how long it took for it all to happen. A young girl was outside of her small home in Chaos City, running around her front yard under her mother's watchful gaze through the kitchen window. While the girl ran and played happily in the sunshine, her mother busied herself with the dishes and the news. They'd heard a report about ten minutes earlier alleging that the abandoned Lester City had either been attacked or was still being attacked. Though that city was barely a sixteen to twenty-two minute drive from Chaos City and the report had scared the little girl at first, her mother had brushes it aside as a crazy story made up by the news crew to get people's attention. She had done this about nearly all the reports about places being attacked, actually.

According to her mother, the continent of Eurish was just fine. Grand Mobian University, Hidden Palace, the unnamed mountain town, "Mootant Village", and Westopolis hadn't fallen, though the media claimed that they had and that there were only maybe about a thousand survivors. They had also said that Pyre City, which had been fighting back up until this point, had finally fallen, along with Castle Acorn, Red Mountain, Blue Ridge, River City, and Westopolis had all been destroyed, leaving barely two thousand survivors. Her mother said that Emerald Town and Spagonia Intercontinental University (the Eurish Branch), which the media had said over a week ago had been attacked but were still standing, were all fine, too. And yet... now, it was being said that those places had fallen and that everyone except about ten people from the university and two or four from the town had died.

A lot of the other reports had been about Artika. The media had stated that Cryptic Mystic, Sylvania, and Silver castles, all ruins, had been destroyed. They'd further claimed that Night Palace, Snowy Kingdom, Curien Mansion, Castle Grimm, the city of Rhombus, Metal City, Starlight City, Twinkle Amusement Park, Biotex (Artika Branch), Candlewick Village, Echo City, and "The Tough Tea Club" village had all been attacked. Metal City, Candlewick Village, Echo City, and "The Tough Tea Club" were all still standing, according to what the little girl had heard, but they claimed that Metal City had suffered more than six thousand casualties by this point. They also said that twelve people had died in Curien Mansion, maybe six hundred people had survived the fall of Starlight City, and somehow no one had died when Twinkle Amusement Park, and Biotex (Artika Branch) had fallen whereas no one had survived the fall of Rhombus. Once Metal City, Echo City, "The Tough Tea Club", the ruins of "Night Babylon", Mt. Claggerhorn, Holy Mountain (i.e. Holy Summit), and the so-called "Citadel of Darkness" fell... there would be no more people left on the whole of Artika.

Then there was Efrikila. From what she had heard... there was no one still alive anywhere on that scorching hot continent. Down in the south, there was Untol. Every single settlement there (and there were a whole lot to begin with) had been destroyed, leaving just a few thousand total survivors. Supposedly, everyone there was now taking refuge in the city of Grand Metropolis, though the news crew had said that they doubted the city would last much longer. That had been three days ago. And, on top of that, they were saying that the continent of Tralius (which had thus far been heavily protected by the G.U.N. Military Base) was beginning to suffer heavy losses as well. Nearly half of their twelve or so scattered settlements (most of which were somewhat isolated cities) had either fallen or were on the verge of doing so. The unnamed continent had supposedly been destroyed in it's entirety (as it had been deemed "utterly useless" by the attackers, according to rumors). If this was true, the two to four million people on that small continent were all dead. All of them.

Also reported on was, of course, the supercontinent of Yueisha, where Chaos City was. Based on everything she'd heard, the current state of this continent was bad. The Highlands (including the famed village of Hyale) had fallen, and there were more than three thousand casualties. Ironlock Prison had been destroyed, with three hundred and fifty casualties. Southsend Military Base, Area 52, and Area 99 were destroyed. There were over four thousand casualties from Southsend (which was so small this meant that basically no one had survived), more than ten thousand from the much larger Area 52 (meaning more than half of the personnel had died), and simply no survivors from Area 99. East Island and Turtle Bay had been fully taken over, killing two hundred people (mostly from the island) in the process. Wood Village, Shrine Isle, the cities of Sevel and Tel, Metro City, Popdopolis, Filmdom City, and Speed Highway had all fallen, killing over sixteen million (which was a staggering number to consider when one recalled the fact that the overall population of the world was roughly only sixty four and a half million). Much more recently, Apatos, New City, New Tek City, Mega City, and Surfside City had all fallen, too, leaving just six hundred survivors or so between the lot of them.

These reports... they were everywhere, and she and her mother had by no means seen them all. They were all so dark and foreboding and utterly terrifying, leaving the little girl feeling more scared than ever before. But, of course, the little girl barely understood all of it. She grasped that people were dying in very, very high numbers, but that was all. And her mother continued to deny that any of it was true, even though the little girl had seen smoke in this distance this morning in the direction of Lester. When she turned the right direction, she still could. Her mother insisted these reports were all lies and that the smoke was probably from a simple bush fire or something of the sort. While she didn't understand why so many people on so many different TV channels would be lying about this, the girl did accept her mother's words as truth and even found some comfort in them. Comforted as she was, she saw nothing wrong with continuing to play... even as more than half of her neighbors left their homes in a hurry with as many things as they could carry or shove into their cars. It was weird, but... surely her mother wasn't wrong. Surely everything was alright.

But... split seconds. That was all it took for everything to change forever. As she was continuing to run happily along in the warm light of the sun, she suddenly froze. The light had vanished, replaced by a shadow larger than virtually every building in this part of the city. Looking up, she saw a massive, dark, evil-looking ship blotting out the sun itself. Then, something as big as a house dropped from the ship, and everything became an endless sea of fire, screams, explosions, smoke... and then nothing.

This was the scene Sonic and Amy came upon.

It had taken them all of ten minutes to escape Lester, taking with them Jet's now thoroughly scorched journal. Amy was fairly certain that it could be saved through magic, but that wasn't a thought that lingered in her mind for very long. For the very second they reached Chaos City, they realized exactly just how much danger the people of their world were truly in. All around them, they saw nothing but fires from Hell, smoke blacker than night, the dead bodies of so many innocent people, the lifeless and horrified frozen face of a small girl mostly buried beneath rubble in what had once been a yard... The reports Amy had been quietly following for so many days now had been correct, then. The people of Mobius truly were being massacred. There was no telling just how extensive this loss of life currently was, but... near as she had been able to figure much earlier that morning... twenty two _million_ people were all either outright missing, known to have been kidnapped, dead, or dying, including her own parents. To say that this was infuriating to both her and Sonic did their levels of pure rage no justice.

Turning suddenly to one of the monsters that had done this, Sonic unexpectedly released a Chaos Blast that utterly destroyed the beast and the Nocturnians flying around in a small ship above it. Had he not had the green Chaos Emerald, and he always did, then he wouldn't have been able to do that, Amy knew. He certainly didn't have the other emeralds right now, and there was no telling where they were. But that didn't matter right this second. Right now, what mattered was survival... and vengeance.

The Chaos Blast alerted the Nocturnians in the area to the fact that Sonic had an emerald, which wound up being to the couple's advantage. Their enemies swarmed around them, making it easy for for Sonic to release another Chaos Blast and Amy to do a psionic blast, effectively wiping out the small-fry soldiers and their "pets". All that remained were more serious threats. Larger beasts, more powerful soldiers, soldiers that were more heavily armed, ships that could quite possibly take on the X-Tornado and win... Expression grim, Amy laid a hand on her husband's arm. "Sonic, we can't fight them now. We have to find the others that are here on Mobius. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get back to the Blue Typhoon."

Emerald eyes that still sparked with righteous anger glanced her way. "Amy-"

"Stop," she cut in firmly, still keeping her voice low enough that their newest group of approaching opponents (the stronger ones she'd noted before) wouldn't hear. "I know what you're going to say, so just don't. The Master Emerald's safe and protected on Angel Island, and even _if_ these guys get ahold of an emerald they can't use any of them so long as you actively use your will to prevent the emeralds from responding to them. You know that. You also know that we _can't_ waste time. The sooner we get back to the Typhoon and stop the Clan in space, the sooner we can save the people _here_."

Though he let out a small sound of annoyance and anger, Sonic still had the sense not to argue with her. Instead, she shot a glare at no one Nocturnian in particular, grabbed his wife's hand, and teleported with her to a random stretch of of woodland to the east of the city, near the ocean. When they reappeared, Sonic kept an unusually serious watch out for enemies (he, like most everyone else, had become very relaxed over the last hundred years, making this odd). Amy, meanwhile, made herself useful by trying to contact anyone and everyone who was on Mobius. As it so happened, she got ahold of her stoic ninja friend (who seldom answered his communicator unless it was an emergency) before anyone else.

 ** _Amy:_**

 _Anyone who receives this message, please respond as soon as you can. Sonic and I are trying to locate you all, and not all of your trackers are on or working._

 ** _Espio:_**

 _I'm in West Forest._

Straight away, Amy found herself turning west. In the distance, she could see the smoking hell that Chaos City had become, and somewhere beyond that was the very distant edge of Green Forest. Beyond Green forest, completely out of sight, was White Jungle and the so-called "Jungle of Doom". Somewhere far to the north of that, very close to Spagonia, was West Forest and, last she'd heard, it had been overrun with Nocturnians. If he was there, that was not good.

 ** _Amy:_**

 _Why?_

She was surprised when he mentioned his off-and-on girlfriend.

 ** _Espio:_**

 _Kanari. We need help._

 ** _Amy:_**

 _Are you hurt?_

 ** _Espio:_**

 _Can't teleport._

Well, that stilted response was hardly a decent answer to her question, but it wasn't like she had the time to argue. Instead, she simply informed Sonic of the situation, and the two of them teleported together to their friend's aid. If they could save the lives of at least two people today... they would.

 **~台風の目~**

Jet had only just begun walking back to his ship after retrieving Lucas's communicator from a lonely planet that he'd tracked it to when a dark aura began to swell in the air above him. His brilliant blue eyes shifted upward to watch in silence as a strange creature (undoubtedly Nocturnian) equipped with a massive pair of leathery wings and lethal claws about as large as his own arm descended upon him from the newly opened portal. The portal shut as soon as it was through, and it took all of a second for Jet to kill it off. The way he did it, though, wasn't quite his normal style.

Years ago, during the Syxan War, Jet and Selene had gotten to talking about powers for whatever reason, and the conversation had inevitably led to them discussing his storm powers. When they began talking about his favorite aspect of those powers, his lightning, she had learned something interesting. Namely, she had learned that he had white lightning along with the heavenly blue lightning he so often used. Where the white lightning came from he himself didn't know (though he'd very briefly mentioned once that it might have been his dad's first and given to him later for some reason). That, however, was irrelevant. What was relevant was that he had it, and at that point he had only ever used it once before.

The incident wasn't one he himself had had much memory of, so he'd described to her what he had been told by Wave after the fact. He'd explained to her about various things, such as how he'd awakened his storm powers in the first place, how he'd apparently become outlined with heavenly blue and his already blue eyes had gained a blue glowing tint (like the cyan outline and glow his friend Silver, whom she obviously hadn't known at the time, apparently gained when using his powers), and so on. He hadn't fully explained to her back then why he'd never deliberately used the lightning before (it was because of the possible origins of the power), saying only that it was weaker than his blue lightning by a significant degree, which was true. In the end, she hadn't pressed for more details than that and the subject had been dropped. They had moved on and the conversation had been largely forgotten by him by now.

For whatever reason, though, the white lightning was Jet's power of choice to fell the beast that had begun lunging toward him. It hadn't been a conscious decision, though. He had, as he nearly always did, analyzed his opponent and judge its capabilities in the areas of speed and strength and whatnot. Once he'd properly assessed it (which rarely took longer than a few seconds at most), he used the minimum amount of power and speed necessary to take his foe down. He'd picked up this behavior very quickly during the war, whether on his own or through observing Kath he himself had no idea, and clearly he was still doing it. Perhaps that was the sole reason behind him using the white lightning instead of its far more powerful counterpart. Perhaps it didn't even matter because, regardless of what his reasoning behind this method of attack was, the beast was killed and it fell lifelessly onto the frost-covered dirt. The fight was over, and he could return to his search.

 _Or... not._ Frowning, he slowly turned and his eyes immediately fell upon none other than the most powerful sorcerer in the Nocturnian army, malevolent scourge known as Kethro. The monster of a man was grinning as he watched Jet. His eyes were strangely focused on the young king, as though trying to see every tiny secret Jet had. Perhaps it was just a look meant to unnerve, but perhaps he really _was_ trying to read Jet. If that were the case, Jet felt confident that it was a venture doomed to fail. It was the least of his concerns right now, anyway.

Jet had no weapon drawn in that forever-reckless manner of his, and Kethro clearly took notice of this. Grinning just a touch wider, Kethro fired a lightning-quick beam at Jet from the index finger on his right hand, and Jet simply blurred to the side just enough to dodge. The beam whizzed dangerously close past his cheek, but didn't even so much as blink. Given what he had already been through already in years past, that decidedly weak attempt at Jet's life would never had been enough to cause him to flinch. It did absolutely nothing to him, but Kethro didn't seem to care.

Still grinning, Kethro summoned forth his immensely powerful and corrupt magic, using it to summon forth a veritable army of beings that appeared to be comprised of little more than earth and dark energy together in some strange and unnatural blend. _Golems, huh…?_ After taking just a few scarce seconds to glance over these new threats, Jet expressionlessly stared down Kethro. It was only then that Kethro hmself decided to speak. "Such a shame you weren't around to hear your children scream," he said, laughter coloring his voice. "The way they cried for you when we broke their bones and their spirits... It made for quite the show, I must say. It was such a disappointment that you weren't there to see it."

In an instant, something in the air seemed to shift or maybe even snap. Expression still carefully blank for a number of reasons, Jet called forth an attack he normally saved for desperate situations only: the Raiga. A huge serpentine dragon of heavenly blue burst into existence with a flash of lightning and an ethereal roar, snaking around Jet for just a second before lashing out and unleashing itself in a devastating attack on the deathly silent soldiers Kethro had only just created. Though they tried to fight back, it was no use and he and Kethro both knew it. He showed nothing, _nothing_ to indicate it, but he was furious... and that only made him all the more lethal.

In retaliation or perhaps simply to try to see for himself just how strong Jet was, Kethro created yet more soldiers as he himself leapt backward and away from Jet just as the hawk had begun running forward. Never missing a beat, Jet sprung high into the air, spun, and unleashed a massive flood onto the ground below. Just as it crashed into the ground and began ripping apart the earthen soldiers it hit, ships belonging to real Nocturnians begun descending upon the planet to lend Kethro some assistance. Jet noticed them easily enough. Ending the flood, he landed on the ground and again utilized a power he normally never used. The second he struck the ground, massive sections of earth rose up like spires and demolished the ships, as the water had failed to reach them. Mere seconds later, thick vines shot up out of the ground and pulled those unlucky few soldiers who had escaped the ships down deep within the planet's crust, never to be seen again. But the fight wasn't over yet.

Whipping around, Jet caught Kethro's blade in the palm of his hand, guarding said hand from being sliced clean open by using a thin layer of his aura to shield it. Lightning raged around his body, and the barest of frowns made itself known on his face as Kethro again dared to speak to him. "So much power, and yet you refrain from killing me," he murmured dangerously with a smirk. "Why is that, I wonder? Is it that dangerous element of curiosity you possess? Is it _weakness_? Are you _afraid_ , young Immortal?"

That barest of frowns grew so infinitesimally that anyone present could barely claim that they saw it. "Don't test me..." With this simple response given, Jet tightened his grip to the point where Kethro's blade nearly snapped under the pressure. Parts of it damn near shattered, cracking to the point where it looked like the breeze could destroy it all, and in the same instant Jet lashed out again. Expression and detectable emotion practically nonexistent within him, Jet released a second Raiga, this one distinctly more powerful than the first. There was another ethereal roar, the dragon surged forward, there were explosions and waves of pure lightning, the landscape was absolutely _devastated_... and Kethro actually seemed to be injured.

The man had, at some point during the chaos of Jet's attack, wound up on his back with his severely damaged sword still in hand. As Jet walked toward him in silence, the Nocturnian picked himself up and moved into a sitting position and again amusement seemed to overtake his very being. He spoke again suddenly, words nothing Jet could have anticipated. "I like… the look in your eye," he murmured slowly. Then Kethro smiled, a look so full of malevolence that words could do it no true justice. "So cold... so heartless..." Jet stopped walking, never speaking, never outwardly reacting, just... watching. And Kethro's smile... it only grew. "Yes... you and I shall certainly meet again." In under a second, a single heavenly blue lightning bolt shot through the air, but it didn't matter in the end. Though it took less than a fraction of an instant to reach where Kethro had been seated in the dirt, the monster of a man was already gone. He'd completely vanished, leaving not a trace of himself behind.

With a mute blink, Jet silently turned away... and simply returned to his ship.

 **~台風の目~**

Right now, it was very quiet inside of the blue Typhoon. Shadow and Tails were once again the only ones onboard it, but Tammy and Arthr hadn't left them. Not entirely. Instead, they had merely boarded their own small ships, having some odd device Tammy mentioned briefly that Jet had invented to seemingly scan them into existence in open space. Their two ships, each only big enough to carry their pilots and no one else and hauling their weapons, were leading The Typhoon toward the massive construct that they had been flying toward for what felt like ages by now. Tails kept the ship on autopilot for the time being, keeping half an eye on where they were going as he worked on repairing one of his computers. He wasn't sure what it's deal was, but it had been absolutely freaking out for over twenty minutes now, and it was beginning to make him fearful that there potentially was damage to his ship or something. As Tails was working, Shadow, who had left the room not too long before Tails's computer had started having problems, returned finally from whatever it was he'd been doing and walked over to the young fox. Before he could even think to touch the computer, its owner was quick to warn him, "Don't touch the computer, Shadow."

Ever resistant to being told what to do, Shadow frowned and demanded with crossed arms, "Why not?"

Shooting him an apologetic glance, Tails explained, "It's got a lot of electrical currents running through it right now, and I'm not sure why. I'm controlling them as best as I can, but I'd still rather not let you touch it just in case. I know electricity is more dangerous for you to come into contact with than it is for others, and I don't want something to happen."

Understandably, the reminder of just how Gerald had forcibly altered him only soured Shadow's already poor mood. "Nothing will happen to me," he muttered irritably.

"But we don't _know_ that for sure," Tails countered logically. "You've only let me _barely_ look at your chips and other enhancements, so there's no telling how much of a shock they can take before sustaining irreparable damage. And I don't think I should have to remind you that damaging any of those things, especially the chips, will damage _you_ , too."

Gritting his teeth, Shadow looked away. "You make it sound like you're talking about a damn robot," he responded. His voice had mysteriously lost the fire of temper it had been gaining, and that was enough to make Tails sigh and gentle his tone a bit. He _had_ been a touch harsh in delivering the reminder he had just said, but he hadn't meant it the way Shadow had taken it.

"I know you're not a robot," Tails soothed quietly, looking up from his computer finally. "However, we _have_ to acknowledge the fact that you've been... artificially enhanced, and it's never going to stop being necessary for us to account for that in situations like this one."

Instead of replying to Tails's overall statement, Shadow just scoffed and muttered dryly, "' _Enhanced_ '. Hardly."

"It's true and you know it," Tails countered easily. "For example, the chips Gerald implanted into your brain may not be entirely good, but some of them _are_ responsible for good things."

Needless to say, Shadow wasn't at all happy to be reminded of how heavily he had been experimented on during his childhood, but even he couldn't deny the truth of Tails's words. The reason for Tails's concern was obvious to him and, as much as Shadow hated to acknowledge what had been done to him... he had to admit that Tails's worries were only logical. Deep blue eyes continued to watch Shadow. "Look... we're friends, right?" Silence. He pressed. " _Right_?"

Almost, _almost_ , Shadow growled. But, instead, he sighed and made one of the rarest admissions of his life. "Yes."

That made Tails smile, which didn't surprise Shadow at all. The smile was a tad wan, granted, but it was there nonetheless. "Friends protect friends, Shadow. I mean, just look at your dad and Locke. They watch each other's backs like _crazy_ , you know? They keep each other safe. That's all I'm doing trying to do for you." Shadow supposed he understood. Really, he did, but he chose not to say anything about it. He didn't have much of anything _to_ say. Tails continued talking, anyway. "I want to help you, Shadow, and try to help keep your enhancements from doing you any more harm than they already have. I can't _do_ that if you don't tell me what enhancements there even are and what they do and whatnot, or at least let my computer do scans to find out..."

More silence ensued as Shadow, for perhaps the first time, stopped to genuinely consider Tails's words. To be perfectly honest, he knew that the request had merits. It was true that there was only so much that Tails could do without knowledge. But Shadow knew that he couldn't sit through any series of scans, or even just one scan. The memories such a thing would resurface for him were just too much. Too much, too much, too much. And though he remembered, Shadow didn't think he could _talk_ about the things Gerald had done to him. But, he remembered. Oh, he remembered...

As unfortunate as it was, Gerald's experiments on him had begun to occur pretty much the day Shadow had been "born" and hadn't ceased until his escape from the ARK (which was right before or as Gerald and his robots had killed Maria when he was eight years old). Most of the experiments had been performed when he was _awake_ , too... The lingering trauma was more powerful than he ever liked to admit. Trauma did nothing to prevent him from remembering, however, and suddenly he found himself recalling many of the "enhancements" that had been forced upon him... turning him so unwillingly into some sort of a cyborg.

The first thing he recalled was that there was metal coating his bones. It was a sort of alien metal Gerald found on a dwarf planet in a dead solar system (from what Shadow recalled learning as a child) long before he had even created Shadow. He named the metal Azerenum or something akin to that. It was virtually unbreakable, supposedly. The only physical thing that Shadow knew of that could damage or even break it was metal (such as the steel in a sword) that was been imbued with powerful magic. More likely than not, at least based on the research Maria had done for him during his youth, the metal was Crystallian, meaning it came from the distant world of Crystallia, whose people once colonized areas near the world Gerald stole the metal from.

The purpose of coating Shadow's bones, he'd been told, with the "Azerenum" was to make his bones unbreakable, thus making him more dangerous and harder to seriously injure. The only bones never coated with it were the three ribs above his heart on the left side of his rib cage (these were left alone intentionally for the sake of later experiments on said heart), the right side of his collarbone, his right wrist, and his chin. Due to how delicate the procedure of coating his bones had, Shadow was kept unconscious so that he wouldn't thrash or try to escape or whatever else and ruin things. It made sense, and it had at least spared him the trauma and agony from that experiment. This had been done when he was seven years old.

Next, he remembered something else. There were 136 known bolts, pins, and other such things that were implanted into his skeleton. Of those 136, approximately forty-two were implanted for the sake of sheer cruelty on Gerald's part, as far as Shadow was concerned. They served no functional purpose that he knew of. The rest were implanted to further strengthen Shadow's bones, especially the ones that weren't coated, and keep them from breaking. Every single one of them was implanted when he was awake but strapped to special table so that he couldn't get away, and the memories haunted him to this day. He had so many nightmares... This had first been done when he was seven years old, with twenty-eight being implanted, then rest were implanted when he was eight. Having been so young, then, the trauma was severe.

He remembered... wires next. There were thirty-seven known wires (though there likely many more) in his body, and the purpose behind them was unknown to him. Most he suspected were, again, implanted for the sake of sheer cruelty. However, he did sort of suspect that some may have been there to help the chips in Shadow's body carry out their designed tasks and effects. He was quick to stop thinking about the chips, though, and focus back on the wires (if only because those ticked him off less). He focused on another specific memory, the memory that all the wires he knew of were in set places. Some were going down the lengths of his arms (predominately his right arm), some were carefully placed in and around his heart and lungs, a few went through and around his spinal column, and a couple were even running through his brain. He'd been _awake_ when most of the wires had been installed, just not the ones near/in his spinal column and brain. The first wires were installed when he was three, a few more were installed when he was five, and the rest were installed when he was seven. Yet more sources of trauma, yet more nightmares he wished he could stop having at night.

The next thing he remembered was in many ways even more horrible than the previous things he'd recalled. At ages six and seven, he'd been subjected to numerous cruel experiments to test his resistance to all manner of Mobian poisons, the most lethal of which is known by the nickname of "Dragon's Blood Poison". Less than seven people in all of the history of Mobius have ever survived coming into contact with the toxin (which was literally tainted dragon's blood). Shadow was (quite unwillingly) one of them, but only because he'd been hooked up to all kinds of machines that would ensure his survival if something were to have gone wrong with the experiment (which it had). The only good thing to come from these experiments was his high resistance to most poisons (not including the Dragon's Blood) that he'd gained, but it wasn't something that he felt was at all worth it.

What he remembered next had happened when Shadow had been only two. Special surgeries had been done on his heart and lungs to make it so that he could survive in environments where most (even races as advanced as the da Asani) couldn't breathe. He could also withstand severe blood loss thanks to the work done on his heart, which forever altered (somehow) how much blood actually needed to be flowing through Shadow's body at any given time for him to stay alive. There was also a chip or something of the sort in his heart that allowed it to beat significantly slower than normal but still keep him perfectly sustained.

After that, he again unwillingly remembered the chips in his brain. Due to how delicate the procedures of implanting them had been, he'd always been kept unconscious while they'd been "installed". Most were installed when he was two or younger, and the rest were installed between the ages of four and six. Despite having been so unconscious, however, and despite having been so young... he remembered the chips. He remembered what he'd learned about them, the primary functions each one had, the secondary/"lesser" functions some of them had, and so on.

The first one gave him an almost robotic understanding of guns and explosives, how to use them, build them, repair them, and so on. It was part of why he was so attached to them, in way, and so capable of working both on and with them for himself and for the Mobian military. The second one had removed the "sweetness" and friendliness he had had in his personality as a young child. As a side effect, however, it also actively worsened the temperamental flare he'd already inherited from Kaden. The third one gave him a computer-like understanding of most spoken languages. The fourth one ensured his aim with a gun was always perfect (unless, say, his vision was blurred due to blood loss/injury, he wasn't fighting seriously, or whatever else). The fifth one enhanced his already high level of physical strength while the sixth one enhanced his naturally impressive stamina. The sixth one had a side effect, though, one that made him not need sleep as much as most people.

The seventh one allowed his mind to connect to all manner of computers (provided it was done through the proper process, which he only barely remembered). The eighth one made it impossible for him to feel love unless the feeling is particularly strong. As a side effect, now, when he did feel this emotion, he felt it deeply and the emotion was powerful. The ninth one made it nearly impossible for him to feel happiness unless the feeling was particularly strong. However it, too, had a side effect. Now, just as in the case of love, when he did feel this emotion, he felt it deeply and it was powerful. The tenth one made him much more prone to being indifferent rather than feeling anything positive, perhaps to make him a more willing, efficient, and lethal killer. The eleventh one made him much more prone to being cold rather than feeling anything positive, most likely for the same reason as the last one.

The twelfth one made him much more prone to being angry rather than feeling anything positive, though from what he'd learned this had been done purely for the sake of making it easier for him to access the Darkness he'd inherited from Kaden (though how Gerald had even known of that escaped him). The thirteenth one completely eliminated his ability to feel sadness unless the emotion was particularly powerful. The fourteenth one messed with the pain signals his brain (and any other) naturally would send out when he was injured, making him barely be able to feel most wounds unless they were very large and/or serious. But it, like some other chips, this one had a side effect. For some reason, coming into contact with cold water registered as _severe_ pain to him and suddenly being touched/splashed/whatever by it acted as a sort of "shock" to his entire system. It could cause him to go entirely blank, stop moving, and so on. Rarely would it take him longer than about thirty seconds to snap out of this and be fine again, and he seldom realized that he even "blanked out", but he did know from others that it happened.

Now, the fifteenth chip was one that struck him as both good and bad at the same time. It made him entirely unable to feel fear unless the feeling was severe. The sixteenth one eliminated most of his desire to eat or drink, but not the need for him to. Somehow, it and various other experiments also messed with his aging (which was already going to be different than, say, Sonic's due to his mixed-species DNA). This had allowed Gerald to accelerate his aging and physical growth until he was ten, Sonic's age at the time. Even now, his aging was forever altered and was likely to be significantly slower than any fully biological Mobian in existence. Gerald had once even told him that he might very well live even longer than a Babylonian hawk. And then there was the seventeenth chip, which allowed his mind to essentially "scan" entire environments, enemies, and so on and (often subconsciously) gather high levels of data/knowledge in under a few seconds. The eighteenth and final chip gave him robotic reflexes that made it very easy for him to dodge attacks, catch things, and so on. At least that one, like a scant few others, was actually helpful to him. And, really, he supposed he could and possibly even should entrust Tails with this information, but _could_ he? Really? Would he be able to put himself through that, whether it be just talking or trying to tolerate scans?

A cyan flash pulled Shadow out of his thoughts before they could continue any further, and he watched with his characteristic frown as Silver appeared suddenly in the room with Knuckles and Jason While silently pleased that the children were alright, Shadow said nothing to either them or Knuckles (though he did sort of watch out of the corner of his eye as the gruff echidna father herded the two young children toward and then down the hall). Instead, Shadow focused on his nephew. ...Half-nephew, technically. Because, yes, that did matter... if only because Sonic insisted it didn't. As the younger aptly-named silver hedgehog noticeably prepared to teleport away, Shadow's hand reached out and snatched Silver by the scruff of the neck. Now, normally, most hedgehogs (Silver included) would have reflexively gone limp, even if only slightly. This time, though, Silver didn't. Still, Shadow knew he had his nephew's attention. "Where are you going?" he demanded.

Golden eyes full of fear turned his way. "To find Blaze and Kimmy. I _have_ to make sure they're safe."

To be honest... there was probably Shadow should have said in response. But what would that even be? That he was just as terrified about the safety of his own daughter? That he understood, as a father himself, Silver's desperation to find his family? Like hell he'd ever voice those things aloud. Not to anyone, and certainly not to someone who was already so burdened. In the end, all he did was nod and mutter, "Keep an eye out for the others."

"Yeah," Silver murmured. "Of course." And with that, he was gone.

As his sensitive ears picked up on the sounds of Knuckles and his two kids, Shadow turned to the nearest and looked out. Crimson eyes narrowed, taking in all the details of this artificial marvel of space while the Blue Typhoon slowly followed Tammy and Arthr's ships inside. Tails's voice soon made itself heard. "We're here," he murmured.

So they were.

 **~台風の目~**

A little more than a century ago now, the leader of the Babylon Rogues on Mobius vanished, leaving his two teammates, one his former girlfriend, alone to live out their lives as normally as they could. For twenty long years following that time, Storm and Wave had done just that as best as they had been able to. They had bickered, Wave had worked on her board, Storm had emptied the fridge entirely countless times, they had bickered some more, they had spent some time with the others here and there... But, over time, Storm had found himself longing for something more than just that. For one of the first times in his life, he had begun to feel a sense of discontentment with the way his life had been playing out. No longer had he been happy to just eat, bicker with Wave, sleep, and later repeat. He had wanted... something more.

Now, Storm had never been one for grand adventure and saving the world and all that crap. No, contrary to what most people had chosen to believe, he had had always enjoyed the little things. Food that had been cooked well. A comfy bed. A pleasant breeze. Someone to play a video game with now and then. Jet had understood this about Storm, and he'd always done what he could to provide for Steam in those little ways, chiefly by making sure the albatross always had access to genuinely good food. Wave, however... Wave and Storm had had a very rocky history with one another, hence all their bickering, and this led to her simply not noticing the little things that Storm had always enjoyed so thoroughly. This never made her a bad friend, he admitted, but he'd found himself sort of longing to just have someone around who'd _notice_ , and not just that but also be able to appreciate those same little things right there with him.

Then, one day, he'd met this wonderful Babylonian girl… a woman, really, named Keilin. Straight away, he'd found her to be a friend with the ability to do just what he'd been longing for. Notice... and appreciate. And, more than that, she'd quickly proven to him over a matter of mere months that she was just as capable of punching his lights out in a fit of anger as he was of doing it to her (not that he ever would, but still). Her temper matched and quite possibly even rivaled his, as did her physical strength. She may have been a bit smaller than him, but all that did was hide her true strength, and not just the physical kind, from all those who would dare cross her path. These things among plenty of others had caused passing interest to morph into friendship and later blossom into genuine feelings. The specifics of all that didn't matter, but it was love that had prompted him to so suddenly move out of the tower in Future City eighty years ago. It had been for the sake of moving into the apartment he and his girlfriend still shared to this day in Empire City.

That decision wasn't one he ever regretted, even when they had one of their explosive arguments or during times like now when everything around them was going to absolute shit. ...Which had only happened twice in their relationship so far. Once, when they had been vacationing on the jungle continent of Tralius and there had been a huge fire in the rainforest surrounding the village they had been staying in. The second time was right here, right now. This moment. Everything about this was just... _wrong_.

Buildings were collapsing. Flames were roaring and consuming all in their path. Smoke and dust was rising into the air in suffocating columns. All around, nothing but screams and explosions and thunderous booms and all manner of sounds he could only associate with war filled the air - and his ears. Ships raced through the sky, dropping bombs and shooting guns and lasers and whatever else at everything below. Creatures he had no names for and Nocturnian soldiers did their damnedest to slaughter every living thing they found. And amidst it all there was... Keilin.

Her bright yellow eyes were alive with rage, her short hair was swaying slightly as she moved and fought, her almost cream-colored feathers were getting filthy from all the smoke and shit in the air... but even now she was beautiful. Strong, too, of course. She had to be, in order to be taking these bastards and their pets down with little more than punches. She had these crazy aura powers that she could have been using, too, but for some reason she wasn't right now. He supposed she wanted to feel the satisfaction of physically striking these murderers down or something and, honestly, he felt the same way. That was why, even pretending he'd had other powers besides strength (which he didn't) he still would have just been punching shit, too.

All in all, Storm reflected as he and his girlfriend fought side by side to defend their city, he didn't regret the way things had turned out in his life. He didn't regret meeting Wave or Jet or even Sonic and the others. He didn't regret punching Ivo's lights out during the Dark Gaia mess that one time or helping take down him and other big baddies. He didn't regret traveling through space or being part of a famous racing team or a member of a legendary group of thieves. He didn't even regret possibly falling in love, something he'd once believed he hadn't needed and could have lived his entire life without. But... there was one thing he found he _did_ regret... And that was failing to tell his oldest and most temperamental friend where he'd been going, failing to keep in contact with her, failing to even try to reach out to her even just once as all the years had worn on and on. He regretted leaving Wave alone like that. But there was really no changing the past, was there? And besides...

Right now he had a war to help fight.

 **~台風の目~**

 **11,017 words this time. Seriously hope you all enjoyed. Don't worry, Keilin is merely a sort of background character, someone who's _there_ but who I won't really be writing about. Oh, also for those of you who need the reminder: in Hero, Jet was described as using the white lightning in Ch. 120, when he was waking up his storm powers for the first time. Also, all the details I shared in the Tails and Shadow scene (the ones relating to Shadow, that is) were inspired by the canon story for him. I had a weird-ass dream involving Shadow getting hurt in a fight and seeing a wire in his arm, actually, which got me thinking about Android Shadow and all that which, eventually, let to the scene you all just read. Posted (at about 10:35 a.m.) 09-05-17.**


	58. Black Out

**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**

 **Notes on the edits I did: I removed the original Ch. 64 ("The Tale of the Immortals") in its entirety, but the edited version of it may come up later. I don't know yet. All the others edits are for the chapter directly following that one. Now, this chapter became very short when I removed the bottom scene, but I figured you guys would enjoy a short chapter for once. Might be refreshing, I don't know.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Black Out"**

 **~台風の目~**

Warp-zones were such mysterious, tricky things. Each and every time Analia encountered one, this undeniable fact was proven to her all over again. This particular instance had even gone so far as to genuinely surprise her. While on the search for her children, and everyone else of course, Analia had unwittingly flown right into a warp-zone in the middle of deep space, one she hadn't even sensed. She'd been yanked through with great force, then spat out into more empty space. The sheer force of that forward thrust out of the warp-zone had sent her tumbling head over heels for a few feet before she'd managed to catch herself. Once she had gotten herself stabilized, she had begun looking around.

Now, she was looking at the Blue Typhoon, the very ship she had departed from when this whole mess had begun. The ship was flying toward a massive structure (she was tempted to call it a building, but wasn't entirely convinced it could be classified as such) that, like Analia herself, was floating silently in space. Both were about two hundred miles from her, but that distance was nothing to her. With a quick and simple teleportation, she found herself standing on the roof of the massive ship. What quickly became apparent to her, though, was that this wasn't the only massive ship in the area. There were three others, all Nocturnian, that were following Tails's craft. Within seconds, they were trying to shoot the Typhoon down, hoping to destroy it before it could get within the safety of this huge "building's" barriers.

Then, another surprise.

An explosion shattered the silence that had followed the silence the area had only just reclaimed in the wake of the first Nocturnian attacks. This explosion was not, however, on the Blue Typhoon, nor was it as a result of anything the Nocturnians themselves had done. Instead, it seemed that this explosion was the work of... children. More specifically, _her_ children. Her beautiful, intelligent, courageous young children. She knew not what, specifically, they had done, but she very easily observed the results.

As Analia watched, Sen and Sarai both were sent hurtling through space as a result of the blast. Though momentarily alarmed, a fact which was visible on their faces, their alarm soon morphed into obvious determination. Emerald eyes traded a glance between bright green ones. Then, without any warning, the two young hedgehogs released a huge torrent of Dragonfire that wiped out the enemies that had been pursuing them. Once the way before them was clear, they both curled up into tight balls and propelled themselves forward. They practically crashed back onto the Typhoon and into their mother's warm and waiting arms.

While holding her babies close, Analia used her Light to simply blow up the enemy ships, an attack that she, her children, and the Typhoon were all shielded from when they finally passed through the barrier. With the threat now gone, she was able to listen as her two young children began rapidly telling her what they had been through in all this time. They had apparently been captured on some wintry world that they had wound up stranded up and were subsequently locked up on a Nocturnian ship (presumably the one they had busted out of). It was Sarai who had busted them out, though neither of them knew how, hence the explosion Analia had seen. It was all, in a way, terrible. Truly. But... they were fine now, and Analia chose to care more about that than anything else.

Kneeling down, the mother held her children close, closed her eyes, and finally found it in herself to smile again.

 **~台風の目~**

It had been two days since Vector and the others had been teleported off of the Blue Typhoon and dropped off in random places all over the universe. For the duration of those two days, Vector had been in Eschire Village on the supercontinent of Yueisha on Mobius. This village was Cream's birthplace, Vanilla's house, and where Vector was currently trying to rest and eat. However... the fact that the Nocturne Clan was still actively poisoning this area made both of those endeavors difficult.

By now, a toxic dark purple fog had settled over the peaceful village and over the nearby Hidden Meadows, which was the home of many a Chao. The fog was thick and heavy and had seeped into every home, including Vanilla's in spite of each villager's attempts to keep the poisonous gasses out. The Chao in the meadows were still using their powers to shield this village as best as they could, but there was only so much they could do, especially since they, too, were dying.

Each breath Vector took was borderline agonizing. He spent more time coughing than actually breathing. The constant ache in his lungs, the persistent coughing, and the fever, headache, nausea, and so on brought on as a result of the poison he was unwilling inhaling all contributed to his current lack of appetite and his apparent inability to get much sleep. And Vanilla's condition was worse, he knew. After all, she had been exposed to this toxin for a good while longer than Vector himself had been. She was growing visibly weaker by the day... and that wasn't even the worst of their current problems.

Thanks to a small-fry Nocturnian who liked to run his or her mouth, the villagers finally knew why the Clan was targeting them. The Nocturnian had been standing outside of the barriers the Chao had erected around Eschire the night before, taunting one of the rabbits who lived in a small home near the very edge of said barrier. According to what the young gardener had told everyone this morning, the Nocturnian had stood out there for over twenty minutes, doing little more than bragging. The rabbit had heard brags about everything from how that Nocturnian supposed had "the best weapons in the entire Nocturnian army" to how the whole of Mobius was on the verge of falling.

When he'd carefully pressed for more information on the matter, the rabbit had been told that the continents of Afrikila, Untol, and Artika had been completely overtaken, leaving just Tralius (home of the largest G.U.N. base on Mobius) and Yueisha (the size of which was formidable in its own right). Even Yueisha was crumbling under the constant Nocturnian onslaughts, however, and Eschire was one of the few civilizations still standing. That was the reason behind this slow and calculated assault. The Clan wanted control. Vector just feared what lengths the Nocturne Clan would go to in order to achieve that _control_. S _omehow, I doubt that anything good will come of this... for anyone._ he sighed internally as he tried to force himself to eat a piece of lightly buttered bread.

As luck would have it, the universe chose almost that exact moment to prove him right, and the sound of the protective barrier outside splitting open shattered the silence.

 **~台風の目~**

The so-called "Garden of Darkness" on the northern wintry continent of Artika on Mobius was, as it turned out, absolutely crawling with Nocturnians. All of their horrible, evil eyes were locked on the two small fleeing children in their midst. They had been told by the old cat lady, whose house they had been staying in before, to come here alone and, with all the foolishness of a child, they had done just that. Now the two of them were regretting their poor decision.

The oldest of the two small girls, a speedy seven-year-old, was running a good number of feet ahead of her companion, fleeing as best as she could from the group of dark soldiers that were pursuing them. The soldiers were gaining rapidly, and only when she heard her companion shriek did she realize her error. She'd left the five-year-old behind. She'd left the younger girl in danger.

Gathering as much courage as she could muster in such a situation, she older girl dropped back and boldly kicked the soldier that had just tried to grab the other girl and steal her away. While the attack didn't seem to do any damage at all, it apparently surprised the soldier enough to make him or her release their captive. Taking the younger girl by the hand, the older of the pair resumed running as fast she she could across the snowy "Garden". Up ahead, a gate came into view, just as the cat lady had said it would. She had called this the Black Gate, the supposed "Gateway to Hell", and had instructed them to go through it. The older girl hadn't at all inteded to do that initially, but now she had no choice. They were sorely lacking in better options.

Seemingly just a split second later, the older of the two girls sped through the gate and promptly vanished a mere second before she and the younger girl could be caught. That younger girl felt wicked fingers graze the back of her neck, no doubt trying to grab her hair or shirt collar or scruff or anything else that they could. The hand attached to those fingers failed to grab her, but only just barely. Then she was yanked the rest of the way through the invisible portal contained within the rectangular arching "gate", and Kimmy and Lia vanished into thin air.

 **~台風の目~**

A good half an hour or so after Sonic and Amy had rushed off to West Forest to rescue Espio and Kanari, the four of them found themselves taking shelter in the Chaotix Detective Agency. Specifically, the two Chameleons were upstairs, in the portion of the building that acted as a home for the Chaotix (minus Espio, who had moved into his own place elsewhere some time ago), and Sonic and Amy were downstairs, where the actual business was conducted. As the on-again-off-again couple talked or whatever in Espio's old room upstairs, Sonic and Amy discussed various things while sitting in a few chairs that they'd claimed near Vector's large desk. As they sat there, discussing everything that was going on (mainly the portion involving the fact that innocent children had been kidnapped by enemies who had no qualms about slaughtering a child), Sonic, his elbow resting on Vector's cluttered desk, kept a very careful ear out for any sort of trouble. Trouble, after all, had been hunting them down quite relentlessly as of late.

Truth be told, Sonic wished they had managed to find a better hiding place than this. Their enemies were well-informed, after all. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to think that at least _some_ Nocturnians knew that a few of Sonic's friends resided in this home. Given that, this was probably really one of the worst places they could have gone. But what other options had there actually been? Far too few for Sonic's liking, that was for sure. The wilderness was crawling with enemy soldiers. Virtually every city, town, and village on the entire planet was being taken down by swarms of Nocturnians. Even the great and powerful Empire City had begun to crumble at the edges. Hell, even Future City, the most technologically advanced settlement on the whole of Mobius, was struggling to avoid collapsing under the Nocturnian onslaught. Given that, it was a miracle that normal cities like this one were still alive and kicking, so to speak.

And yet, that didn't mean they were safe here. Nocturnians were here in this city, too. They were everywhere, all around, and Sonic felt trapped. That wasn't a feeling he liked, it had never been a feeling he liked, and he hated that he was experiencing it now, especially since he had people with him that he wanted to protect. Had he been alone, that would have been one thing, but when he wasn't... Sometimes, he genuinely believed that his stress levels were getting back into the horrible habit of rising much too high for his own damn good, just as they had done during the times of Ivo and Gerald's separate reigns of terror. _Well, at least no one can claim that I don't care._

"...just don't know what to do anymore," Amy was saying. Sonic realized with a slight start that he had zoned out some time before this. Thankfully, it didn't seem like Amy had really noticed. No hammer for him today, then. "I mean, at this point, I think the Clan is just mocking us. They're using their weakest soldiers to attack us all the time and kidnap us and break out ships and whatnot, seemingly just so they can prove their superiority or something. And no matter how many small-fry we defeat, there always seems to be a good few thousand more to replace the few dozen that we dealt with. And on top of that, we all can _feel_ that there are stronger soldiers waiting in the shadows, not bothering to do anything to us yet..."

Unable to restrain it, Sonic let out a heavy sigh, feeling his ears lower in the process. "I know what you mean, Ames... On the one hand, I keep kinda feeling insulted because they won't send their strong guys after us, but on the other hand I can't shake the feeling that horrible things are going to happen to us all if they do decide to start taking this whole war more seriously."

"I've been so terrified that if they start fighting us with their stronger soldiers, we'll all..." She trailed off and didn't finish her sentence, but she didn't need to. She had said enough, and the weight of what she had left unsaid hung so heavily in the air that Sonic though he might suffocate because of it.

 _We'll all die._

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Not two seconds after Sonic's mind had finished Amy's sentence for him against his will, there was some sort of humongous _crash_ upstairs. At first, the young hedgehog irrationally thought that maybe, perhaps, one of the lovebirds upstairs had knocked something over. But then something occurred to him. Espio was much too graceful and light on his feet to do something like that and Kanari... well, she didn't really strike him as the clumsy type. So, needless to say, Sonic was on his feet and sprinting up the stairs within just a couple seconds of the initial crash. But before even he had the chance to get more than a quarter of the way up the steps, he was met with a deafening explosion of wood and stone as the second floor was completely detached from the floor below it and then blown to bits.

Two pairs of green eyes watched in horror as Espio and Kanari were sent flying by the unseen blast (whatever it was), then promptly snatched out of the air by a Nocturnian creature that moved so fast it became little more than a vague shadow. It grabbed the two chameleons and, in the time it took for Sonic to grab his sword and launch himself into the air to fight for their lives, simply vanished. Then, to made an already terrible situation even worse, a huge energy attack exploded into existence without warning, destroying the home (and not to mention the rest of the area) entirely and blowing Sonic and Amy away with it.

Against his will and for just a moment, Sonic blacked out.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,646 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. We're getting into some more action and whatnot now. After this, there are only two more edited chapters to post, and then we'll be back to all-new content! Posted (at about 9:00 a.m.) 09-06-17.**


	59. Call of the Immortals

_**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**_

 **Notes on the edits I did: No edits were made to this chapter, which was the original chapter 66 (former title, "Call of the Ancients"). After much pondering, I decided to keep this chapter, as well as the story arc it kicks off. However, please note that I won't be writing out this full story arc here in EotS. There will be the content in this chapter and the next one, and then no more will be directly shown here. If any of you wish to see more, let me know and I'll do it the oneshot collection. As for why I'm keeping it… well, I love it too much to scrap it. Also, there's only one more chapter after this that needs to be reposted. All chapters after that will be all-new content.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Call of the Immortals"**

 **~台風の目~**

To Silver, family was everything.

It seemed almost strange to say, but family was all he'd ever really had, in a way. He'd never _exactly_ had a home, and it was only since entering this timeline that he'd ever really owned things beyond his boots and his gloves. He'd never had property or anything of the sort before. Sure, he'd had friends before, but all his friends were more than that to him. They were... family. Maybe even something beyond that but, when it came down to it, he considered all of his friends to be family along with his actual relatives. Those family members, whether genuinely related to him or not, were everything and more to him. Absolutely everything. And his wife and daughter... they were more than everything to him (something that he couldn't really explain to anyone who asked what he meant). The fact that he currently had no idea where they were was so beyond terrifying that he couldn't put the emotion into words. That in and of itself wasn't surprising, since he wasn't especially articulate sometimes, but that didn't make experiencing this feeling any less... terrible. _More like horrible. ...Yeah, I think that's a stronger word._

Flying through the black emptiness of space, the young father again and in desperation checked his communicator. He hoped and he prayed, begging every deity he could think of (none of which he actually believed in) to just let him _find_ them already. Blaze and Kimmy were both out there somewhere, but he still had no idea where they could possibly be. The closest he could narrow it down to was _anywhere_ , which was so far from helpful that he couldn't even put it into words. And his communicator was just as useless as his own brain was at this point, if only because it was _still_ out of range of every other communicator in spite of how far he'd flown since leaving the Blue Typhoon earlier. It was a staggering reminder, if nothing else, that the universe was truly a vast place... for better or for worse.

However... no amount of space seemed quite vast _enough_ to prevent him from running into the very people responsible for the disappearance of his wife and child: the Nocturnians. _Honestly, how do they manage to keep showing up everywhere...?_ Silver was no genius, and certainly made no claims of being one, but he did still have a functioning brain and a decent IQ. Those two things, along with some basic common sense and logic, told him that it simply didn't make any sense for the Nocturne Clan to seemingly be everywhere all at once. _Something else has to be going on here... Portals, maybe?_ It was a likely possibility, given that the Clan seemed to have ready access to some pretty powerful magic. _But, if they're opening portals and bringing versions of themselves into this timeline from others, then... Just how screwed even are we?_

Of course, he had no proof that this was even happening and, even if he had, it wasn't as though he had the time to further contemplate the matter. The soldiers he'd seen, along with their beasts and ships, were upon him now. It was time to kick some Nocturnian butt as quickly and effectively as possible so that he could move on and resume his desperate search. The sooner these guys were dealt with, the sooner he could (hopefully) find his family. Nothing else mattered but them. Not a single thing.

A flash of cyan lit up the darkness, slicing through the air in the form of numerous horizontal and vertical sickle-shaped blades. The majority of them struck the ship he'd been aiming at, blowing up various components of it that he couldn't even begin to recognize or name. As the vessel began to smoke and burn and helplessly list toward its right, some unfortunate creature got in the way of the last few sickles, getting itself sliced across the gut, limbs, and throat. The head was off in a fraction of a second, a gruesome end to an already rather unsightly and hideous beast. Cringing slightly at the sight despite how used he was to combat and the like, Silver deliberately turned his attention elsewhere. Now focused on the soldiers themselves (who, like him, were flying in the open now), he used his defensive capabilities to his ultimate advantage. By throwing up well-timed barriers of psychokinetic energy around himself, he caused the enemy attacks to bounce right back at his foes, using their own abilities against them. Others he took down with his mental power, using special psionic blasts to render his poor foes brain dead with next to no effort. This latter skill was so taxing on him, however, that he wasn't able to use it on more than a few Nocturnians, lest he exhaust himself in the heat of battle. _That... would be bad. Very, very bad._

Pushing his thoughts aside, Silver swerved mid-flight to avoid a large laser-like beam fired from one of the ships, the one he hadn't already wrecked. Grabbing the mostly ruined ship from earlier with his powers, he used all of his strength to hurl it across the battlefield and into the ship with the laser canon. Both ships erupted into brilliant balls of orange flame that reminded him far too much of Blaze (another thought he had to toss away for the time being). Getting an idea, Silver repeated the process, in a way, and grabbed one of the five remaining ships. Swinging it around as he'd done with the first ship, he plowed over a variety of soldiers and creatures, killing most of those he struck. This assault was ended when he deliberately crashed one ship into another again, once more blowing both vessels up utterly. Things appeared to be going well so far, but... luck was prone to changing on a whim.

As unfortunate as it was, Silver was helpless to stop the counterattack he sensed was on it's way. He was forced to focus nearly all of his attention on a sort of bizarre looking _thing_ that had swooped in from the right and tried to split him apart with it's claws, thus forcing him to focus on defending himself above all else right now. All the while, an attack that he had no name for built up between the two remaining ships, almost certainly thanks to whatever soldiers were still inside of them. It appeared to be some sort of magical attack... and that most certainly did _not_ bode well for him. Psychokinesis could do nothing, _nothing_ against magic. If he'd actually inherited even an ounce of the powers of Light and or Darkness from his grandparents or even his father, then he could have done something to deflect the attack but he had neither of those abilities to his knowledge. _Which means... I'm doomed. Unless I can dodge- Nope!_

The creature, having just prevented him from moving from his current position by basically immobilizing him with a magic attack of it's own, seemed to grin and snicker. Silver, for once, saw no humor in anything that was going on around him. There was no amusement to be found, no joke to be made, no sarcastic or wise-ass remark to share with his opponents. Although, there were plenty of cuss words he could think of right now, though he prided himself on managing not say any of them. He would have loved to spew verbal acid at this thing, but he somehow doubted that it would have understood him. It wouldn't have made any difference, anyway. All that could save him now was either pure luck... or some kind of a major screw up on the enemy's part. Either way, he didn't think his chances of making it out of this alive were very good at all.

With nothing left he could do, Silver turned his head enough to see past the creature and look directly at the space between the two huge ships. A huge purplish-black ball of energy had built up there, crackling with intense energies. The Black Magic being used here seemed powerful as far as he could tell, a fact which only furthered the dread burrowing in the pit of his stomach. This was so, so bad, and he couldn't see any way out of this. He wasn't like his dad or his grandparents or Locke Wave or Jet or any of them. He was about as likely to think himself out of this situation as a cardboard box was to grow legs and walk away from where it had been placed. He just- _Wait a minute, isn't this overkill?_

That random thought brought his fatalistic thoughts to a screeching halt as his golden eyes stared uncomprehendingly at the mass of energy between the ships. Slowly and before his very eyes, the energies began to swirl uniformly in a way he couldn't _not_ recognize. A second of further scrutiny was all it took for him to confirm to himself what he was witnessing, and the realization of the truth was more than enough to make his eyes go wide. _They are using portals..._ Shock gradually shifted into confusion and suspicion, and he felt himself frown. _This isn't an attack. So... what the hell are they doing? Calling more of their own here? ...Why would they do that, though? Their magic is obviously powerful. They could off me easily without help. I don't und-_

Before he even so much as had a chance to finish his thought, something new began to take place. The dark energies within the building portal continued to swirl and the blackness within it appeared to become more and more diluted with each passing second until, finally, black turned to white. That new, pure energy burst out from the portal, wiping out the two ships with ease and leaving Silver even more confused as to what was going on. The debris from the ships seemed to disintegrate as the light within the portal continued to ever so slowly shift and change, gradually becoming heavenly blue instead. It was said to be the purest of all colors, the color of aura itself in its truest form, the color of the first Immortals... and it was so, so beautiful to see it. And as Silver watched that blue take over any and every other color and energy in the portal, energy again shot out, this time wiping out all the soldiers and beasts and freeing Silver from his magical restraints. The light then swept over Silver himself, and everything seemed to be lost to him.

There was nothing... until a voice called him back.

 _"Silver."_

Eyes snapping open, Silver looked around wildly, twisting around amidst the pure heavenly blue light in an effort to spot the source of that voice. When he finally located the speaker, he blurted out, "Uncle Jet?"

The glowing, apparition before him watched him with eyes that were alight with energy from within. Ethereal wisps of glowing energy flowed together to create his form and, somehow, it remained recognizable down to the last detail. Even his scarf had taken on that sort of an appearance. Though his arms were crossed as though he was being very serious, a definite twinkle of amusement betrayed itself in this hawk's eyes. _"Uncle? No. Not where I am from, Silver."_

Somehow, Silver managed to catch on to the implications straight away. "You're from another timeline?" This question, like his first, quite possibly could have been considered a dumb one in hindsight, but now was not the time to dwell on that. Clearly, something far more important was going on, a fact which was undeniably proved in a way when this version of Jet nodded. "Okay, so I got _that_ ," Silver said, mind swimming with confusion, "but I _don't_ get why you're all... glow-y." A small pause, then he remembered his manners. "Oh, and thanks for saving me back there. ... _However_ the heck you did that. I was pretty sure I was a goner there."

Silver's wry smile did nothing to diminish that twinkle of amusement in Jet's eyes, which was a welcome change from how cool and unreadable this timeline's Jet's eyes were. The amusement was in his voice when he spoke, too, though his tone also held some more serious notes to it as well. _"In time, you may live to see how things like this... 'glow' come to be,"_ he said, _"but I lack the time to explain it to you now. Something else requires your attention, something the universe has decided needs to be your top priority."_

"...And, by 'the universe', you mean...?" Silver asked slowly, not quite following.

 _"The first Immortals."_

That was explanation enough, and Silver instantly clued in to just how serious this matter must have been for those long-dead souls to awaken and start dealing with. Still, he didn't feel inclined to agree to this right away. "Why do _I_ need to do this?" he questioned. "I mean, like, why can't you? Or even Dad or Gramps or- I don't know, _someone_ else! I have to find my family right now!" And suddenly, he was angry. Very angry. So much of his time had been wasted here as it was, and he still had to make sure that they were safe and...

 _"Blaze and Kimmy are alive and well here. No harm has befallen either of them."_ Jet's voice was calm, certain, and oddly soothing, and Silver's anger deflated, melting him into a pool of limp relief. _"Your grandfather has been protecting them both, albeit one from afar. They are safe, but they will not be in many, many other timelines without your aid."_

Interest sharpening, Silver demanded, "What are you talking about?"

 _"The Nocturne Clan exists in every timeline,"_ Jet murmured solemnly, gaze drifting away and to some indiscriminate point off to his left. _"It, along with a select few other evils, is an ever-present darkness in every reality one can enter. The Nocturne Clan here is attempting to wake their clanmates in many of those other timelines and has already succeeded twice. The clanmates that have been awakened so far have all deigned to come here and take orders from the leaders in this timeline. However, one timeline that they have begun attempting to meddle in will not bear the same results."_

Already dreading the answer, Silver quietly ventured to ask, "What's going to happen?"

 _"If they succeed?"_ Those calm yet oddly expressive glowing eyes shifted back to gaze upon Silver's face. _"That timeline will fall. The timelines neighboring it will fall. The timelines neighboring those will fall. The cycle will continue to repeat, perhaps for eternity and, one day, this timeline, too, shall meet it's doom. Many, many eons from now, they may single-handedly end more than half of existence. The Nocturne Clan that is sealed away in the main timeline in question is far more powerful than anything anyone here is capable of imagining right now. Each member of that clan carries within themselves nearly the equivalent of the true power of Malevolence itself, and that means that everything is at risk. Everything."_ Just as Silver began to learn what true horror really was, Jet suddenly said with quiet finality, _"But we are not doomed. Not yet. If that timeline can be saved, the rest of them can be as well. There is still a measure of hope."_

"But how am _I_ meant to do anything about this?" Silver demanded, desperation again filling his tone. "I can't deal with this stuff! I'm not an Immortal like you!"

 _"You have to be, kiddo."_

Eyes widening once more, Silver whipped around to face the owner of this second voice and was stunned to come face-to-face with his father. ...Who was very much a ghost. Very obviously so. "...Dad?" the younger hedgehog all but whispered.

Smiling warmly in that special way that only fathers could, Sonic nodded. " _The one and only. ...Kinda. Not really. Anyway, jokes aside,"_ Silver allowed himself to finally smile a bit, _"I'm serious about what I said, Silver. You don't have to be an Immortal to do this, or else the Immortals themselves wouldn't have bothered sending Jet to come talk to you."_ Glancing to Jet, who had lightly raised his eyebrows in an expression Silver wasn't exactly sure how to read, Sonic smiled again. _"Sorry for the interruption, by the way. I figured you could use some help. Convincing a stubborn Tokarian is hard work, after all."_ Emerald eyes shifted back to Silver. _"...Which is a huge part of the problem this endangered timeline is going to be facing."_

" _Please_ back up and explain better," Silver sighed. "I still don't really get what's going on." Granted, he wasn't entirely resigned to helping with this situation for various reasons, but that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to learn more about this.

Jet's head turned away again, gaze distant and somewhat thoughtful. _"Saving that timeline, in many ways... involves saving me."_

 _"And me,"_ Sonic added. _"But... not quite in the way you think. See, in that timeline right now, the other me is still at home, enjoying the peace or whatever, and the other him is still on New Babylon. Just like in this timeline, they haven't been in contact since Jet left to go help in the war. That, among other things, has put a huge strain on their friendship. Future events, events that are going to take place in this timeline as well, are only going to push them further apart. And the less united those two are the less united their friends and other allies will be."_

Gradually, understanding began to dawn on Silver. "If you and Jet aren't friends, you won't have the direct support of the Babylonian army, or the Watchers, or even direct access to the resources and shelter and stuff New Babylon has to offer. And Jet won't have access to more or less the same things, only coming from you." _...Probably could have worded that better._

Nonetheless, Sonic and Jet both seemed to understand. _"Yeah, exactly," S_ onic agreed. _"But the problem runs a lot deeper than that."_

 _"Without unity, they will never defeat the Nocturne Clan,"_ Jet murmured gravely. _"It is a problem here as well, but that timeline is far more fragile. The Clan will wreak havoc in there and, given enough time, they will utterly destroy it. Then the cycle of death will begin."_

 _"Once it begins, there doesn't seem to be much of a way to stop it,"_ Sonic sighed, ears lowering. _"Even the original Immortals can only do so much, since they're technically dead."_

Not taking the time to question why they were only _technically_ dead, Silver instead asked, "So... what do we do?"

 _"There's only one option left to us at this point, Silver,"_ Sonic told him evenly. Looking his son dead in the eye, he said, _"We're going to send you to the past to end this war... before it ever begins."_

By now, Silver understood that he had no real choice to make about any of this. Those mysterious, omnipresent Immortals had ensured at least that much. Questions still raged through his mind, like _What about everyone here?_ and _How long will I be gone?_ but, in the end, all he managed to get out was, "Where are you going to send me?"

 _"New Babylon, to Jet,"_ Sonic explained immediately. _"He's the one you have to work the hardest to get on your side. With everything he's been through and is still going through, he's not going to be too keen on trying to become buddies with me again or anything like that. It's up to you to do whatever you can to try to help bridge the gap dividing him and the other me. Some days maybe all you'll be able to do is make passing mentions of past good times they had, some days you may be able to do more. It all depends on what each day throws at you. This timeline will be pretty much just like how yours was in the past, so you can draw on whatever knowledge you have of the time period from this timeline to help you. Regardless of that, though, your destination remains the same. New Babylon."_

 _"Once there, find me,"_ Jet told him firmly. _"Convince me, of all of this. Make me understand everything that's at stake. Find a way to repair a bond torn by unspeakable suffering and darkness. It is the only hope we have. You must make me believe that."_

"But... you're you," Silver said slowly. " _He's_ you, and _you're_ the Jet that _I_ know, in a way. Won't you, he, just believe me?"

 _"So much you don't understand..."_ This response came out almost like a sigh as Jet once again looked away. Then slowly, quietly, he explained, _"Silver, back then I was a very different person. Many things had happened both to and around me, and I had changed. In order for any of this to work, you're going to have to do for me what I once did for you."_

"And... what's that?" Silver asked, voice incredibly soft.

Those glowing eyes closed. _"Save me, Silver. There is no other way than that."_

 _"Winning this war won't be easy for anyone involved,"_ Sonic said. _"It's going to take the two of us, me and him side by side, at a time when we couldn't be further apart, to defeat the Nocturne Clan. It's up to you to ensure that we, or rather the other versions of us, can do it, Silver."_ Suddenly, the blue hedgehog was smiling again. _"My time has long since passed, kiddo, but I'll still help you in whatever way I can. If nothing else, I can try to give you advice whenever you need it. Just call for me."_ He winked.

Somehow, Silver found it in himself to really smile. "Thanks, Dad." Turning, he looked directly at Jet. "And... where do I find you?"

For the second time, Silver heard Jet sigh. _"A different path, Silver... A darker path. A place where evil knows no bounds. A prison from which no Light can escape. Follow the clues. Listen to what is said. You can find it. I am sure of it. And once you are there... do not let it consume you as it once nearly consumed me. In your darkest of times, find your Light where there is none left. Without it, all will perish."_

There was no further explanation and no more time for questions. The same brilliant heavenly blue light began to slowly engulf everything around Silver and, indeed, Silver himself. But, desperate to understand one more thing, Silver called out, "W-wait! I still don't understand! Why _me_?!"

 _"Don't you get it, kiddo?"_ Sonic's voice called back. _"Only someone with strong ties to both of us can do this, and that's you! And besides, you're the strongest Silver we've ever encountered! If anyone can succeed here, it's you, kiddo! You can do it!"_

Terrified yet feeling his spirits oddly lifted, Silver closed his eyes, relaxed, and allowed the light to flood him completely and whisk him away.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,993 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. Below is my original author's note for this chapter.**

 **This idea has been a _very_ long time coming, as it's been running through my mind since the days of Hero. About time it came to fruition! This idea was actually, in a way, suggested to me in a review by PyroShockZ on Chapter 63 of Hero. In that review, he shared some awesome dialogue, which I edited for use here (with permission, of course). So, really, this whole idea is thanks to him! Had he never suggested that dialogue, this chapter and the chapters following this one would never have come to be! So thanks, PyroShockZ! Hope you're well! For those of you who're curious, here's the dialogue original review from PyroShockZ that inspired this chapter:**

 **Sonic: "We're going to send you into the past-"**

 **Jet: "To end is war and save this girl, before before it ever begins."**

 **Sonic: "Find me. Convince me, of all this."**

 **Silver: "But you're you. Won't you just believe me?"**

 **Sonic: "Silver, I was a VERY different man. You're going to have to do for me, what I once did for you."**

 **Jet: "It's going to take the two of us. Side by side, at a time that we couldn't be further apart."**

 **Silver: "And where do I find you?"**

 **Jet: "A different path. A darker path."**

 **Posted (at about 10:30 a.m.) 09-07-17.**


	60. Portrait of Mom

**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.**

 **Notes on the edits I did: This chapter used to be the original chapter 67. Beyond removing a scene from the middle, I did nothing to this. This is the final edited chapter that needs posting. All new content will be posted starting tomorrow.**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Don't worry, the author's note at the end explains all. XD I promise he'll be back well before the end, though!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Portrait of Mom"**

 **~台風の目~**

It seemed to take years and, yet, mere seconds for the light encompassing Silver to finally fade away, leaving the young hedgehog standing alone amidst vast, sprawling nature. Immediately surrounding him was lush, tall grass fringed by exotic flowers and trees the likes of which he had never seen before. Somewhere nearby, he could hear the soft gurgling of a stream, the distinct thumps of wild horses' hooves on the ground, the chatter of some small rodent, the whisper of a warm breeze... There was so much raw beauty for him to try to take in all at once, but he knew that the silence here was a problem. He heard no people. He was alone out here. He wasn't supposed to be alone.

Taking to the sky, he surveyed the area from above, trying to find any signs of people in this surprisingly vast wilderness. Instead, he saw pure white horses with blue flames in place of manes and tails, small dragon hatchlings practicing their flight by circling lazily over the trees under the watchful eye of a much larger dragon that was mostly hidden within a nearby cave, a small snake fleeing from a large nut that had fallen out of some hollow in one of those trees, a sparkling lake, and so much more. It was tempting for him to spend his time exploring this place instead of doing what he had been sent here to do but, in the end, he refused to let himself be sidetracked. He was here for a reason. If he failed here... the ramifications would be more devastating than words could adequately express. But in order to succeed here, he _had_ to find Jet. _So where is he?_

From Kaden, Silver had inherited sensitive ears, and those ears suddenly pricked in response to some sort of a distant _booming_ sound. Twisting around midair, he locked eyes on a plume of smoke in the distance, one that most certainly hadn't been there before. Squinting, he discovered that this smokey pillar wasn't on or even near the base of the mountain he had been looking at. Rather, it was miles behind it in an area that even from here appeared to dead and barren. It was so completely at odd with the beauty of the area Silver was currently in, and the only explanation for it that he could think of was, _The war._

Neither Sonic or Jet had mentioned whether or not he was due to be dropped off in the middle of the war or sometime after it but, the more Silver thought about the things Jet had said toward the end of their encounter, the more obvious it seemed that he had been intended on entering the war all along. _Out of one conflict and into another..._ Honestly, he wasn't looking forward to it. But a job was a job, he supposed. So, gritting his teeth, he flew toward the smoke as fast as he could go, hoping and praying that one of the combatants he was heading toward was actually the one Babylonian he was looking for.

What he came across instead was an army.

For nearly as far as Silver could see, Babylonians of all colors, species, and sizes raised hell against their enemies, enemies possessing almost as much evil and animosity in their hearts as the Nocturnians did in the timeline Silver had just come from. And, if Sonic's words earlier had been accurate, then that meant these guys had been this bad in the other timeline as well. And, looking at them, Silver felt a sort of sense of horror fill his heart. _They almost look like Nocturnians... But how is it possible for them to be corrupted like the Nocturne Clan is?_ Horrified, he turned his head and looked once more at the Babylonians. His horror redoubled when he realized for the first time just how many of them were being slaughtered down there. Never before had Silver witnessed this kind of bloodshed and, in a panic, he did the only thing he could think to do: teleport.

The place he reappeared in was little more than a sea of lava and fire. Four powerful volcanoes were spewing their lethal contents onto the world all at once, giving the area the appearance of hell itself. Amidst that sea of lava he could see the smouldering remnants of what had possibly been a city of some kind. And standing amidst it all... was a person. That person was blacker than the night, and the eyes they looked at him were so evil that Silver felt his blood run cold in spite of the immense heat surrounding him. Then the person _clapped_ , and suddenly the very ground erupted, hurling yet more molten materials into the air. Panicking again, Silver teleported a second time, this time reappearing somewhere isolated... and mostly quiet. But someone was here. He could feel it.

Soon, his searching eyes spotted a distant but distinct figure running alone across the landscape. Even from here, Silver could see the telltale emerald feathers and ruby red scarf, and immediately he knew he had found who he had been sent here to find. Heart racing, he soared after the hawk, getting within about four hundred feet of him just in time to see the apparently angry hawk whip out a sword of some kind and rather ruthlessly cut down an enemy that had been in his way. Never breaking stride, he continued to sprint across the landscape with speed that Silver swore was comparable to Sonic's than anyone else's.

Before long, it became apparent where Jet was going: a canyon so deep that Silver found himself incapable of seeing the bottom. The elevation was so high here, apparently, that there were actually clouds drifting within the ominous chasm. Green lightning crackled amidst those clouds, furthering how foreboding the place seemed. And yet, upon reaching the edge of the nearest cliff, Jet didn't do what Silver felt was the sensible thing and stop. Instead, he fearlessly threw himself over the edge and promptly disappeared within the raging storm clouds.

Only then did Silver realize that his friend was being pursued. A group of menacing soldiers had been chasing after him and now had set their sights on Silver. With a small yelp, Silver followed his uncle's lead and dropped out of the sky. Within seconds, he too was falling through those clouds and into the darkness below. Huge lightning bolts surged around him, all only barely missing him. They raged and raged around him for who knew how long, and down below... light began to form. Heavenly blue light. From out of the mist surged a new wave of lightning, this one aimed straight up at the enemies above. By the time it had killed them mere seconds later, Silver's ears heard a splash. He was given no time to process this before he suddenly crashed into water as well. Up until that point, he hadn't even realized that there was a river down here.

Without warning, a single hand grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him out of the frigid current. Coughing, he looked up just enough to see familiar soaked red boots with black flame designs... and the tip of a shining sword. But, before he was able to say anything, Jet broke the silence between them. "What the hell are you _doing_ here?!" he demanded. Oh, yes. He was definitely angry. Which Silver supposed he couldn't exactly blame the hawk for. He'd quite possibly nearly been killed or something just now. And, more than that, Silver had long suspected that anger was just a means for his "uncle" to cover up shock and confusion. Which, granted, was only _possibly_ true. It wasn't like he really knew for sure.

Coughing once more, Silver pushed himself up so that he was sitting on his knees. "W-well, that's kind of a l-long story, I-" he shivered, "I can try to explain but I'm not sure how _well_ I'm going to be able to..."

Scowling, Jet sheathed his blade with a harsh _snap_! "Get up," he ordered curtly, already walking away. Then he added for good measure, "Unless you'd rather stay here and die."

 _No, thank you._ Scrambling to his feet, Silver ran in soggy shoes after Jet, doing his best to ignore the almost hilarious squelching sounds both of their boots were making. Now was not the time to laugh, no matter how badly he wanted to lighten the mood. Though, he supposed now was as good a time as any for questions. "Um... those guys up there? They were Syxans, right?"

That earned a sharp glance from piercing blue eyes. "How could you _possibly_ know that?"

"Well, see, that's part of the explanation of how and why I'm here..." Silver began before just trailing off uselessly. With a small snort, Jet just looked away again and continued to walk along the river, leading them off to who-knew-where. Though he honestly sought to end the silence that had settled between them, as it was tense and therefore made him uncomfortable, Silver had no idea what to say anymore. He wasn't used to seeing Jet... angry. Not anymore, that is. He was used to seeing his "uncle" blank and unreadable, not so openly upset. And, truth be told, he had no idea how to handle it right now.

So, the pair walked on without saying anything further to one another, moving over rocks and past slinking reptiles and through thick patches of fog as they followed the river toward wherever in the world it was that Jet was going. Silver was tempted to ask what their current destination was but, in the end, he thought it best not to bug the hawk anymore than it seemed he already had. Jet was _not_ in a friendly mood right now, to say the least. Given the fact that he was in the middle of fighting a war, it did make sense, though it didn't make the situation any less awkward for Silver.

Thankfully, the silence was not destined to last. Out of the fog emerged the dark shape of a distinctly Babylonian ship, and Jet walked straight to it. Opening the cockpit, he climbed onto the wing and moved several backpacks into the third and last seat, clearing out the middle one in the process. He then climbed into the pilot's seat without bothering to say a single thing to Silver. Taking the hint, Silver hurried into the now-empty second seat just in time for Jet to close the cockpit again. Never once seeming to even _consider_ the idea of buckling himself in, the young hawk simply started up the ship and lifted it on the ground while Silver, who actually worried for his own safety still after the shit he witnessed earlier, quickly buckled up. It was only then that he spoke up again. "So... where are we going?" he ventured to ask, his earlier cold forgotten by now.

"The palace," Jet responded simply as he flipped a few tiny switches and typed in something on a holographic keyboard covered in Babylonian symbols.

The prospect of seeing the palace for only the time in his life succeeded in immediately brightening Silver's mood. "How far is it?"

"Far enough," Jet told him vaguely.

The ship began to fly, soaring across the skies at speeds Silver honestly didn't think that even the X-Tornado could reach. The landscape blurred by underneath them while Silver's golden eyes watched. He saw scorched plains, the smoking ruins of at least two different cities, vast battlefields filled with people both Babylonian and not, huge expanses of beach, a glistening sea, then the return of land. From then on all he saw was beauty. Beautiful forests, beautiful cities, beautiful villages, beautiful rivers, a beautiful dragon, a lone but also beautiful tower... How any world could even _be_ this beautiful was beyond a normal person's comprehension, he was sure. _This place is amazing..._ Apparently he'd said that out loud, if the brief glance Jet cast Silver over his shoulder was anything to go by. Trying to lighten the mood now that he saw an opportunity to do so, Silver made his tone defensive and challenging, but only playfully so. "What? It is."

Unexpectedly, Jet let out a heavy sigh and his once tight and angry grip on the controls of the ship loosened quite noticeably (a fact which was evident to Silver in the hawk's reflection in the glass). But, instead of answering Silver's question, he quietly asked instead, "You understand what's going on here, don't you?"

Blinking, Silver replied, "What do you mean?"

"This is a _war_ , Silver." Jet's words were firm but still quiet as the ship shot over a mountain range bigger than any Silver had ever seen before. "People are suffering. _Millions_ have already died and millions more will soon join them. Now isn't the time to be making jokes or playing around."

And, suddenly, there it was again. That awful silence from not so long ago had returned, accompanied by a newfound sense of guilt within Silver's heart. Ears now low, the young hedgehog chose to occupy himself by gazing out the cockpit again to observe the landscape that was still rushing by. Currently below them was a city so advanced that rather than plowing through the natural landscape, _it flowed with it_. Portions of it quite literally floated atop the surface of a massive lake. Other parts were built right over a section of a mountain range without ever damaging the mountains themselves. A third section of the city went underground, following a section of natural caves that could be seen here and there from huge crevices in the ground. Yet more of the city had been built upon floating chunks of land tethered to the ground below by thin glowing strings of what appeared to be various people's auras. Jet flew his ship just above one of those small floating islands without batting an eye. The fact that it was evidently possible to grow used to such a sight was almost astonishing in and of itself.

But just like that, they were leaving the city behind on their way to the palace, wherever it was. Even at this speed, minutes soon turned into an hour, and morning turned to early afternoon. All the while, he continued to watch this strange and yet wonderful world unfold before his very eyes. He saw huge packs of pure white wolves travelling together across vast grassy plains, closely accompanied by more flaming horses like the ones he'd seen earlier. At the base of yet another mountain range, amidst a veritable ocean of lava, a city stood tall and proud, utterly unaffected by the harsh landscape surrounding it and floating in place atop the endless currents of lava while black and red dragons circled overhead in the smoke. Elsewhere, there were settlements nearly entirely lost amidst flurries of snow, villages expertly blending in with the wilderness surrounding them, towns built upon islands connected by sophisticated bridges, and virtually everywhere they flew there were plenty of other ships of all shapes and sizes to be seen. Even in the skies, they were far from alone.

However, there was so much more to be seen than that. As one hour turned into two, they flew over a canyon far wider than the entire Blue Typhoon was long. One end opened up to allow a river to reach the ocean miles to their right but on the other end directly to their left was a massive waterfall that could have easily dwarfed all of Empire City. And built into the rock just behind it... Silver saw the unmistakable lights of yet another city. Upon leaving that behind, they came upon a vast expanse of wilderness comprised entirely of _crystal_. The ground was perfectly smooth and deep purple in color. Jutting out from it was all manner of pillars and plant-like structures, all made of crystals of all sorts of different sizes and vibrant colors. Eyes wide, Silver whispered, "What _is_ this place...?"

Out of the corner of Silver's eyes, he saw in Jet's reflection as he glanced outside. "Eino'kan," the hawk murmured. "The Crystal Forests of Babylon."

 _Well, since I have him talking, may as well ask some more questions,_ Silver promptly decided. "What about that giant waterfall?"

"Most refer to it as Koruju, the 'Monster Falls'."

"Because of its size?"

"No. Because the beasts there will slaughter you if you're careless."

"...Oh." _Way to put a damper on a guy's mood, Uncle Jet._ Pushing that thought aside, Silver peered down at a sparkling lake far below. Dotting its surface and presumably floating upon it as well were at least six or seven tiny villages. "How far away are we now?"

"Maybe another hour," was the simple response.

That made Silver blink. "Wow. I kinda thought we'd be there by now." A small pause, then he made an amendment to his statement. "But, then again, I hadn't expected this world to be so _huge_ , either." Jet just shrugged, not exactly responded, and Silver fell silent. Shortly afterward, the hedgehog voiced a new question. "Say, how big _is_ this world, anyway?"

"At least four to six times as large as Mobius," Jet answered without even having to stop to think about it. "It's considerably smaller than the original Babylon." It seemed that Jet had (correctly) guessed that Silver already understood somehow that this was home to Babylonians, perhaps due to Silver's lack of comment on the "Babylon" part of the name " _Crystal Forests of Babylon_ ".

"Wow, so how big was the original?" Silver questioned eagerly.

"At least twelve times as large."

Silver let out a low whistle and, just like that, the silence resumed once again. This time, however, Silver chose to embrace it for the time being. He knew enough about this time period (mostly from that snooping session in Jet's journal) to know that Jet and his people had been through _hell_ during this war, and he certainly knew enough to know that calling it mere hell was not doing his friend's (or anyone else's) suffering any real justice. This peace and quiet wasn't going to last, nor was it going to show up frequently. If he was going to enjoy any relative peace while he was in this timeline, now was his chance to do so. He very likely wasn't going to get another opportunity. And yet... he had so much to explain still. _Well... there's no time like the present. Or, past, I suppose._ Swallowing hard, he turned his head away from the window and began to speak.

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic slowly awoke to a myriad of sounds that grated upon his sensitive ears. There was the deep rumbling of the ground shaking violently as though being yanked around by a giant. There was the sound of an incessant and frankly annoying beepbeepbeep that his communicator was currently emitting. There was the sound of his own head pounding with each strangely audible pump of his strangely frantic heart. And, somewhere further away, there was a more distant sound. The sound of someone calling his name. Someone... someone that he realized he knew.

Suddenly, that frantic feeling in his chest made sense to him and he leapt to his feet without caring whether or not he was actually ready to do so just yet. The moment he did, his emerald eyes went wide, for all around him he saw nothing but utter _hell_. Spagonia, once the gorgeous artistic capital of the world, had turned into an ocean of fire and smoke. Very few buildings were still left standing, and those that were had been turned into pillars of lethal red flames. A blanket of smoke choked the sky and smothered any sunlight that attempted to force its way through the smog. Anyone who had been here was almost certainly dead now. All except for at least one person. The one calling his name.

 _My name is Sonic,_ he reminded himself in an effort to clear the haze in his mind and ground himself in the present moment as he began to run. The ground jerked violently beneath his feet, nearly causing him to stumble. _My parents are Kaden and Analia._ A tall building began to collapse and, in an effort to avoid it, he leapt high. _I'm married to Amy._ When gravity inevitably kicked in, he curled into a tight ball and homing attacked a massive creature mostly hidden in the smoke below. _My siblings are Shadow, Sen, and Sarai._ The creature let out a menacing sound that could only be described as a howl and launched him away with a massive paw, sending him hurtling through the smoke and into a scorching pile of rubble that may have once been a school. _I have a beautiful niece named Lia._ That voice called his name again, urging him to get back on his feet long before he felt capable of doing so, and soon he was running again. _My son is Silver and my daughter-in-law is Blaze._ Suddenly, he was being attacked from all directions, and it became all he could do to just avoid being hit. _My grandbaby is Kimmy._ The ground trembled again as he performed a Spin Dash to help him get through a crowd of enemies quicker. _My best friend is Jet._

Copying a move he'd once seen his mother do during a sparring match with Kaden, he managed to apply an extra burst of speed to his attack to propel himself forward even more quickly. _They're my family, and yet they're more than that._ He jumped high into the air again, chasing an elusive glimpse of pink fur in the sky, _A_ _nd I musn't fail here because..._ Hands reached out in desperation, he grabbed the sword his brave wife had been holding out for him, then swung it around. Caliburn glimmered in the hellish light, and soon the creature that had been trying to kidnap Amy in the same way another had kidnapped Espio and Kanari was dead and falling. Amy herself landed right in Sonic's waiting arms.

 _...I have to be around to help protect them._

Upon landing again and briefly setting Amy down so that he could sheath Caliburn on his back, Amy immediately asked out of concern, "Sonic, are you alright? You were completely unconscious when that thing grabbed me."

"Yeah," Sonic responded unconvincingly, still a little unsteady on his feet when he wasn't in motion. "Yeah, no, I'm fine." She hardly seemed to buy it, not that he could blame her, but now was _not_ the time for an argument. They had to get the hell out of here before they were killed or worse. They had to find Espio and Kanari, not to mention anyone and everyone else who had wound up back here on this world. They had to find a way to get back out to the Blue Typhoon. They had to find a way to stop the Nocturne Clan before all of Mobius wound up looking just like this city. ...God, there were so many things they had to do.

Heart pounding for multiple reasons, none of them good, Sonic picked Amy up and resumed his frantic run through the ruins of Spagonia. A city he had once loved so much, now rendered a place unsuitable for life. If they didn't get out of here now, there was no real telling how they might end up. He figured death was probably the best scenario, but by no means did that make it the _desired_ outcome. It was merely the _preferred_ option to anything else the Nocturne Clan might do to them. But, of course, before jumping into such a fatalist mentality, they had to at least _attempt_ to get out of this place alive. So that was exactly what Sonic planned to do.

Only then did either of them think to check and see why each of their communicators was beeping so incessantly at them. As a towering building's supports failed and it fell while Sonic swerved out of the way, Amy, coughing from all the smoke she was inhaling in Sonic's arms, opened up the various alerts she had apparently received. "Oh my god... Sonic... I just got some news- Eschire… it was destroyed..."

Sonic's stomach _dropped_ when she mentioned the teeny-tiny village that Cream and her family lived in. "What?" he whispered.

"One of Tails's special little micro-cameras, you know, those ones he has flying around the world all the time just to see what they can see, caught footage of Eschire being protected by Chao," Amy responded softly, eyes glued to her screen. "It looks like... It looks like the Nocturne Clan killed them all, thus destroying the barrier, and then they... attacked the village. Vector and Vanilla's communicators are both there according to their tracking systems, but I have no idea if either of them is still..." She trailed off, but it didn't matter. He already knew what she had been about to say.

"What are those other alerts about?" Sonic hardly dared to ask but, honestly... he _had_ to know. He just did.

Looking at the next one, Amy visibly relaxed quite a bit. That, in turn, helped Sonic to do the same before he even knew what she'd read. "Okay, this one's not bad. Tails sent out a general alert just a couple of minutes ago. Apparently your mom and the twins made it to where he is, somehow. He also said that Knuckles and Jason are there, too. Oh, and Shadow. They're all safe, wherever they are." She moved on to the third and final alert, and her expression returned to being filled with worry. "This alert is about Storm, Sonic."

Interest sharpening, Sonic demanded, "Storm?" _We haven't heard anything about or from him in eighty years..._

"Yes," Amy nodded gravely. "It says his communicator was destroyed. He could be hurt... or worse."

Expression infinitely grim, Sonic merely continued to run in silence toward the nearest edge of the city. _The sooner we get out of here... the better._

 **~台風の目~**

In the wake of Silver's outlandish explanation as to why he was in this timeline and how, silence once again reigned. By now, they had begun flying over a supercontinent not unlike Yueisha on Mobius, though Silver was quite certain that this one was much longer. When asked, Jet simply said that they were almost there. They had nearly reached their destination after four long hours of flight, and Silver almost didn't want it to be over yet. There was so much of this world left to see, and he desperately wanted to witness more of it. It was really too bad that there wasn't any time for such a thing.

Not even ten minutes later, something popped up in the distance. From this distance, even when he squinted all Silver could make out was... white. That was all, but that wasn't the case for too long. Soon, that vague blob of white morphed into a towering white structure built out of a stone Silver had never before encountered in his life. Even from so far away, there was no mistaking how massive this building was, and that realization made his golden eyes go wide. As they drew yet closer, more details about this place began to come into view, and he swore his eyes got even wider as he hungrily drank everything in.

The palace itself was pure white and each and every visible window frame was pitch black, giving it beautiful contrast. Silver had no idea how many floors there were, losing count after about sixty-one. Attached to the palace were towers and smaller buildings and even what appeared to be a fully functioning observatory. Surrounding the entirety of the structure were sprawling courtyards (some grassy and some made of stone), vibrant gardens, and various statues, fountains, and all manner of flowering trees.

Perfectly circular swimming pools dotted the property here and there, one permanently resting less than a hundred feet from what appeared to be some sort of training ground. Not too far from the training ground was some lonely building and, surrounding it, a very high-tech fence surrounding a huge area of lush grass. Within that fenced-off area was yet more of those flaming horses. In contrast, pure white wolves wandered the grounds freely, not confined by a single thing. People walked with and around the wolves, seemingly without a single trace of fear, as they went about their business. And, as Silver watched, a ship suddenly shot into the sky from out of a huge building that, belatedly, he realized Jet was flying right over to.

Within four minutes, Jet had successfully piloted the ship into and landed within what was apparently some sort of hangar. He was quick to open the cockpit and jump out, taking only one of his backpacks (the old grey one ruined future Sonic had given him) along. Not eager to be left alone here, Silver hastily unbuckled and followed after him. Just as he made it to the ground, he caught sight of some black and brown Babylonian walked over to Jet with crossed arms. "You brought my ship back to me in one piece this time," she remarked curtly. "That's a nice change. Normally, I have about a month's worth of repairs to do each time you come back."

Jet's response was as unexpected as it was humorous, in Silver's not-so-humble opinion. "Bite me," he muttered, already walking away.

 _Oh, I know he learned that one from Dad._ Laughing on the inside and genuinely trying not to do it on the outside, too, Silver jogged after the young hawk and simultaneously resumed looking everything over. Somehow, someway, he was able to find it in himself to smile. _This place really is incredible... no wonder Dad was gushing about it not long after he got back from here after helping Jet save Kath and all them a while back._ Randomly, a thought occurred to him right about then, one related to the topic of best friends. Selene wasn't dead yet here, and he immediately found himself asking about a woman he'd only ever read about before. "Hey, where's Selene?"

That earned him a sharp glance as, for a second, Jet reflexively wondered how the how Silver knew her, but then he seemed to remind himself of everything Silver had told him, including the fact that the Jet _Silver_ knew had been through this war already. Meaning it made sense for Silver to know of Selene. Looking straight ahead again while they walked across a stone courtyard and past a sparkling fountain, he said simply, "Not here."

 _Vague, but okay._ Silver would take that explanation for now. It seemed like Jet's anger from earlier had returned (or perhaps it had never left to begin with), and so Silver thought it best not to bug him too much at the present moment. _But I'm going to have to at some point, aren't I?_ he wondered. _I mean, if I'm going to somehow make sure he and dad stay friends..._ Biting his lower lip a bit out of worry, Silver chose to try not to think about that for now and instead focused on looking at where they were going. Together, he and Jet climbed perfectly smooth white stone stairs up to ornate double doors that led inside the palace as the main entrance.

Jet pushed them open with ease, revealing a massive front room. The floor was made of the same deep purple crystal that Silver had seen out in the wilderness earlier that day and it was polished to the point of perfection. Despite how glossy it was, though, neither they nor anyone else in the room had even the slightest bit of trouble walking across it. Silver's boots didn't even slip a little.

Heading through the room, they passed by numerous closed doors and open hallways on their way to the stairs, all the while Silver took in the many truly ancient works of art decorating the room. There were paintings, small statues, vases, indescribable metallic creations and more, all of which looked so old Silver thought they _had_ to have been salvaged from the original Planet Babylon. But that was where he studies came to an abrupt halt. Suddenly, Jet dropped his bag right outside some door and started to go through said door. Unsure if he was meant to follow or not, Silver was quick to ask, "Wait, where are you g-"

Cutting him off, Jet mumbled in a voice suddenly colored by fatigue, "I need coffee. I'll be back."

The fact that there even _was_ coffee here almost didn't make sense to Silver, but Jet's need for the drink was one thing he had learned ages ago to not argue with the hawk about. He'd learned back during the early days of his time helping to fight Ivo that Jet was strangely dependent on coffee to keep him going during the day, almost certainly because of how little he ever actually slept. Granted, this wasn't always true and he's proven that he could get by without coffee when he needed to, but when he decided he wanted it and someone tried to stop him... _Hoo, boy. Better watch out, then. Or, you know. Run._

Before too long, his thoughts switched gears and Silver found himself wondering something entirely off-topic. _I wonder if he has his journal with him. ...He probably does._ After deciding this, Silver surreptitiously glanced around, determined that no one was watching him, and promptly delved a hand into the ancient grey backpack. It took a moment of fishing, but he soon felt, grabbed, and pulled out the very journal he had been looking for. Immediately, he began flipping through the pages, looking for one specific bit of information. _How many years into the war are we right now?_ Looking through the entries, he reminded himself, _Let's see... Uncle Jet fought in the war for... forty years? ...Yeah, something like that._

His slim fingers flipped the pages, and he was honestly surprised to see how few entries there currently were within the book. And none of them seemed to have the information he was after. So he was forced to skim through all of them, going backward from the most recent entry all the way back to the fourth entry in the entire journal. In an instant, he felt himself go pale. _It's... only... been ten years...? But... but that means..._ Swallowing hard, Silver stared blankly at the words Jet had written apparently so recently. _...This war is far from over..._

Silver was so numb right now that he didn't remember ever putting the journal back into Jet's bag. Apparently, though, he had done it, for it was no longer in his hands when Jet returned, steaming cup in hand. Without a word, the hawk shouldered his bag and began walking toward a staircase across the room. In an effort to hide his current emotional state, Silver attempted to crack an admittedly lame joke. "Wow. Hope I don't get lost in here."

But, unfortunately, Jet was in a poor mood yet still and therefore having none of it. "Don't wander off by yourself and you won't," he responded, words brief and logical and yet surprisingly lacking in that note of biting irritation from earlier.

"...I can't honestly tell you that I promise not to do that," Silver admitted after a small moment of consideration. Jet just snorted, almost seeming amused, and together the two of them climbed more flights of stairs than Silver wound up caring to count. By the time they finally reached the very top floor, Silver was thoroughly winded and trying desperately to catch his breath while Jet appeared to be just fine. Silver supposed being here for a decade would do that to a person. And, of course, Jet didn't bother waiting up for him. As Silver stood there, panting for breath, he silently called out, _Okay, Dad, you said you'd try to give me advice when I need it... I think I can use some here. Mind telling me what the heck I'm supposed to be doing right now?_

Just when Silver thought he wasn't going to receive an answer, the already familiar ghostly specter of his father from another timeline faded into existence beside him, doubtless invisible to the general populace. _"Silver, you were sent here to try to save a friendship,"_ Sonic told him with a calm look on his face. _"Part of doing that is going to entail a you putting a lot of time and effort into understanding why Jet is doing or will do the things he does. Things such as pulling away from me, or rather the other me, and refusing to acknowledge anymore that that bond of friendship is still there."_

"So help me understand, then," Silver replied earnestly, keeping his voice low in the hopes of not being heard by anyone nearby. "Because, right now, I barely understand any of this."

Looking at his son sympathetically, Sonic said, _"One thing you have to understand, Silver, is that throughout the course of his life, Jet's lost nearly everyone. As a baby, he lost his mother. As a kid, he may as well have lost his dad. He lost his first real friend at around the same time. For a long time after you were born and your mother died, he lost me, too. In coming here, he feels as though he's lost me all over again, not to mention everyone else he left behind on Mobius. And, as you well know, he only loses more people throughout the course of this war. The worst of those losses being, of course, Selene."_

Silver latched onto that last point. "And she has a lot to do with this, doesn't she?"

 _"Silver, she has everything to do with this,"_ Sonic murmured, eyes very, very sad. _"But that's something you'll come to understand later on. What you need to understand now is that all these losses have by no means broken him down. Instead, they have become and will continue to be encouragement for him to fight. The way he sees it, the harder he fights, the less chance he has of losing yet another person in his life, especially someone he cares about. He fights for people like Selene and Kath and Arthr and even everyone back on Mobius. And, at the same time, he fights to distract himself from the pain of having already lost so many. Right now, that is everything to him. In many, many ways, it's all he has left. When the war ends, however, what do you think he'd going to be left with?"_

"Well..." Silver hesitated, uncertain what to say. "I mean, he'll be king."

A twinkle of amusement entered Sonic's eyes. "Yes, he will, but that point is irrelevant here. Really think about this, kiddo. What do you think he'll be left with after this war?"

It took Silver a long time and a lot of careful contemplation to come up with a response. "Basically... nothing. He'll have his role as king and all that, and he'll still have his few friends that live here, but... not much of anything else."

 _"That isn't quite true,"_ Sonic corrected. _"He'll have one more thing left to him still."_ When Silver looked confused, the blue hedgehog elaborated. _"When the war ends, the fighting will be over. But that doesn't mean his feelings will go away with it. He'll still be hurting, Silver, and he'll still want to avoid losing people yet again in his life... even if it means refusing to get close to anyone if he can help it."_

Before Silver, ears low, could think of any sort of an adequate response, Sonic suddenly teleported into his hands an ancient framed photograph of a young Babylonian woman, clearly a hawk, with crystal blue feathers. Her eyes were so blue themselves that they were nearly grey, and her hair reached several inches past her waist. She was standing with a small child in her arms and smiling at the camera. Despite how obviously tiny he had been when this photograph had been taken, Silver recognized his uncle immediately. The emerald hawk couldn't have been than about four months old, and yet he'd been holding his own head up, sitting up right in this woman's arms, and clinging tightly to her white and gold shirt. His hair was flat for some reason and long enough that it was mostly covering his eyes, making him almost look like a mini Kath (at least based off of what Silver could remember the man looked like). With a sky blue pacifier in his mouth, he rested his head upon the woman's shoulder and gazed innocently at something off to the left of whoever had taken the photo. Silver understood straight away the significance of this photo. _This has to be his mother._

Passing the picture frame and all to his son, Sonic murmured, _"Just remember that it all started with her, Silver. Dig deeper into the past, and eventually you'll be able to find solutions for the future."_ Apparently having given all the advice he cared to give right now, Sonic's spirit faded away, leaving the treasured photograph behind in Silver's hands.

 **~台風の目~**

 **7,080 words this time.** **Okay, guys, this is officially the last we will see of Silver for a while! He's not gone forever, though, don't worry. I kept these scenes with Silver and the alternate time because they turned out beautifully and I love them, but I decided not to write anything more of his little adventure within EotS. If you all want to see more of it, tell me and I'll do it as a side story instead or even as a series of oneshots within the oneshot collection. Otherwise, for now this is it. But, as I said, don't worry. He'll be back in this timeline in plenty of time for him to a part of more big things here.** **Posted (at about 6:40 a.m.) 09-08-17.**


	61. Writing on the Wall

**IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE TO CH. 60 HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY. THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WILL BE SHARING THIS MESSAGE.**

 **A quick note: This chapter is not an edited one. Those are all done now. This one and all chapters following it are new. So, hooray!**

 **Notice!: As some of you may or may not remember, I mentioned a while back that I wanted to share with you all my account (as in, like, my username and whatnot) on a website known as Discord. I want to connect with you all there for the purpose of chatting with you guys, sharing photos and videos and music files related to the story (such as pictures of what certain places or enemies were based off of or looked like, direct links to YouTube videos with theme songs for the characters, etc.), and more. I've been meaning to share my info with you all so that we can connect, but after putting it in only one chapter I forgot. So here's what I'm gonna do. I'll put it in each chapter from here on out as I remember to, but I'll also have it up in my profile on this site. Those of you who are interested, feel free to connect with me! Just, you know, let me know your usernames so I know who's friend requests I'm accepting. XD Oh, and if you've never used the site but want to, just make an account and I can walk you through the rest. :) My Discord username is Kymma Raven and the number that's also needed to add me is #9582.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Writing On the Wall"**

 **~台風の目~**

One of the worst problems people like him faced was the seemingly simple matter of _decisions_.

Right now, Sonic had a choice to make. To go to Eschire, or to go to Empire City? To try to save Vanilla and Vector and the small number of other villagers, or to rescue Storm and as many of the millions of people in the city as he could? Lives could be saved or ended right here and right now, all because of him. It didn't matter who he chose to try to save. If he went to Eschire, what guarantee would he have that Empire City wouldn't fall? If he spent his time saving Storm, who was to say that Cream wouldn't lose her mother and, Charmy his adoptive father? _No matter who I choose, unless there's some kind of a miracle… someone will die._ That was why he still running right now, rather than just teleporting straight to his destination. It was all because he was stalling, wishing desperately for time to just stop for a while and give him the chance to think… but he knew it was not to be. He had to choose.

 _But who the hell am I to play the part of some god here? Who the hell am I to choose who does and doesn't die?_ His legs began to pick up the pace. The lump in his throat refused to go down. If not for the fact that he held in his arms his worried wife, he might have given in and allowed his angry tears to surface and flow. His mind continued to race with possibilities, almost too fast for him to process. _If I risk it all… if I struggle only to fail… who out there could break my fall...?_ Red sneakers pounded the dirt, running the line between one deadly choice and another. _If someone I care for dies because of me… how do I ever move on…? How do I live, knowing what I've done... and what I've failed to do?_ The lump in his throat grew larger and more painful, threatening to suffocate him altogether. _How do I breathe...?_ The line he was running across grew thinner, the run more treacherous, and a part of him suddenly began to struggle against him, wanting nothing more than to deny his current reality. _I am not here... I'm suffocating… There is no one to catch me when I fall…_

A stab of pain in his mind dragged him so roughly out of his thoughts that it left him gasping. It felt as though he had been drowning, trapped beneath the water's surface only to be dragged out with no warning. He may have been freed… but the thoughts continued to run rampant through his panicked mind. _How do I live…? How do I breathe…? I am not here… I'm suffocating…_

It was only then that a new voice reached his sensitive ears, a voice that he knew for certain was not his own. _"Tell me… is this where you give it all up?"_

Sonic's eyes, eyes he hadn't even realized he'd at some point closed, slowly opened to gaze upon a world of pure white light and an ethereal image before him of the friend he had for so long feared that he'd lost. In the end, he had no excuse to give, no better response to give than, "I… People are about to die… Our friends, and… I can't choose, Jet… Not between people I love… I can't choose who to save and who to let die…!"

Jet stood with his right side face Sonic, his hand on the same side resting lightly on his hip. As Sonic spoke, he slowly turned his head away to gaze ahead of himself. When he eventually spoke, he made an admission that Sonic had never expected to hear. Not from him. _"...I've been here before… lost. Incapable of deciding my own fate, burdened with doing so for others… It never grows easier."_

"I thought I was prepared for this," Sonic bit out, his fists clenching. His tears of anger again threatened to show themselves, but he furiously blinked them back. "I thought, after the past, I could _handle_ something like this if it ever came up... But right now it feels like a storm straight out of Hell is headed our way and I'm the idiot who left home without his umbrella." He shut his eyes again. "But there's no more use running, is there…? I'll have to face this whether or not I want to if _anyone's_ going to survive…" His eyes opened again, lifting to look upon his friend's face. This time… their eyes met. "But I _can't_ do this alone… and I think you know that… don't you?"

Those piercing blue eyes were open enough in this moment that Sonic was actually able to read straight into and even through them. He saw pain, understanding, loss… and resilience. In response to the inquiry, Jet softly inclined his head, this time opting to provide Sonic with the quiet verbal confirmation he so desperately needed. _"I do."_

The question that now hung in the air between them, they as friends so close to have once been family in all but blood, rang pure and true in each of their minds. _If I risk it all… If I try and somewhere I fail… If someone I care for dies… Would you break my fall? Would you finally be there for me, as I have tried to be there for you? Would you finally return and together help me lessen the pain?_

There was no denying the truth. Millions of shards of glass haunted Jet from his past, glass from all the shattered hopes and dreams of his yesteryears and all the lives he had seen lost. His light had begun to fade, and he had been hurt for so long that he almost couldn't remember what it was like to be _alright_ anymore. It was a sense of being he wished on only the worst of creatures and people… and _not_ the warrior who stood before him, so desperate and pained as to be nearly broken. Not Sonic, who had himself saved Jet so many times in the past. For him, for his own family, for the few friends he had left, Jet would himself have to risk everything… because the writing was already on the wall. And that was something he could never and would never deny. And yet… there was so much more to it than that. So much more that he might never be able to say. As he turned, allowing this entire setting to evaporate and sending Sonic hurtling back into his own mind, he gave the only answer he felt he could even give. _"My strength is yours right now… I have no intentions of abandoning anyone."_

The haunting echoes of that statement lingered in Sonic's mind as he snapped back into awareness of his body and surroundings within the reality he was familiar with. Teeth gritted to the point of pain, he squeezed his eyes shut once again and made a sharp turn, finally making his decision. According to the reports that Amy had read to him earlier and the data her communicator had analyzed, one person of the three had fair chances of still being alive… but two had next to none. He had no idea if his efforts to save any of them would be for naught by this time, if any of those he had been rushing to protect were even still alive… but for them he had no choice but to risk it all. It was for them that he lived. It was for them that he breathed. It was for them that he fought. And if he had the chance to save even just one of them, he would take it. That just never meant that his choices wouldn't forever inflict agony upon him and those around him. _I'm so sorry, Vanilla… And I'm sorry Vector… Please, just don't die… Please…_ Forcing his eyes open, he poured on the speed as much as he dared while carrying Amy in his arms. He _had_ to make it.

The towering skyscrapers and dull grey colors of Empire City rose up in the distance. In the final moments of peace and clarity before arrival, Sonic took note of something a touch out of the ordinary. From what he could see beyond all the smoke… this cold and overcast was surprisingly warm and sunny. There was probably something poetic to be said about this, some jabber about hope and a silver lining and all that, but Sonic was beginning to think that he was beyond the point of believing too much in that sort of thing. _While others are off searching for their "silver linings", I have to actually do something about all this… even if in the end it kills me, makes me suffer, destroys everything I am and ever will be._ Grim, determined, but above all else ready as he'd ever be, Sonic ran on into the city as though he feared he'd never get to visit it again. Who knew, maybe he wouldn't. "Amy… are you ready for this?" he asked, partially just to distract from his own thoughts.

It was audible to his ears when she swallowed. "Yes… as I'll ever be."

So, they were on the same page, then. _At least some things still manage to be unchangeable, these days._ Then they were in the city limits, in the smoke and amidst all the fires and screams and death and destruction, and nothing else mattered any longer. Not for the moment, anyway. He had to focus now on survival, his and Amy's and everyone else they could find, and on driving back the tides of evil that were so violently washing over this poor, smoking city.

But there was something about this place, he knew, something that he doubted that the Nocturne Clan would have planned on. This was a proud city, and the citizens here knew damn well how to fight back when they were threatened. This was one of the richest cities in the world, which meant plenty of money for education and invention and whatever else, which meant plenty of manufacturing, plenty of buying and selling… and not just of normal goods, either. The market for weapons here was huge. _These crazy people are probably armed to the teeth as we speak… but are they making use of their resources? Are they surviving as well as they always claimed they could in the face of disaster?_ It was a question whose answer he almost started to fear was a "no" when, out of the blue, he heard an explosion. As in, a _big_ one. Head whipping to the side, he saw a yellow cat jump down off of a car some fifty feet or so away and run off into the haze of smoke, bazooka in hand. And, somehow, Sonic finally managed to relax a bit. The people here were fighting back, after all. Maybe not as many lives would be lost in this city today as he'd earlier feared. If all went well, some people were going to make it out of this, after all.

Pain blossomed in the side of his skull where he'd been hit earlier prior to blacking out, hurting just enough to blur his vision a bit. He wasn't sure at first what caused the pain, but belatedly realized the bright explosion of fiery light that had just appeared up ahead. _Yeah… that would cause a headache, I guess…_ Groaning internally, he slowed to a walk, then stopped entirely and set Amy down while his vision cleared. "Did that notification tell you where Storm's communicator was when it was destroyed? Even just a vague area of some kind?"

Though she began to check again to be sure, Amy almost immediately said, "No, I don't think it did. He probably had the tracking system turned off, like Jet and your dad tend to."

The urge to sigh in a mixture of concern and irritation was so strong. _What good does that feature do anyone if no one's willing to use it, especially for situations like this?_ "Alright… we'll have to search on foot, then."

"Sonic, there's so much ground to cover that there's no way you can possibly do a good search while toting me around." Amy's bright green eyes swept over the immediate area. "I'll stay behind and deal with the enemies here. I can help whoever I find to evacuate, too." When Sonic opened his mouth to (very obviously) argue with her, she huffed at him, then smiled and placed her left palm on his right cheek. "Thanks, Sonic, but I don't need your permission. And, for the record, I'll be just fine. I can take care of myself and you know it."

This time, he gave in and did sigh. His eyes closed, just for a moment, ears a bit low. "...Yeah… I know, Ames."

She gave him another smile. "Good. Now get going. Storm can probably only wait for help for so long."

Eyes opening, Sonic gave her a long look that said everything that right now he _couldn't_ , then nodded and teleported away. No matter what his inner turmoil and ever-present sense of guilt and terror, he had lives to try to save. He could only hope that it wasn't already too late.

 **~台風の目~**

It was in silence that Jet flew for now, following a new but vague lead on the whereabouts of the missing children. Though a part of him was worrying rather compulsively over Sonic (he knew the hedgehog had some degree of PTSD, anxiety, and survivor's guilt stemming from his childhood and whatnot and was currently very much feeling the effects of these things), now was not the time for him to be distracted and he knew it. The youngest (in appearance, that is) of the Immortals alive in this age had informed him less than twenty minutes ago of the fact that the Nocturne clan had, whether intentionally or not, used magic to cast at least one child into the mysterious and perplexing Realm of Dreams. It was far from a dangerous place on most occasions, no, but he still new that it was imperative to secure and return each of the missing children before any harm could befall them. A voice inside tried to whisper to him that it might already be too late for that… but he refused to listen to it. He refused to let himself drown in fear and what-if's. He _refused_.

Now, traveling between realms was something Immortals _could_ do. That was much was true. In fact, there were far more things that Immortals could do than mortals could really comprehend usually. The problem for him right now lay in the mere fact that he hadn't done this much before. As he'd once told Sonic, he was considered _extremely_ young by Immortal standards. That meant that he hadn't been taught how to utilize terribly many of his abilities yet. He hadn't been entrusted with said abilities at this point. Even the ones he had been taught were still so new to him that he seldom dared to even attempt to use them outside of training scenarios with the other Immortals. For this, though… he was going to have to make a damn exception. Especially since he was on his own here. His three kin, the other three Immortals, were off dealing with other problems brought about by this war. He could expect no aid from them right now. He was well and truly screwed if he couldn't pull this off alone.

The fact that he'd only ever done this successfully maybe twice before… really wasn't comforting.

 _Okay, enough,_ he mentally chided himself. _Knock it off._ Forcing himself to focus, he began very slowly and carefully starting to try to slip between realms as he'd been taught to do. There was no teleportation required, no flying or walking or even moving in general, merely the use of an Immortal ability for which there was no true name. It was meant to allow for seamless transfer from one realm to any other… and frankly he was surprised that that was what occurred. That emotion briefly distracted him (a rarity these days), though, which was not good. It left him briefly stranded in a realm of monsters and literal demons, the realm of *the* high demon god Amnikaribah, strongest of all demons and not to mention their unquestioned ruler. That creature was not one Jet wanted to tangle with, and he knew it was a battle he'd lose a few thousand times over (bare freaking minimum) at his current level of strength if he did for whatever reason fight that thing.

Needless to say, he opted not to try his luck and, instead swerved his ship away from a large dragon-like creature before attempting to slip out of this realm and into the one he'd actually been headed to. This time, it took several attempts to do it just right. By the time he finally managed to do it, the creature he'd dodged had turned fully around and had been just about ready to devour his ship whole with him in it. The power from that thing was insane, to the point where he didn't know if he could defeat it with even with _Sonic's_ help. And, trying as he had been to travel between realms, he couldn't very well have teleported or shot at it or anything. Which meant he could have very easily actually been killed just now. Temporarily of course, but even _still_.

Closing his eyes, Jet kept his grip firm on the controls of his ship, leaned his head back against the seat, and permitted himself the release of a slightly shaky breath. He could admit, at least to himself, that that had freaked him out. Demons in general freaked him out, really, but who in their right mind _wouldn't_ have such a reaction to goddamn _demons_? _...The Nocturne Clan, most likely._ Opening his eyes, he sat back up and glanced about the area outside his cockpit. This was the wrong realm again, the Realm of Life magic if he wasn't mistaken, but at least he wasn't in any sort of danger here. That meant that he could relax and, hopefully, actually get himself to the proper realm this time around. The fact that it was taking this long was frankly just embarrassing and irritating all at the same time, but he knew now was not the time to berate himself for it. Instead, he forced himself to focus and just attempted again to slip between realms.

When he finally managed to do it again (it took him five attempts this time, _five_ ), he managed to feel at least slightly pleased for finally getting to the right realm. It was peaceful here, beautiful, bright and sunny, and just all around pleasant. It was also blissfully quiet, something he could all too easily enjoy. The entire place looked as though it had been modeled after the Hidden Meadows, the peaceful meadows that housed all the Chao Gardens outside of Cream's home in Eschire Village, but in reality he knew it was quiet the opposite. The Hidden Meadows had, by some odd stroke of luck, wound up looking like this place an incomprehensible (for mortals) number of millions of years after this realm and many others had come to be. Some even rumored the meadows to be connected to this place to some degree. It was a strange matter, indeed, but not one he allowed himself to waste time contemplating for very long.

His eyes carefully scanned the grasses below as he piloted his ship slowly over the landscape, searching for any visual signs of whicher child or children were here. At the same time, he kept his aura senses fully open, straining for even the tiniest hint of any living thing here that wasn't merely plant life. When he finally detected three familiar auras, he permitted himself another sigh, if only because he was alone. It was Cream, Cheese, and Charmy and, from what he could tell, they had both succumbed to the energies of this place and were, essentially, asleep. It was just as well. If nothing else, it would make his job here a bit easier. He could get them into the ship and out of this realm much faster without having to acknowledge, deflect, or even answer a tidal wave of questions at the same time.

Once he reached the children, Jet carefully landed his ship in silence about ten feet from their peacefully sleeping forms. Once landed, he opened the cockpit and jumped out, then began walking over to them. As he walked, he deliberately made just a bit of noise with each step through the grass, but not to avoid startling them or whatever else. It was simply because, thanks to his autism, he tended to experience _massive_ understimulation from nearly all his senses. It was why he so often appeared to others to be numb to pain, for example. Understimulation was, for people like him, extremely stressful. To the point of some individuals resorting to inflicting pain upon themselves (such as by banging their heads into walls) to create _any_ stimulation for themselves at all. In an effort to avoid that stress and all the less than desirable effects of it, he didn't shade his eyes from the bright sunlight as he walked, didn't silence his footsteps, and didn't ignore the aroma of flowers that permeated the area. It was better this way.

It happened that he reached Cream first, the one child out of these three that he'd ever really been close with to any degree. He knelt down beside her and gently picked her up, causing her to stir somewhat but not wake. Once he'd shifted her carefully into his right arm, he used his free hand to carefully scoop up little Cheese off the ground. After carrying them back to the ship and setting them down together in the middle seat (he was really thankful that wasn't in his one-seater ship today), he returned for Charmy. He sat the young bee down in the third and final seat, got the kids all strapped in, then climbed back into his own seat and started the ship back up again. Suddenly, this whole place seemed a little too quiet and lacking in activity. It was starting to get upsetting, which struck him as irrational but which he also couldn't help.

Either way, he was ready to get out of here.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,886 words this time. Now, first of all, I introduced some hugely important things into this chapter, one of them being Amnikaribah (pronounced "Om-nih-kar-ih-bah"). That name will come up again in later tales... and it's hugely important. Also, the autism thing I described here... could have been described a _lot_ better, I'm sure, but is rather accurate. Just... trust me on that one. Lastly, as some of you may have already figured out, that first scene was heavily inspired by the song "Writing's on the Wall" by Sam Smith, from the 007 movie "Spectre". Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 10:32 a.m.) 09-09-17.**


	62. In Darkness and Death

**~台風の目~**

 **"In Darkness and Death Do We Rise"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _It was pleasant outside, warm and sunny with a nice breeze to prevent things from getting hot. Blaze sat in the grass upon a hill, watching with a small content smile as her husband and their baby played. Kimmy was only just learning to run, and she was using every ounce of the energy in her tiny body to try to chase her daddy. Silver, meanwhile, was jogging fairly slowly ahead of her, laughing and grinning as he "fled" from the tiny purple kitten behind him._

 _Honestly, it was hard for Blaze not to laugh at the picture the two of them made. The only thing that kept the young mother from giving in and doing just that was the simple fact that she didn't want to disturb them. Her laughter could very well cause a distraction and stop them from playing, if only briefly. And she very much wanted them to continued. Especially since, if they wore each other out, maybe they'd both take a nap and give her some peace this afternoon. That was a lovely prospect to consider._

 _While Silver and Kimmy continued to play, Blaze turned her head up to the clear blue sky. Amber eyes scanned the blue depths up above her and soon fell upon a small oddity. A little wisp in the sky, not unlike a greyish cloud, was plainly visible mere miles from where she sat. Though she hesitated to really call it a cloud, she didn't have any other name for the wisp. And, honestly, it didn't bother her enough to warrant any lengthy internal debate on what it truly was. So she looked elsewhere, put it out of mind, and continued to relax._

 _Except, it wasn't quite that easy. A scant few minutes later, a patch of shade drifted over some of the trees a fair ways beyond her family, drawing her amber gaze back to the sky. Upon seeing more of those wisps drifting up into the air, she frowned a bit. Now, she knew that those weren't clouds. But, for some reason, the knowledge of what they truly were was escaping her at the moment. This was starting to bother her, but she also knew that Silver tended to call her a "worry-wart" for a reason._

 _In an attempt to resume her earlier state of relaxation, she closed her eyes and leaned back on her elbows a bit. She stayed that way until she felt that it was time to check on her family again. Sitting up, she opened her eyes again in time to see a shadow drift over the pair. Silver stopped running and looked up, shading his eyes from the sunshine. "Hey, Blaze," he called, "think it'll rain?"_

 _So his initial thought was clouds, too, then? At least she wasn't the only one to have made that mistake. A second closer inspection by her told her for the second time, though, that these weren't clouds. So what were they? "No," she called back. "It will not."_

 _"Should we leave soon, anyway?"_

 _"Perhaps."_

 _Kimmy instantly began whining her protests, and Silver offered a sheepish smile. "...Maybe in about ten minutes or so?"_

 _Blaze pursed her lips together and looked up yet again. She didn't like the feeling twisting up inside her stomach. But… she also couldn't say no to their hopeful little faces. "...Alright," she reluctantly agreed. "Ten more minutes, then we must leave." Kimmy squealed and took off again. Silver resumed pretending to run from her. Blaze just leaned back once more, closed her eyes, and tried again to relax. But it really wasn't that simple, ever, was it?_

 _No more than five or six minutes could have passed before she became aware of an oppressive heat settling over the area. A noxious, choking fume began to fill her lungs, and not to mention everything around her. Her eyes snapped open and she jolted up to see a distinct red glow in the distance. There was fire. And those wisps in the sky… they had been wisps of smoke. She couldn't understand how she hadn't figured it out before. But that was a matter to berate herself over another time._

 _In seconds, Blaze had scrambled to her feet, only to be slammed backward into the ground with concussive force as some huge portion of the ground in the immediate area exploded upward into the sky. She didn't know how long she laid there, in pain, winded, struggling to breath amidst all this dust and debris and smoke, before Kimmy's shrill shriek of terror brought her back out of her daze. It was with great effort that she managed to pick herself up again… only to see Iblis's massive, hulking form jutting out of the ground less than two hundred feet to her right. She watched in horror as it reached one arm out and scooped up Silver before he even had a chance to get out of the way._

 _His screams of agony as he was both burned and crushed in Iblis's fist were enough to utterly freeze her in terror. Her eyes wide, she found herself unable to look away from the desperation and the pain written all over his face. The tears were spilling out her eyes like waterfalls by the time Iblis finally threw his limp form off into the distant woods and out of sight. Logic reminded her that it should have taken way more than that to kill him, but… he really had seemed dead. Her mouth was open in a silent scream that she couldn't let out._

 _It was revealed to her then that Kimmy was, apparently, still very capable of screaming. And scream she did, as any poor, innocent, terrified baby would when faced with a monster such as this. Blaze fought to overcome her emotions and run to her daughter's rescue before she lost her, too, but her legs refused to listen to her brain. They wouldn't move, not an inch. She really was frozen. And in her mind, as she watched her baby be grabbed and enveloped in the same monstrous fist that had just killed Silver, all she could do was scream and cry and almost writhe in emotional agony on the inside. When that fist next opened… nothing was left but ashes that were scattered by the hot winds. Openly sobbing, Blaze could only watch as the next attack, a huge hand poised to flatten her where she stood, hurtled her way._

Unexpected turbulence shook around Kaden's ship in time to save Blaze from suffering injury related to her latest vivid nightmare. Trembling all over, she wiped silent tears from her eyes before daring to sit up in her seat enough that Kaden would be able to see her if he looked. She really didn't want to talk right now (and honestly was pretty sure that he had no interest in doing so, either, due to still being in a bad mood both from his Darkness acting up and the headache he no doubt had from his wound), so she kept her mouth shut for the time being and looked out the cockpit to see where they were. Upon seeing that they were actually entering some planet's atmosphere (one that had to be fairly close to the one they had just left), she blinked. "...Why are we going there?"

In response, Kaden actually gave her a verbal answer. She had been anticipating something more along the lines of him tossing his communicator back at her to show her a message or something like that. "Locke and Rouge are here."

That made Blaze sit up straighter. "You found them?"

Kaden shook his head. "Rouge contacted _me_ ," he corrected with much less irritation than she'd been anticipating. In fact, he sounded as calm as ever. Upon closer inspection, she realized that his fur what actually nearly back to it's usual shade of color. In fact, she barely sensed any more than the usual levels of Darkness coloring his aura. Which meant… he was nearly fine now. So what in the hell had been going on earlier? Had his bad mood coupled with his injury triggered a brief lapse in control? Had it been his proximity to fairly powerful and very evil Nocturnians? She didn't know, and his voice interrupted her thoughts before she could really try to figure it out. "I did not track her or anyone else."

Either way, this was fantastic. _Finally_ , they were starting to locate some of the missing people. She would have been lying if she'd tried to claim at any point that she didn't wish that it could have been Silver or her Kimmy found here, but… finding someone was far better than finding no one at all. "Are they alright? Do you know?"

"No," Kaden responded. By now, they were within the planet's atmosphere and starting to reach the cloudline. "I do not." To some, it may have seemed that he (outwardly, at least) didn't even really care that much. But she knew that that was far from the case, especially where his best friend was concerned. He would never be able to live with himself if he let anything happen to Locke. Which explained the speeds at which they were traveling and the implication that they were rushing. Because, in all honesty, they probably were.

The clouds parted ahead of them with enough time for Kaden to see and sharply swerve away from another black ship, this one a bit more battered and less sleek than his own. He muttered a colorful string of curses just under his breath, but Blaze hardly payed the words any mind. Eyes glued on the other ship, she hardly dared to believe what he mind was telling her. That this ship was Nocturnian. That they were now no longer the only ones in this war who had ships. That they were in more danger from their enemies now than they had been.

To their left, the other ship spun around in as tight a curve as it could seem to manage. Obviously anticipating shots to be fired, Kaden quickly spun his own ship around to pull the trigger first. The front of the ship exploded in a ball of orange flame and began to dip down. Giving it one last hard shot to make sure it went down, Kaden turned the ship again and resumed their own decent toward the oddly chilly-looking desert far below. Patches of thick snow covered about sixty to eighty percent of the sandy terrain that stretched out as far as Blaze's eyes could see. It was an odd place, but struck her most was a lone mountain off in the distance. That was probably a better place than most to take shelter on this world, by the looks of things. "Kaden, look- Up ahead and to the right."

Emerald eyes flashed that way, seemed to see the mountain she was still looking at, then looked back to the ground they were still flying toward. Once he felt that they had flown low enough, Kaden lifted the nose of the ship again until the whole thing was level, then shot off for the mountain. Blaze was convinced that there had to be something there, a cave or a forest or _anything_ , that could be used as a shelter of some kind. If there wasn't, then where else would Rouge and Locke have even gone? Everything seemed so flat here... was the whole planet like this? Honestly, it was possible. It just... meant that the chances of those two being alright were probably far slimmer than she would have liked to believe.

At the speeds they were traveling, they reached the mountain in under a minute. Upon arrival, they quickly discerned two things. One, there _did_ seem to be an opening to a cave at the base of the mountain on the side they were on. Two... there was a red body laying in the sand, surrounded by Nocturnians. Kaden was instantly pissed. She _knew_ he was. He by no means wore his heart on his sleeve, but many of his emotional reactions to things - important things - were so intense and pure that they didn't have to be _visible_ to others for said others to recognize them. And when they _were_ visible, like now, they were very much so. It was why, for example, _everyone_ almost always knew it when he was angry. Like now. "Can you fly?" Kaden suddenly demanded of her as he moved the ship to circle it back around the side of the mountain where the enemies were.

Another Nocturnian ship drew closer to them from a ways behind, keeping much of her attention off of him and his words and prompting a rare distracted response from her. "What?"

"Can you pilot a ship, Blaze!" Kaden responded almost snappily as he quickly shot at a second ship. That second ship had only very narrowly missed blowing them up with a rather large missile.

Startled by the change in tone, Blaze jumped and snapped her head back around to face him. "Yes," she said quickly, hands already moving to unbuckle her. "Yes, I can, but I do not know how long I can stay in the air if more ships continue to a-"

"I need two minutes," Kaden interrupted, getting up and carefully getting out of her way so that she could grab the controls from him. "Four, max. Leave if it takes longer."

She frowned. "I will not leave."

"Then be prepared for hell." He teleported without waiting for a response, appearing right in the midst of the chaos below his ship. He became aware rather quickly of the fact that his protective instincts were running _wild_ at the moment. That was such a rare thing for him, especially since his friends and family (with the exception of a scant few) were all so capable of defending themselves. But this situation was vastly different from most, and he knew it. Rouge appeared to be missing now, and there was no evidence he could yet see that told him where she was. He and Locke were well and truly alone down here save for their enemies and would be stranded if anything happened to Blaze and the ship. Kaden wasn't in a position where he could teleport either of them to safety, if only because he was surrounded and the only "safety" was the ship... which wasn't much safer than here. To make matters even worse, Locke was very clearly unconscious. He'd been brutally bludgeoned about the head sometime before Kaden and Blaze had arrived. His head was _covered_ in fresh injuries, most of which were still bleeding profusely. Locke's breathing was ragged and he was probably very pale beneath his bright fur. If not for the fact that he was currently struggling to keep their enemies _away_ from the echidna, Kaden would have been putting all his energy into stopping that bleeding. But, as things stood right now, he simply couldn't do that, and he hated it.

A small, pained groan escaped his friend suddenly and Locke tried to move. Letting out a blast of fire, Kaden sent some of his enemies flying long enough for him to quickly turn and kneel before the echidna. He laid a gentle hand on his old friend's shoulder, a rare gesture from him that he chose to tolerate for now. "Be still," he murmured. There was no telling whether or not Locke actually heard him, but he did eventually stop trying to get up. That was good. The more he moved, the more freely he bled. And, besides that, if he was still, Kaden could remove his hand. After all, he needed to have his hand to be able to fight freely. Standing, he turned back around to face his opponents. His eyes were ablaze with fury. He would make these bastards regret ever laying a hand on Locke.

 **~台風の目~**

Cream's head lolled dreamily to her side as she sat, no longer in the grass she was sure, with Cheese in her lap. Though no longer sure of where they were and unable to really focus much on her fact, she remained relaxed and at ease almost against her will. Her distant, dreamy state showed no signs of wearing off, and she was pretty sure she was still having dreams or something... if only because of the Voice inside her mind.

 _It ends...  
_ _As it begins...  
_ _In blood and fire...  
_ _Where even visions can change...  
_ _And no future is written...  
_ _And Darkness may rise even in death...  
_ _And Light can do nothing...  
_ _Nothing to save the souls of those destined to fall..._

 _A new God will rise...  
A True One will begin to forge his path...  
A hero will pass on...  
Sparks will fly...  
Love will be lost...  
Gates will open...  
And the flower's buds will close one last time...  
_

 _The young flame of life will be extinguished...  
Realms will separate kin from kin...  
War will illuminate the skies...  
The Black Paper Moon will hang heavily above his head...  
The sphere will burn brightly in the hand of the kin he has claimed...  
An Immortal's blade will call to the child he first fathered...  
Death will surge toward the blossom he treasures...  
And everything they suffer...  
May one day be for naught..._

 _The Night will rise..._  
 _And it will end as it begins..._  
 _In Darkness..._  
 _And Death..._  
 _And..._

 _Eternity..._

 **~台風の目~**

Rouge glowered at the Nocturnians prowling around her and her little cage buddies, Espio and Kanari. Where they all were, exactly, she had no idea beyond that this place appeared to be a ship. The cage that held them and the metal that bound their wrists behind their backs appeared comprised of a technology far too ancient for her to name... and the cuffs sapped all the power and strength from the three of them. But it did nothing, _nothing_ to dampen her temper. She spewed absolute acid at any and every Nocturnian that dared to even so much as look at her, despite Kanari's whisperings that she should stop for all their sakes. Espio, back daringly resting against some of the bars, said nothing, stern and silent eyes watching with sharp acuity everything that happened to move outside their cell. Rouge ignored them both overall, too pissed to pay them or Kanari's warnings any mind.

But then a new voice entered the picture, one that positively _commanded_ attention. It was smooth, almost silky, yet venomous and dark... positively wicked. "Now, now... it is not becoming of ladies to squabble, is it?" the voice, also female, dared to mock.

Espio's head turned and his eyes zeroed in without outward emotional reaction on the woman. Kanari slowly followed his gaze, looking terrified. Rouge, still pissed as all hell, looked up to see a woman standing about midway down some metal stairs with a bundle in arm. She had no idea who this woman was, but she _knew_ evil when she felt it. _This is the same evil Knuckles described feeling the day something released the Nocturne Clan in the first place..._ She felt her frown deepen and her eyes narrow. "And who the hell are _you_ to judge us, huh?" she snapped without stopping to consider potential dangers. "At least we still _know_ what and who we are! You've all got sticks shoved so far up your asses that you don't even know which way is up anymore!"

Unfortunately, those remarks did nothing to even remotely phase or otherwise bother the woman, whoever she was. "Believe what you will, little 'heroes'," she smirked as she descended the stairs, "but you would do well to also remember this. My Clan... does not lose." She looked down at the bundle resting in her left arm, and Rouge's eyes widened. "This... among other things... will ensure our victory."

 _Suri..._ _!_ Horrified, Rouge demanded, "What the hell do you want with her?! She's just a _baby_!"

"And our _perfect_ vessel," the woman responded, smirk growing into a menacing grin. "And as for you..." She glanced at Espio's stern face, Kanari's terrified eyes... and, of all things, Rouge's belly, "...leverage." Laughing, she turned and returned up the stairs from whence she had come, rapidly disappearing into the darkness of the corridor.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,460 words this time. Okay, I know this was late, but in my defense, I've been playing Sonic Mania and Destiny 2. XD Anyway, hope you all realized just how _important_ that little prophesy was. Literally every line meant something, but I won't say what right now. ;) Hopefully you all enjoyed, and I'll try to get the next chapter up on time this time. Since I'm just focusing on four scenes right now more or less (the Sonic scene, the Jet and co. scene, the Kaden scene, and the Nocturnian scene now and then), it shouldn't take me too terribly long to write the next one. Posted (at about 11:02 a.m.) 09-11-17.**


	63. Words of Wisdom

**~台風の目~**

 **"Words of Wisdom"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _"Don't let your fear of what could happen make nothing happen."_ At some point in his life, Sonic remembered reading that quote or perhaps being told it by Locke or something. He didn't exactly know where it came from or who had said it, but... he did know that he earlier had very nearly fallen victim to exactly what this quote tried to warn against. It was all because he knew. He _knew_ that "goodbyes" hurt more than anything... especially when they were said with the knowledge, deep down, that no "hellos" would ever be traded again. He hoped against all hope that things wouldn't come to that point, not today, not here, and not because of the choice he had in the end made.

Another thing he knew to be true, though, was that everyone did die eventually. Even the Immortals. His mother even went so far as to say that the goal wasn't to live forever to begin with, but to create something that _would_. A memory, perhaps, a bond, a physical artifact... anything. And yet, his father had once told him that everything beautiful in life had only but a moment to exist before it was due to fade away. But then there was Amy... she believed that those who were loved and lost never truly went away. She, like Analia, believed that those lost ones walked beside the living every day, unseen, unheard, but never forgotten. It was, after all, hard - or even impossible - to forget those who gave one so much to remember.

It was seen as a blessing to some... but to Sonic it came as such a curse. He'd already lost too many people in his life to not have that pain burned into his mind forevermore. That pain had been dulled before the start of this war, a vague ache compared to the sharp agony he had been feeling since the loss of Omega and the untimely death of Bokkun. How many more would be lost, even just today? Would Vector and Vanilla die because of his choice? Were they already dead because he had hesitated? Had they been dead long before this, all because he hadn't found them fast enough? He didn't know, but, his thoughts... they terrified him... they choked and suffocated him... they made him feel as though he himself were dying...

But then, from the deep recesses of his memory, came Locke's voice, reteaching a lesson shared on Angel Island while eating berries in the woods one day, long before the fall of South Island... long before Sonic had really known what it was like to lose someone close... long before he had been truly afraid. _"Come on, don't be like that._ _If you live in fear of the future because of what happened in your past, you'll end up losing what you have in the present, kid. Focus on the here and now. Remember that the past can hurt and know that it does shape us all, but don't let it define you. More importantly, don't let it stop you from pressing on, alright? Memories are timeless treasure of the past, but it's the promise of a future that keeps us all going. Try not to forget that."_

As he ran, Sonic remembered more words, a soft-spoken admission from his father. _"There are days when I see only darkness before me... It consumes me, at times. The depression, the anger, the sense of isolation, the numbness, the hatred, the fear... all of it. Do not follow in my footsteps, Sonic... my path is not for you to walk. Take inspiration from your mother's, instead. Forge your path in her wake. Remember your Light. Your joy, your trust, you peace, your love, your hope... Do not become lost, as I have been."_

Sonic knew what his mind was trying to tell him, what he had already known deep down. Regardless of what happened to their bodies, people were never truly dead, not until they were forgotten. The Nocturne Clan was an evil so great that it despised even other evil, but he was not like them. This, for him, had never been about power or control or even the thrill of a fight. He lived for the moments he couldn't put into words, making the best choices that he could to shape his tomorrow and the tomorrows for everyone who stood with him. Life was a long and lonely road when one knew they walked alone... but he was no longer that lonely someone, now was he? In a way, he knew that angels existed... but they lacked wings and were called _friends_.

The darkness inside of him thrashed and screamed, trying to make him listen to it instead. It claimed, _"_ _I AM CHAOS. I AM THE SEA OF MADNESS BENEATH YOUR RAFT OF SANITY, POISED TO DEVOUR YOU WHOLE."_ It screamed, _"THE GREATEST DANGER IS BARELY SEEN. ALL THOSE WHO WALK WITH YOU PERISH. FOLLOWING YOU LEADS THOSE YOU LOVE TO A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH. LIGHT MAY FADE BUT EVIL REMAINS. THAT SUCH A MADMAN EXISTS PROVES ONLY THAT THERE CAN BE OTHERS, AND NONE WILL HESITATE TO MAKE SUFFER THE ONES YOU STRIVE TO PROTECT. THE PREY IS DEAD BEFORE THE STRIKE._ _LIFE IS CONFLICT. THERE IS NO LOVE. LEAVE THE LOST AND DEAD BEHIND. THERE IS NO MORE HOPE."_

Deeper withing, the Light he retained pleaded with him, _"_ _Everything you want is on the other side of fear. A miracle is a shift in perspective from fear to love. If love is the treasure, laughter is the key. True power is in returning to what matters. Not everything in life is easy to do, but there is always another way. If you focus on what was left behind, you will never see what lies ahead. Don't you know that you are good enough? Beware the demons within, and do not allow them to influence you. When you think you have nothing left to give, remember that there is beauty in destruction... and in its delivery. Face the challenges to come with dry eyes, no matter what is to come, even if those you love do not end this race with you. There will come a time to mourn, but not now. When the night falls, turn your eyes toward the dawn._ _Protect those who seek protection. Give them a home. Walls are not enough to defend you. You must strike first. The road to victory is long and fraught with danger and suffering... may your legs never tire. And remember that the power you seek is already in your hands._

With a shaky sigh, Sonic pressed onward through the smoking city, through areas that had been leveled already and reduced to mere rubble. He had so much ground to cover... and no real idea of where he was going. How was he meant to locate a single albatross in such a huge city? _If I could sense his aura or something then maybe I could actually- Wait, that's not a bad idea._ With not a second to waste, Sonic stretched out his senses to try to locate Storm somewhere, _anywhere_ in this hell-hole. He was no Babylonian, but he could sure as hell sense an aura when he wanted to. His only hope right now was either to run into the brute of a bird on accident or by some miracle actually sense him somewhere. They were his only real chances of finding him right now.

 _Come on, come on, come on... where are you, Storm? _A tumultuous scuffle between a rabbit and a small Nocturnian began and ended as quickly as Sonic had noticed it, ending with the collapse of a section of highway that he was headed straight for. Curling himself into a ball, he hurled himself through the dust and debris just fast enough to come out the other side without any injury. Uncurling again, he resumed his run just as the rabbit ran off to who-knew-where and disappeared into the thick haze of smoke. If Empire City hadn't been all-out burning before, it sure as hell was now. It was funny... his dad had drawn various depictions of hell once, and Sonic swore that one of them had looked quite a lot like what this looked like now. But he chose to try not to dwell on that.

Up above, heat within a towering office building exploded outward with a shrill sound. Innumerable shards of glass rained upon him too quickly for him to adequately dodge, slicing him all over and prompting him to teleport on top of the building to escape. Once safe for the moment, he allowed his eyes to slowly scan the sprawling metropolis. For as far as he could see there was fire, smoke, and fighting. Dark ships loomed in the sky. Creatures prowled the streets. People, far too many for him to ever hope to save on his own, fought and fled for their lives. Some, inevitably, did not make it.

He had to look away. He had to, because this, all of this, was too familiar. It was too _real_. His memories were coming to life again right before his very eyes. The fire, the screams, the blood, the cataclysmic explosions, the death, the destruction, the horror... Except this wasn't South Island. There were no robots and there was no Gerald. Not anymore. There was no Chaos Emerald here to destroy this place utterly and kill everyone, friend or foe. Instead, there was only the Nocturne Clan... all the people they were trying to subdue... and three so-called "heroes" who had no real hope of ever saving them all.

But then, there it was. Faintly in the distance, Sonic felt it. Storm's aura. His head snapped to his right to look over the northern portion of the city, which was more deeply inflamed than most of the rest of said city. But Storm's aura was _there_ , Sonic was sure of it. And the fact that he felt it meant that Storm was still _alive_. And that meant Sonic had to move. No more hesitating. No more distraction. No more agonizing. No more fear, if he could help it. If he wanted to save _any_ lives today, he had to _move_. He had wasted far too much time already.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,763 words this time. A much shorter chapter than normal, sure, but I like how it turned out. I used many quotes either directly or as prompts for this bit of reflection and inner turmoil, so here are the necessary citations. These are not necessarily in the order in which I used them. Also, every quote whose original speaker/author/whatever is listed as "unknown" is merely listed as such because _I_ don't know who said it, not because it isn't known in general.**

 **-"Everything you want is on the other side of fear." –Jack Canfield**

 **-"Don't let your fear of what could happen make nothing happen." –Unknown**

 **-"Goodbyes hurt more than anything. Especially when, deep down, you know you will never say 'hello' again." –Unknown**

 **-"We all die. The goal isn't to live forever. It's to create something that will." –Unknown**

 **-"Everything beautiful has it's moment and then passes away." –Luis Cernuda**

 **-"Those we love don't ever go away. They walk beside us everyday… unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear." –Unknown**

 **-"It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember." –Unknown**

 **-"A miracle is a shift in perspective from fear to love." –Marianne Williamson**

 **-"If you live in fear of the future because of what happened in your past, you'll end up losing what you have in the present." –Unknown**

 **-"If love is the treasure, laughter is the key." –Yakov Smirnoff**

 **-"Memories are timeless treasures of the heart." –Unknown**

 **-"I see only darkness before me…" –Unknown**

 **-"I AM CHAOS. I AM THE SEA OF MADNESS BENEATH YOUR RAFT OF SANITY, POISED TO DEVOUR YOU WHOLE." –Shenanigansen (A Tapastic Creator)**

 **-"A man is not dead until he is forgotten." –Unknown**

 **-"Evil so dark, it despises other evil." –Exo Stranger (Destiny: The Taken King)**

 **-"Angels exist, but sometimes they don't have wings and are called friends." –Unknown**

 **-"Live for the moments you can't put into words." –Unknown**

 **-"Your choice today will shape your tomorrow." –Unknown**

 **-"It's a long and lonely road when you know you walk alone…" -from "Remember Everything" by Five Finger Death Punch**

 **-"True power is in returning to what matters." -King Wencen of the Summer Fae, from "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning"**

 **-"'Cause I'm a fate worse than death…" -from "Sarcasm" by Get Scared**

 **-"Not everything in life is easy to do." -Jenni (spell?) from "Finding Dory"**

 **-"There's always another way." -Charlie from "Finding Dory"**

 **-"That such a madman exists proves only that there can be others." -Tine Delfric, Truesworn, from "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning"**

 **-"If you focus on what was left behind, you will never see what lies ahead." -Chef Gusteau from "Ratatouille"**

 **-"The prey is dead before the strike." -Fae proverb, from "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning"**

 **-"Don't you know, do you know that you are enough?" -from "Enough" by Jason Castro**

 **-"Leave the lost and dead behind, now's your chance to run for cover." -from "I Will Not Bow" by Breaking Benjamin**

 **-"Beware the demon." -Fae proverb, from "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning"**

 **-"Life is conflict." -Fae Proverb, from "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning"**

 **-"No love. There is no love." -from "Diary of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin**

 **-"Everyone who walks with you dies." -from the trailer for "The Dark Tower"**

 **-"Last Extremity: For when you think you have nothing left to give." -Quote off of the "Last Extremity" scout rifle in Destiny PS4**

 **-"If there is beauty in destruction, why not in its delivery?" -Quote off of the "Gjallarhorn" rocket launcher in Destiny PS4**

 **-"I face the challenges to come with dry eyes. There will be a time to mourn, but not until we have our vengeance." Quote off of the "Velumbra" sparrow (a sort of hoverbike) in Destiny PS4; said by Petra Venj**

 **-"Night falls, but your eyes are turned toward the dawn." -Quote off of the "EV-43 Lightrunner" sparrow (a sort of hoverbike) in Destiny PS4**

 **-"The power you seek is in your hands." -Quote off of the "Luna Nullis II" sniper rifle in Destiny 2**

 **-"Protect those who seek protection. Give them a home." -Quote off of the "Mark of the Renegade" titan mark cloth decoration (attached to armor) in Destiny 2**

 **-"Walls were never enough to guard us. We needed to strike first." -Quote off of the "Firebreak Field" leg armor from Destiny 2**

 **-"The road to victory is long. May your legs never tire." -Quote off of the "Renegade Greaves" leg armor from Destiny 2**

 **Posted (at about 1:00 p.m.) 09-12-17.**


	64. Violent Storm

**~台風の目~**

 **"Violent Storm"**

 **~台風の目~**

"Mister Jet?"

The whispered question came so, so softly that he almost missed it despite his near-constant attentiveness to everything around him. Jet glanced back to see Cream stirring in the seat directly behind him. She still looked sleepy and distant, but her eyes when they opened were mostly clear. If nothing else, she appeared coherent. The effects of the Realm of Dreams were finally leaving her. Perhaps this meant that Charmy and Cheese would wake soon as well. "...Yes?" he asked eventually, though he didn't much feel like conversation. There were just too many things on his mind right now. His kids, his armies, Sonic, whatever other friends he may or may not have anymore, Shade, this nonsense about a "Vessel of Darkness", the fact that Amnikaribah had seemed (when he'd passed through it's real earlier) to be rousing from it's drawn-out sleep, this war as a whole... The list just dragged on and on.

Cream again interrupted his thoughts. "I... think I had a vision again," she mumbled, rubbing drowsily at her eyes.

It was common knowledge that Cream's visions were seldom trivial and were never to be ignored. From what he understood from listening to her chat to and around him earlier into this war, she had even specifically seen numerous parts _of_ said war a hundred or more years before it had even come to be. She was powerful, indeed... and her visions were as well. That knowledge was one of the driving forces behind his response. "What did you see?" he inquired quietly, eyes on the empty space ahead of them. He had long since returned them to their own realm (with minimal issue, thankfully) and was now resuming the search for the other missing people. In particular, the children.

This time, she almost seemed to hesitate. "...I... I don't know if it even *was* a vision, exactly," she hedged. Her sleepiness seemed to be fading more and more. "I didn't *see* anything. I just... I heard a voice. The same one I always hear when I don't actually see things in a vision."

That sharpened Jet's interest. Seeking more information, he pried, "A voice?"

He sensed more than saw her nod her head. "Yes. Just... a voice. It isn't male, but it's also not female, or robot, or animalistic, or... anything, really. And it's emotionless as far as I can tell, and it always gives me this sense that it knows everything."

 _So it is the Voice, then... the one that once spoke to Sonic. Ythene. _Jet frowned to himself. "What did it tell you?"

In response, Cream poses her own question. "...Are prophecies real? Like... do they really predict and determine the future?"

"That depends entirely on who you ask." _And who or what it comes from._

"What do you think?"

That was an interesting question. What _did_ he think? "...I think they can predict possibilities," he eventually murmured, "but nothing is ever certain when it comes to our futures."

That seemed to give Cream a bit to think about, and she fell silent for a time. Jet appreciated silence. It helped him to concentrate his own thoughts and to mentally prepare himself for more conversation. He had a feeling that more speech was going to be required of him here than he cared for. It was just something he'd have to put up with, though. He needed to know what Ythene had told Cream. When she finally spoke, her voice had lost its uncertainty. "If that's the case, then I think that's what this was. A prophecy, of sorts."

Fine, then. If that was what it was, then fine. He just needed to know what she'd _heard_. _If it indeed came from Ythene... then this is no small matter. She does not waste words, nor does she speak to any without reason._

"It was a bit long," Cream continued. There was a brief thoughtful pause, then she resumed speaking. "If I tell it to you in parts, can you help me figure out what it means?"

That was one way of doing things, he supposed. It would mean more talking than he'd already been anticipating, but he'd put up with it this time. It was just one of those days, he supposed. "Yes," he agreed, knowing she probably wouldn't see it if he merely nodded. He sensed her aura brighten with happiness and a touch of relief just before she spoke again and told him the first part of the prophecy.

 _It ends…_  
 _As it begins…_  
 _In blood and fire…_  
 _Where even visions can change…_  
 _And no future is written…_  
 _And Darkness may rise even in death…_  
 _And Light can do nothing…_  
 _Nothing to save the souls of those destined to fall…_

Initially, Jet was uncertain as to the meaning of the first two lines, but the third clued him in. He recalled quite vividly how this war had begun, with _blood and fire_. His house had exploded all around him while he'd been sitting in it, and the Nocturnians that had directly attacked him before he'd managed to get out with Suri had cut him twice (and deeply) with their daggers. Only in quickly using a healing device (which he'd then unintentionally left behind) had he repaired those wounds before escaping the burning building with Suri in his arms. "Blood and fire" was a rather accurate description. And if that was, indeed, what that line was referencing, than the "it" mentioned in the first lines... that had to be the war, didn't it? _The war began with blood and fire... and ends with it?_ Possibly, but he wasn't certain.

The next two lines were much more literal and straightforward, so he didn't bother contemplating them much. But the line below those, the line about Darkness and death... That, he suspected, delved into much more complicated matters. Specifically, he thought it was making a reference to _beings_ of Darkness. Those beings, like beings of Light and Chaos (the latter of which, granted, included only Sonic), were semi-Immortals. He hadn't been taught much about them yet, but he'd been told enough to know that, like Immortals, they couldn't permanently die in the same ways as mortals. Only specific things could kill semi-Immortals. Certain powerful Arcane magics, Light (in the case of a being of Darkness), Darkness (in the cases of a being of Light), and so on. Anything less, and the semi-Immortal would simply be revived, albeit usual in their home realm (such as the Realm of Chaos if, say, Sonic were to ever such a death again, as he almost certainly had when South Island had fallen). This line in the prophecy, however, mentioned Darkness specifically. This meant... Kaden? _...Or Sonic..._

And then there were the last two lines... what to make of those? Beyond understanding inherently that they seemed to be referencing death and, perhaps, Analia's inability to do anything about said death, he really had no idea what to take from those lines as of yet. It troubles him greatly, but there wasn't much he could do about it right now. So he shared his thoughts and impressions with Cream, for he had promised (in a way) to do so, then listened quietly as she shared the next part.

 _A new God will rise…  
_ _A True One will begin to forge his path…  
_ _A hero will pass on…  
_ _Sparks will fly…  
_ _Love will be lost…  
_ _Gates will open…  
_ _And the flower's buds will close one last time…_

 _A new God? ...That entails... power, knowledge, the accomplishment of specific deeds... what else?_ Being as young as he was by Immortal standards, Jet didn't exactly know what else he was missing here, though he did know that he _was_ missing knowledge. He did, however, fully understand that achieving the title of God or Goddess was not something just anyone or any _thing_ could do. It also wasn't something done _easily_. One needed immense reserves of power and magic, first of all. Then, depending on what type of God or Goddess one was striving to become, certain deeds needed to be done on top of achieving immense levels of power and intelligence. To become a God or Goddess of Magic, for example, meant not just mastering but _perfecting_ and even improving a specific field of magic. Becoming a God of Demons as Amnikaribah was meant being able to permanently kill whoever or whatever the previous God was (meaning that any demon seeking to take Amnikaribah's place and title had to be able to kill it and make it _stay_ dead). The list went on and on, of course, but the main concern that held his attention was the ambiguity of this line. It claimed a new God would rise... but never gave any hint of whether that was a good or bad thing. The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach made his mind reel with unspoken worries that the latter could very well be the case.

But then there was the second line, and that one really drew his attention. "True One" was a nickname of sorts, a reference to the state of being a so-called "True Immortal". As in, an Immortal in as pure and perfect a state of unfathomable and infinite power and knowledge as the Faein... the very first four and most mysterious Immortals, who had forged and shaped existence itself. _No one has achieved their state since them... Any and all knowledge of the Faein and what they could do vanished with them. We have reclaimed much, yes, but it is solittle compared to what they once held... _If one his kin, the other Immortals alive now, was to be believed, then no Immortal would achieve that state ever again and they would never fully reclaim their lost heritage, knowledge, and powers. The Immortals had, in a way, fallen to far according to her. While he hesitated to believe that, there was still left in him a nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, she might be right. And if she was, then what was he supposed to make of this line in the prophecy?

It was easier, he supposed, to just move on for now, so he did. The next line mentioned a hero... That was immensely vague and yet, somehow, strangely specific. Coming from the metaphorical "mouth" of Ythene, there could only be one hero spoken of here. That _hero_ was Sonic. There was no question. And obviously even he, as a semi-Immortal would die one day, but the thought of Sonic ever just being... _gone_ gave him a sort of chill that he didn't dare contemplate. Still, while the words in that line evoked dread, they also gave a measure of hope. The line said "pass on". Not "die", not "be killed", nothing like that. It said "pass on", and that implied... peace. Peaceful death usually entailed... old age. So far as he knew, Sonic would have to live past his natural lifespan something like four to six times over before he could die permanently from old age, but such a death could still happen. At least that would be peaceful and wouldn't involve pain. Too many they knew had died in conflict, with blood and wounds and pain and sometimes screams... If at least some could avoid such an end, that would be better than nothing.

The next two lines were, at least, not _quite_ as worrisome. "Sparks would fly" almost certainly references Tails's power of electricity and his powered-up state that he could achieve when using enough of the power. Charmy had named this "form" years ago, calling it something along the lines of "Sparking Tails" or something akin to that. So this seemed to imply that Tails would be in a noteworthy battle of some kind. But, in a war like this, such a thing was rather unavoidable. And as far as the next line and the two following it... there were enough potential meanings for them all that he really didn't know where to start. Lacking any certainties, he opted to not make assumptions on those ones and move on. He again shared with Cream everything he could, allowed her time to digest it all, then waited as she shared the next part.

 _The young flame of life will be extinguished…_  
 _Realms will separate kin from kin…_  
 _War will illuminate the skies…_  
 _The Black Paper Moon will hang heavily above his head…_  
 _The sphere will burn brightly in the hand of the kin he has claimed…_  
 _An Immortal's blade will call to the child he first fathered…_  
 _Death will surge toward the blossom he treasures…_  
 _And everything they suffer…_  
 _May one day be for naught…_

There were so many meanings here that Jet didn't even know where to begin. The extinguishing of a "young flame of life"... A child would die? Relatives would be separated between realms, as in through death perhaps? _"War would illuminate the skies..."_ Was the war due to grow even larger than he had been anticipating? The Black Paper moon, the family crest of the royal family of Mobius. _Kaden's_ family. What did his royalty have to do with anything? And "the sphere"... only one thing in existence was so truly called " _the_ sphere", and that was the Sphere of Knowledge within Astral Babylon. The "kin he has claimed", was that referencing the fact that he had been very unofficial adopted by Kaden and Analia? If Kaden was the ambiguous "he" in this sentence, then maybe. And if he _remained_ the "he" in the next line, then that meant Sonic was spoken of next. But why would he be wielding an _Immortal's_ blade? The next line was a reference to death very obviously, and the final two spoke of potential failures, but what beyond those things was he meant to take from those lines? He didn't know, not right now, so he focused on calming his whirlwind of thoughts. Once he did, he shared them for the third time, then awaited the next part of the prophecy. It turned out to be the final part.

 _The Night will rise…  
_ _And it will end as it begins…  
_ _With Darkness…  
_ _And Death…  
_ _And…_

 _Eternity..._

 _"The Night"... ...I've... heard of that before..._ At least, he thought he had. Hadn't Kath mentioned it once? Hadn't the other Immortals whispered about it amongst themselves, as though hoping he wouldn't hear? Hadn't Kaden once spoken of it with Analia when they'd thought everyone else was out of earshot? He was certain that these incidents had all occurred, though long ago. They had all spoken of "The Night". What in the hell _was_ it, and why did everyone who spoke of it seem so _terrified_ of it? It was far from normal for Kath to fear anything. It was rare beyond _words_ for any of his kin to feel fear of any degree. It wasn't within their personalities for Kaden and Analia to normally feel any measure of fear. And why, _why_ was everyone keeping something seemingly so _huge_ a _secret_? And when it came to the last lines, what he was he meant to make of _them_? More references to how the war would end, perhaps? Maybe... but he wasn't so convinced. Ythene seldom repeated "herself", so there had to be some other meaning here, didn't there?

A scanner on his dashboard lit up, drawing his attention out of his mind and to the light. It was a light on a scanner, warning him of incoming cloaked ships that, it seemed, had just warped into the area. More Nocturnian ships, all certainly from a timeline where the Nocturne Clan had actually had _time_ to advance their technology. He already knew that they had been pulling recruits and supplies form other realities. Ships were just among their latest steals, it seemed. Those were dealt with easily enough, though, or at least they usually were. It was time to find out just how fortified or not these ones happened to be.

As soon as he opened fire, he sensed Cream straighten in her seat. If she hadn't been fully awake before, she certainly was now. A flare of psychic energy rose up behind him, then manifested above his ship and shot out toward the now-visible ships. The fire he saw from the resulting explosions made his stomach churn, and the site of some of the fiery debris hurtling past his cockpit threatened to make him nauseous from sheer anxiety. It was only sheer force of will that he choked back that particular response and forced himself to focus. There were two ships left out of the five that his scanners had detected. Though that didn't mean that there weren't anymore, he chose to focus on those two wholly for the moment.

Once he'd navigated around the flaming carcasses of the other three ships, he channeled lightning through his weapons systems and fired at the closest remaining ship. It exploded, this time with more electricity than flame, and he was forced to swerve to avoid more debris as the lightning arced from that ship and into the other. Soon, they were both left in ruins, and he knew he was about to miss an opportunity. Pulling up a holographic keypad (which was, of course, entirely in Babylonian), he typed in a few commands that then erected powerful barriers around the ship. He brought the ship to a halt as much as one could when in space, and grabbed Alkarus from where it had been resting leaning against the right side of his seat. "Stay here," he told Cream before teleporting without giving her a chance to reply. He would only be a moment.

An instant in time later, Jet reappeared amidst the ruins of the last ship that he'd destroyed. His heart thudded with anxiety that he fought not to show in response to the flames surrounding him. He felt small tremors threaten to wrack his frame, but somehow managed to fight them back well enough that they weren't visible. However, he knew he was tense, very visibly so, and that the sole living Nocturnian he'd sensed (who lay crippled in the rubble before him) could likely see it. It just wasn't something he _cared_ about. Sheathed blade in hand, he strode over to the Nocturnian and knelt before them. Tone dangerous and cold, he demanded, "Where are they?"

Truth be told, it didn't surprise him when the Nocturnian spat at him (thankfully missing) and growled. "I have no reason to tell _you_ ," the monster of a person hissed.

In a flash, Alkarus was unsheathed and pressed against a dark throat. "You have _every_ reason to," Jet murmured.

"Or what?" the Nocturnian taunted. "You'll kill me?" The person, seemingly a man, laughed. "That will never be enough and you _know_ it."

"I can do far worse to you than merely end your miserable life."

"Like what, _torture_? Wipe me from _existence_ , eh Immortal?" He had the gall to laugh again. "I think not. Your kind is far to _weak_ to be capable of such deeds."

Frown deepening, Jet pressed the man's throat harder with his sword. "Tell me where they are," he demanded calmly, almost too calmly. "I will not tell you again."

Slowly, the Nocturnian smirked. "Desperation... is not befitting of a ' _king_ '." With another laugh, the Nocturnian deliberately rolled himself into the inferno, pleased with the knowledge that Jet could do nothing to retrieve him. His laughter died only when he did.

Sickened by the smell, his own dark memories, and his worries, Jet quickly turned away and teleported back to his ship.

 **~台風の目~**

To their young minds, it felt like it had been years since Kimmy and Lia had arrived in this place. At the behest of the strange white cat woman that they had met who knew how long ago, Kimmy and Lia had set out through the snow on the northern Mobian continent of Artika toward a place know by the locals as the "Garden of Darkness". Within it was a door-like structure with a stone arch and everything, which many apparently called the "Black Gate". Lia had heard about it before. Her daddy had once told her that it was considered by many to be the literal gateway to hell, where the greatest evil imaginable had last stood on their world. Or... something like that. He had told her that such a story was likely mere myth, but that the place was dangerous regardless. She had been told never to go there. And yet the woman had suggested that she and her cousin do just that, and she had somehow sounded so convincing... Maybe that tone had actually been the kind her daddy would call "manipulative". But it was too late to wonder about that now, wasn't it?

It was strangely warm in this place, despite being so dark and devoid of any sort of Light. The Darkness was almost... soothing, in its own way, and she thought she possibly understood why. _What was it that Papa once said...? "Darkness finds comfort in Darkness as much as Light does with other Light"?_ Whatever the case, she didn't feel as afraid here now as she'd felt coming in (though being pursued by Nocturnians on the way here had certainly contributed then). In fact, she didn't feel afraid at all. It was... strange, to say the least.

To her right, Kimmy floated in the blackness as helplessly as Lia did. "Lia, are we _going_ anywhere?" the kitten complained. "We've been floating _forever_."

Little Lia frowned in thought. "I don't _think_ so. It's kinda hard to tell, though. You know, since it's so dark and all..."

That, apparently, gave Kimmy an idea. "Oh! Maybe we can use the flashlights on our communicators to help us see!" Her beaming smile was audible in her voice and entirely contagious.

"Good idea!" Without further ado, Lia turned on her small communicator's screen, tapped a button onscreen, and turned on the flashlight. Kimmy did the same thing at about the same time. Sweeping the thin beams of light around, they tried to see something in this place. _Anything_ , really. But there was nothing. All around them was this all-encompassing and impenetrable blackness that seemed to have nothing but them in it. Their lights barely made the tiniest, most insignificant dents in it all.

A voice from both everywhere and nowhere finally succeeded in invoking momentary terror in the girls. _"You should not have light in this place..." _There was a shriek, maybe two, and Lia wasn't sure if it came from her or from Lia, or from both of them. Too terrified to speak, she just reflexively snapped her hand back to her communicator and shut it off. Kimmy, now trembling in the faint glow of her flashlight, kept hers on. That voice, that deep and menacing voice, spoke again. _"So one of you is at least partially true to your Darkness... and one has inherited reserves of Light as well... how unfortunate."_

Honestly, Lia had no idea what provoked her to speak. "W...Which one... is unfortunate?" she asked meekly.

The mysterious, unseeable entity opted not to answer her question. _"You have encroached upon my realm, brought with you lights, and resealed the gate... Such foolish, tiny creatures..."_

"We're in another _realm_?" Kimy blurted out in alarm.

Again, the entity did not answer her. It did, however, voice it's own question for the first time. _"Why have you come to this place, if not to die?"_

Trembling anew, Kimmy looked to Lia for help. Trying her damnedest to be brave like her father, Lia whimpered, "W-We were being chased, by, um," she swallowed hard, "by Nocturnians. They tried to kill us, and this cat lady we met told us we should come here... that it was tied to to our 'inheritance' or something like that..."

 _"I see... so the Widow sent you, then... and those insects are indeed active once more..."_ Kimmy and Lia traded half-puzzled, half-terrified looks, but the entity continued. _"Tell me, little creatures... where does your Darkness come from...?"_

They traded another puzzled look. "...From... our Papa," Lia said. "I-I mean, our grandfather. Her great-grandfather, technically."

 _"And his name?"_

"It's... It's Kaden."

 _"So it is the Child of Darkness, then... Zenith's successor." _Before Kimmy or Lia could even _ask_ , it said, _"You are strange little creatures... One a blend of Darkness and Light, the other full of Darkness yet acting as though filled with Light... Each of you possesses what I need."_

Lia was too terrified now to ask. Kimmy, on the other hand, was always eager to help. That feeling apparently overrode her fear, at least briefly, as the entity spoke. "Oh, what did you need?"

 _"Easy transport,"_ the entity replied enigmatically. _"It has been too long since I have moved and I remain weary... I have need of my portal... the one you have again closed."_

This made Lia frown. "So... you... want to go to... to our world?" The thought sent sharp chills up and down her spine. "W...Why?"

 _"I seek to purge all realms of all that should not exist... all that has no place within existence."_

"So..." Kimmy frowned in thought, then made a decision that startled Lia. "So, you're kinda like a hero, then."

"What?" Lia demanded, more confused than anything.

 _"I am unfamiliar with your terms, little creature."_

"Like, you get rid of bad guys and stop bad things from happening and stuff," Kimmy elaborated poorly.

The troubling thing was, the entity didn't truly _agree_ with what Kimmy said. At least, not out loud. Instead it said, _"Believe what you wish, little creature... I require only that the gate be reopened..."_

"And... you'll start getting rid of the bad things... right?" Lia asked, a little more hesitant than Kimmy now appeared to be.

 _"I will do as I have always done, little creature... regardless of what 'bad things' are out there."_

After a long, long moment, Kimmy and Lia turned together to where they could now sense the gate to be. Trading a look, they slowly reached out... and opened it.

 **~台風の目~**

It took entirely too long, in Kaden's opinion, to do everything that needed to be done on this alien world. Five to seven minutes to defeat all the enemies on the ground, for he had unintentionally underestimated them to some degree. About a minute and a half to get Locke safely loaded onto his ship and strapped into a seat. More than nearly ten defeat the aerial foes, get back into space, reengage his apparently poorly functioning warp-drive, and resume shooting through space in search of the Blue Typhoon. It had all taken too long. And Locke...

Locke was so pale.

The last time he had had to fear so greatly for his friend's life was the day he himself and Analia both died. He had hoped to never feel that particular fear again. Yet here he was, terrified and unable to do much of anything to express that or to save his friend's life. His only hope was that they could find the Typhoon soon, and that Amy or Analia were by some miracle on board. It was Locke's only chance.

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,662 words this time. For the record, I _tried_ to get this out on time. Work just got way crazier this week than anticipated, and today I had a ton of errands to run. So... yeah. Tomorrow's chapter should be completely on time (as in actually posted _tomorrow_ ), barring any further unforeseen craziness.**


	65. Where Forever Dies

**Review Replies:**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Your first review to Ch. 64: ...Because... they probably did? ^-^" And yeah, it didn't see good at _all_.**

 **Your second review to Ch. 64: Yep, it's always had a name. I just now shared it. But, no, I promise it wasn't a typo. XD Yes, that is interesting, is it not?**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Where Forever Dies"**

 **~台風の目~**

It had been so long since he'd last seen light... or at least it felt like it had been. Honestly, he he had no real concept of time in this place, no way to gauge just how long he'd been tormented, just how long he had been alone, just how long he had been laying on this cold hard floor, too numb from pain to move... too exhausted to think straight... too close to oblivion to even remember much of anything at all about what had been happening to him. And yet... he still found himself trying to stand, trying to fight, trying to do _anything_ that might save himself and Rouge and Kanari. But Espio was in no real condition to do any of that. So what _could_ he do? The truth was, probably next to nothing. But his tormentor... Shade... she certainly was not in the same position. She reminded him quite vividly of a woman mentioned in an old oral poem shared in his home village of Hyale, a poem about a noble king... and the powerful and intelligent queen who did so much more than merely guide him.

 _"She may be queen of Ynzer's throne,  
_ _But learn you well this tale,  
_ _A woman's strength lies not in men,  
_ _But where men often fail."_

Now, Shade was no beloved queen, certainly. She wasn't even remotely so. Her name was to be _feared_ , he knew. _The name is death, decay, and violence; a cold and fading moment._ And yet, she and the queen from the poem and the larger tale said poem had come from... they shared some alarming similarities. Intelligence. Power. The ability, means, and drive to do what her male "ruler" could and/or did not. Ambition, albeit dark ambition in Shade's case. Authority. Command over legions that technically only her male "ruler" was meant to control. There was even more than that, he was sure, but weren't these things bad enough? The shadows around him started to sing when she was around. Her darkness and her evil were much too great for her own good. But there was so little he could even do about it.

Time felt like it was standing still, as it always had those few times when he had been this close to death. It felt like he was standing on the edge of the world, gazing down into oblivion, unsure where to go, whether to fight his way back and away from that edge or simply let himself fall in and disappear. At the edge of oblivion... did he let himself sink, or did he fight to swim back out? Or simply... disappear? But then there was a voice, coupled with rough shaking, that jolted him awake so suddenly that he felt as though he'd been struck by lightning. _"Wake up!"_

He realized he was still on the floor. Cold. Barely able to breath. And that edge he'd been seeing... possibly a mere dream. But he thought he was awake now, at least somewhat. His jolted heart was pounding harder now than it had been, probably a good change from its weak thumping earlier. And yet he still felt so lifeless... and time still felt as though it was standing still. He had been watching the end through dying eyes, letting the darkness of oblivion take him over, showing him where 'forever' died... but that _voice_. Had he just imagined it? No... no, there it was again. Louder to his ears this time, less distant and hazy. _"Espio, wake up! Please!" _

When his eyes finally opened, he found himself somehow immediately gazing into the eyes of Kanari. The sheer, raw emotion within them threatened to smother him, making him dizzy with their intensity. But maybe that was merely from blood loss and injury. He was certain that he had nearly died, had nearly gotten weak enough both mentally and physically to just _let_ it happen, but she had cut straight through the clouds in his mind. She had woken him up, and the mere reminder of her presence was reason enough for him to pull back entirely from his morbid thoughts of earlier.

In many ways, all was lost again in this war. There was no telling how many of their friends and allies were still missing or if any of them were dead now. They had no way of knowing where they themselves were or if they were going to die today, or tomorrow, or the next day, or on any day after. There had never been any guarantees of victory, or even of survival. They were all injured, badly, and had no means of escape or to fight back. He was still so weak that he wasn't entirely convinced that he could make it through to see the end of this. All seemed as though potentially lost... but he would give in no more. And as he pushed himself weakly up on shaking hands, she took his right hand in her own... and gave him another reason to start again.

 **~台風の目~**

It was in the middle of fiery chaos that Sonic discovered Storm. The large Babylonian was punching away at his foes, pummeling them as he always had Ivo's robots a century ago. The sight was familiar and, in a way, almost bittersweet. But that wasn't what made Sonic stop walking. What made him stop was... a woman. The first and only other albatross that he had ever seen. She and Storm seemed to know each other. And they were... arguing? _Who in the world...?_

"Hey, Storm! I've got thirteen over here!" the woman called triumphantly. She seemed to be talking about how many enemies she had just defeated. "That makes my total thirty-one versus your twenty-three!"

"I'm gonna kill _you_ and claim it was the plague!" Storm snapped at her (though he hardly seemed to mean it) as he finished knocking a Nocturnian's lights out.

As Sonic watched, ears perked in a mixture of confusion and maybe some degree of amusement, the woman laughed and yelled back, "You wish you had the _balls_!"

Storm responded by growling at her as well as a bird could, then venting his frustration on some other Nocturnian near him. Sonic decided that was as good a time as any to resume moving and jog up to his old ally. They'd never exactly seen eye-to-eye and probably couldn't quite be considered friends, but... even still. Words could do his feelings of relief no justice. "Oi, Storm!" he called just before the bird noticed him.

His called caused Storm to quickly turn to face him... then snort. "If you're here to save us, don't bother," he grumbled, as 'friendly' as ever. "It'll take more than this bull-crap to kill us." As always, Storm only ever saw his goals, taking no time and wasting no energy believing in the possibility of failure. He knew better than most that even the smallest voices could make something major... and make a difference in dark times. He also knew and embraced the fact that those who had founded cities such as this one way back during the Dark Days had braved the wild of this world and all its dangers with much less than, say, Sonic had for years used to survive. The way he saw it, if punches and whatnot had been enough for those people, it was enough for him. Sonic just hoped it wouldn't get the larger male killed someday.

 _Though, to be fair, it seems to have served him well for most of his life so far..._ Sonic shook his head. "Not the point. I-" he glanced away, hesitant to admit the truth. That he had panicked. That he'd have to choose between people's _lives_. That he feared he hadn't made at all the _right_ choice. That he feared the absolute worst still for everyone on this planet. That he felt powerless. "I had to make sure you were alright."

Something in Storm's tense, combative posture seemed to loosen... just a bit. "I'm fine here," he assured simply. "Pretty much everyone is. Don't think many of us have died yet. They chose the wrong city to go and blow up." While that was all true to some degree, it wasn't all that comforting to Sonic. But Storm continued before he could speak. "Look, if you want your peace back, be prepared for a _hell_ of a war," he told Sonic, tone nearly harsh. "You can't fight for everyone, so leave those of us who can fight for ourselves be. Focus on _your_ part in this, _got_ it?"

 _My part._ Emerald eyes glanced from flaming debris to Nocturnian to albatross to smoke to sky, slowly absorbing everything around him... and everything Storm had said and meant. _...My part._ Jet had spoken to him of this as well... told him that this was Sonic's fight alone, that this war was his to win and not anyone else. He had... mentioned something about a spear. But that was irrelevant right now, he supposed. What mattered was...

"Get _going_ , you idiot! We've got this here!"

...What mattered was taking action.

And so Sonic turned, and he ran.

 **~台風の目~**

Dry lightning cracked brilliantly against the dark skies overheard. The storm clouds she saw gathered as much in the sky as they did in her own eyes. She prayed the oncoming storm would be enough to destroy this place, to blow it all away and leave nothing behind... but that could never be the case, now could it? This place, this dark and horrible place, had stood since near the dawn of mortal existence. It was a citadel on a world she had never wanted to see... and Therian constructs were no laughing matter.

She wanted to hope, truly. She _wished_ that she could hope. Something just... kept getting in the way. The same thing that continued to threaten to break her spirit and utterly defeat her. And that was the mere fact that Hannah was alone. So very, very alone... and terrified. Her captors spoke of holding her for ransom, for they knew that she was the daughter of the king of the race the Therians had hated for longer than most mortals could comprehend. Others spoke of forcing her into slavery, as they had long done with so many other Babylonians back before their foolishness had destroyed the old Planet Babylon. Yet others begged for the _privilege_ of being the ones to kill her. It all left her so weak with terror as she gazed out a tiny hole in the wall that, honestly, she didn't know how she could ever hope.

But still she'd tried. She'd hung a wish upon ever star that she could see... but she knew that it had done her no good. She had tried everything she could think of to escape, but to no avail. She had tried to rest, but had found herself unable to sleep. She had tried to contact someone, _anyone_ who could help her, but it hadn't worked. She had cried... but that hadn't made her feel any better. She didn't know what else to _do_ anymore, except try to close her eyes and dream of her family... and wonder if, wherever they were, they were dreaming of her, too. And it was in those efforts that she was quite suddenly afflicted with a memory from not-so-long ago, a memory from mere months before this war had broken out.

 _"I wanna stay like this forever, Daddy,"_ _Hannah admitted innocently to her father one night. She sat snuggled up with him on his bed, listening to him read to her as she tried not to fall asleep._

 _Jet paused in his reading and looked at the sleepy girl tucked under his arm, all comfy-cozy in his thin blankets. Something in his eyes was almost sad... and yet also gentle. "If only I could promise 'forever'..." he responded softly, moving to brush some of her hair lightly out of her face._

 _"You can, can't you?" she yawned. Somehow, she was nearly asleep already._

 _Softly, he shut the book and set it aside, then shifted to more closely hold his second-born child. "One thing you should know," he murmured to her as she finally began to succumb to sleep, "is that no matter where we go, we will never truly be apart. Those we love exist within our hearts as much as they do around us. Even the lost are never truly dead until they are forgotten." She was nearly gone from him now, but still his last whispered words reached her ears. "Never forget that."_

Hannah choked back a small sob. Tears began to stream down her face anew. _You say that, but because it's just a dream, when I open up my eyes I lose you all over again..._ She shifted on the cold and dirty floor, lost in the depths of her emotion and the force of the sobs that were now wracking her helpless form all over again. Bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them close with her arms, she buried her face and shut her eyes so tightly that they felt as they they might never open again. Once, not such a long time ago, she had believed in 'forever'...

But 'forever' had always been too good to be true.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,294 words this time. A much shorter chapter than some, but I like how this turned out. Hope you all did as well. Here are all the quotes I used in this chapter, either directly or as mere prompts.**

 **From Espio's Scene:**

 **-"She may be queen of Wencen's throne,**

 **But learn you well this tale,**

 **A woman's strength lies not in men,**

 **But where men often fail." -from "Kingdom Uncursed", the last of the five Summer's End Lorestones from "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning" (Remove the mention of Wencen, and/or the first two lines altogether, to make this applicable to other tales.)**

 **-"This name was to be feared. The name is death, decay, and violence; a cold and fading moment." -from "The Herald Of Winter", third of the ten Summer Lorestones from "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning"**

 **-"All is lost again… but I'm not giving in." -from "I Will Not Bow" by Breaking Benjamin**

 **-"Watch the end through dying eyes. Now the dark is taking over. Show me where 'forever' dies." -from "I Will Not Bow" by Breaking Benjamin**

 **-"Time stood still, the way it did before. It's like I'm sleepwalking…" -from "Sleepwalking" by Bring Me the Horizon (The second sentence can be omitted for the prompt.)**

 **-"I'm on the edge of the world. Where do I go from here, do I disappear? Edge of the world… do I sink or swim, or simply disappear?" -from "Sleepwalking" by Bring Me the Horizon**

 **-"Wake up! Take my hand and give me a reason to start again. Wake up! Pull me out and give me a reason to start again." -from "Sleepwalking" by Bring Me the Horizon (That last line makes me think that this could go along with the torture-related prompt as well.)**

 **-"Shadows started singing." -from "Sleepwalking" by Bring Me the Horizon**

 **-"Your eyes are smothering me." -from "Sleepwalking" by Bring Me the Horizon**

 **-"I was on the floor, cold and barely breathin', so it goes, sleepin' all my dreams away… 'til you found me. Like a lightning bolt to the heart, you woke me up, woke me up. Yeah, you brought me out of the dark with just one spark, just one spark. Now I can feel your pulse, kickstarting this lifeless soul." -from "Lightning" by Cash Cash ft. John Rzeznick**

 **From Sonic's Scene:**

 **-"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU AND CLAIM IT WAS THE PLAGUE!" –CK (A Tapastic Creator)**

 **-"Sic vis pacem, para bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war." –Ancient Latin Adage**

 **-"I only see my goals, I don't believe in failure, 'cause I know the smallest voices, they can make it major." -from "7 Years Old" by Lucas Graham**

 **-"It'll take more than this to kill us." -Quote off of the "Fieldplate Type 10" chest armor in Destiny 2**

 **-"Those who founded the City braved the wilds of Earth with much less." -Quote off of the "Renegade Gauntlets" gauntlets from Destiny 2**

 **From Hannah's Scene:**

 **-"Dry lightning cracks across the skies. Those stormclouds gather in her eyes." -from "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood**

 **-"The weatherman called for a twister. She prayed, 'Blow it down.'" -from "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood**

 **-"Something's getting in the way, something's just about to break." -from "Diary of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin**

 **-"Because it's just a dream, when I open up my eyes, I will lose you." -Winnie the Pooh, from "Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin"**

 **-"I used to believe in 'forever', but 'forever' is too good to be true." -Winnie the Pooh, from "Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin"**

 **-"I've hung a wish on every star. It hasn't done much good so far." -Winnie the Pooh, from "Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin"**

 **-"I don't know what else to do, except to try to dream of you, and wonder if you're dreaming, too. Wherever you are..." -Winnie the Pooh, from "Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin"**

 **-"I wanna stay like this, forever. If only I could promise 'forever'." -Christopher Robin, from "Pooh's Grand Adventure**

 **-"One thing you should know, no matter where I go, we'll always be together. Forever and ever." -Christopher Robin, from "Pooh's Grand Adventure**

 **Also, I've been using Cream's visions from "Hero" steadily throughout this tale. I thought I'd begin to share with you the ones I use and where. Today, I used this one:** **She sensed someone else she knew but couldn't identify. They were tired, barely alive, and in so, so much pain... But still they were trying to get up and fight.**

 **Posted (at about 1:00 p.m.) 09-16-17.**


	66. Conflicted

**READ! THIS IS IMPORTANT! As of this chapter, I officially have a co-writer of sorts! He's mostly here to help implement a very important character of his own creation into this series, but as he's done before, he'll also be aiding me with writing out scenes with characters such as Sonic. My co-author Blazing Winds and, as some of you may recall, he helped to write the end battle against the Metarex in "Hero". Hope you all enjoy his work.**

 **For this chapter, he helped to write in his own character (whose name I won't spoil here) and Sonic. Oh, and a cute little Chao. He also did his own review replies, per his insistence. So, enjoy.**

 **Yasha's Review Replies:**

 **Hello, Sonicfan1600! Thanks! And I fixed that the day I saw your review. I thought I'd done that way before, but I guess not. Lol, thanks for bringing it to my attention. XD**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Hey, fancy seeing you here. XD YES, YOU ARE, AND YOU DID IT SURPRISINGLY QUICKLY. GLAD IT MANAGED TO BE AS EMOTIONAL AS IT WAS MEANT TO.**

 **Blaze's Review Replies:**

 **Yo, Sonicfan1600! THANKS A LOT! IT REALLY HELPS! :P**

 **Oh… this is awkward. Hello, myself. Uhm... THERE'S ONLY ENOUGH ROOM FOR ONE OF ME… YOU… Us? I'm done here. Just… gonna… *Walks away slowly***

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Conflicted"**

 **~台風の目~**

It was by a pure stroke of luck that Jet's ship drifted close enough to a nearby planet for him and Cream to pick up on the auras of numerous Nocturnian foot soldiers. They were on a world near to the battle Jet had just fought in space, the battlefield Jet had not yet left, and he and Cream had a terrible feeling that they were up to something terrible. Concerned, Jet took but a second to make a risky decision. He decided to go investigate. Descending upon the world was surprisingly easy once he discovered that there seemed to be no Nocturnian _ships_ in the area. It seemed to be only the foot soldiers. No one else. And yet... he had a sinking feeling. One that filled him with a sense of dread that he couldn't shake.

Stomach churning with unexplainable anxiety, Jet piloted his ship straight toward the Nocturnian foot soldiers. The area they were in was lush, so filled with trees that he couldn't see a single patch of ground anywhere for miles and miles. There was nowhere to land, meaning the ship would have to be left hovering somewhere. That was probably for the best, anyway. At least if the ship was in the air, these soldiers were less likely to be able to board it. After choosing a decent location, Jet made the ship hover as planned, then stood with his sword. It was only then that Cream chose to speak up. "Wait, Mister Jet," she said earnestly, "you- you can't leave us alone." It seemed she had that same bad feeling he did. That sense that something dreadful was about to happen. Or perhaps already _had_.

Jet spared her a glance, one that managed to display a note of that sympathy and apology he felt. But with that dread still gnawing at him, he couldn't _not_ go investigate this. "It will only be for a minute." It was said as an assurance, meant as _re_ assurance, and sounded to his own ears like a mere apathetic statement. None of his words were coming out quite right today.

"But..." She hesitated, for once floundering for words, then burst out with, "Can't I come with you?"

This was not a question he needed time to ponder. "No," was his immediate answer. "We've lost too many children, and adults, already. I will not further endanger your life if it can be avoided." The mention of adult lives lost (or rather, _one_ adult life lost) caused a noticeable swell of confusion to rise up in her aura. He'd anticipated as such as soon as the words were out of his mouth, for he'd unintentionally brought up a death that only he and the Nocturnians themselves knew about. The death of his father.

He counted himself lucky that she chose not to pry about it. Instead, she apparently made a sort of executive decision. "After the fight... After the fight, then I'm coming with you."

Well, at least she wasn't insisting anymore on going _now_. And he had to hand it to her, she really knew how to be stubborn - if somewhat negotiable - when she knew what she wanted. "Fine." Strapping to his waist, he pulled up a holographic keypad (that was of course in Babylonian) for her and indicated a set of keys. "Hit this key," he pointed straight at it for her to see, "to teleport to the surface directly under the ship. Do _not_ do that until it's safe." Cream gave a solemn nod, and he decided to be satisfied with that for now. He wasted no further time in teleporting to the surface to deal with whatever the hell was going on here. Reappearing on the ground below, he drew his sword and ran off to confront this evil.

 **~台風の目~**

In a corner of the room where Kanari, Espio, and Rouge (all of whom had finally lost consciousness some minutes ago) were still trapped within, Shade leaned against a wall and and looked out a window. Out there were so many stars, so many worlds, so many _things_ out there filled with life and Light and hope… she hated it all. At least she was able to find solace in the fact that, with the end of this war would come the end of much Light. That was something to anticipate with glee. But for now… for now, she allowed herself to hate, and hate deeply. _And speaking of things to hate…_ Shade's dark eyes slid to the doorway.

Someone was approaching… a white (god, she hated that color) cat whom Ix himself had, essentially, "recruited" some time ago to aid them. She came around the corner, allowing Shade a second to again take in her appearance. The cat had a terribly disheveled appearance, a dark gray hooded cloak and a white blood-stained dress with tattered edges. In the front it went down only to her knees, but in the back it stretched down past her ankles and dragged on the floor some. Hanging from her neck was a large and ancient coin with runes of some sort inscribed into its front. "Oh my. It'd be such a shame if these poor, damned souls were to, I don't know…" The cat's eyes flicked from the prisoners to Shade, the faintest smirk visible at the edges of her lips. " _Disappear_."

Shade allowed her eyes to narrow in a sign of contempt. "Free them and I shall feed you to the Night."

"I would absolutely _love_ to see you try, especially since your precious leader wanted me here so badly." Sarcasm practically dripped from her voice like ink from a leaky pen.

"You should know well by now that I do not follow his orders when I do not see fit," Shade murmured dangerously. "And he, like you _little Astra_ , has no power to _make_ me."

Astra licked her lips a little. "Oh how wrong you are and must feel!" The cat carelessly lifted the unconscious forms of Espio, Kanari, and Rouge with a small flick of her hand using a gray magic that suddenly enveloped her hand and the prisoners. She twirled a little, causing her cloak to almost touch Shade. It wasn't often she made her magic _this_ visible, but when she did it was out of spite.

When Astra's magic veered too close, Shade swiftly leaned out of the way, then let out a small growl. She had been an echidna once, a lifetime ago, and as such growling came very naturally to her. However, as she often did, she chose not to speak. _The pest will die one day,_ she reminded herself angrily. _It may not be by my hand, but she will die… find solace in that._

After a moment of tense silence, Astra suddenly began giggling. The best way to describe it was… truly and utterly insane. It slowly broke off into mad laughter, and she doubled over for a long moment until the sudden fit of… whatever it was ended. She stood straight as if nothing had happened and looked back to Shade. "So, how have you been?" Shade just glared at her. With a sudden pout, the cat spoke. "What's wrong?" Shade still refused to speak. "Come on! Tell me what's going on with you!" Quite literally, Shade bit her tongue and did not speak. "Hmph!" Astra stomped her foot and various things suddenly exploded, sending shrapnel at everything _but_ the living beings within the room, somehow.

Using her own magic, Shade created a barrier around herself and the sleeping infant atrocity in her arms. _Not_ to shield said atrocity, for she cared little for whatever damage it happened to take at any point, but merely to prevent her armor from gaining yet more needless scratches. That sort of thing bothered her immensely. "You are behaving like a child," she muttered, "and need I remind you how _children_ fare within our ranks."

Astra seemed to ignore everything that was just said by Shade, instead focusing her attention on the so-called atrocity. She gasped and teleported the young baby into her own arms and pinched the hawk's cheeks. "So cute and chubby! Why can't I have one?"

It went without saying that Suri did not respond, but Shade quickly did. She snatched the child back with her magic (this was their Vessel of Darkness, after all, and she needed to maintain contact with it to feed it more Darkness). As she did so, she bit out furiously, "Your children will be slaughtered if they ever come to exist, long before they ever learn to be _useful_."

Suddenly serious, Astra leaned forward and glared into Shade's eyes. "If I bear a child, you will be _dead_ well before you ever get the chance to lay a hand on them. Got it?" She was suddenly smiling again.

"I would not need to slay them with my own hand," Shade responded enigmatically. With that, she turned away, dismissing Astra entirely while starting to leave the room.

After a few seconds, Astra spoke once more. "By the way, the other hawk girl is gonna be in my possession. Have fun beating me there." That made Shade stop midstep. She considered saying something… a malignant and sharp set of words coiled tightly like a venomous snake in her throat, but decided that this feline was not worth her words. She continued to walk, soon disappearing around the corner. The once pure, white cat stood with a small smile. "It'll only take a short time for this to work. Hope these idiots can get things going like I want them to." Her gaze fell on the three prisoners, and she merely sighed. "Don't you three worry. You're under _my_ care." Had any of them been conscious and thus able to hear this particular sentence, they likely would have feared more torment or something of the like. Though, in reality, Astra waved her hand and a glow surrounded all three for merely a few moments before fading. "I won't let them just _use_ you guys. I need you around, myself." She smiled as if they would react and teleported out of the room with a flash.

 **~台風の目~**

The blue hedgehog tore off through the city once more, retracing the way he'd come without as many detours in an attempt to track down Amy once more. Amy was still where she had been before, battling a Nocturnian that had dared venture too close to where she had been caring for an older injured citizen. She turned to face Sonic when she sensed him, bright green eyes ablaze with fury on behalf of the citizens here. However, that flame was tempered a bit when she actually laid eyes upon him. His own emerald green eyes shone with relief at the fact that she was perfectly fine and still fighting as hard as ever. He ran up and stopped in front of her briefly, only to be forced to turn and blast away another Nocturnian that suddenly appeared beside them, jagged scimitar poised to kill. The enemy was sent flying, dead upon impact. After a moment of making sure no more surprises would suddenly appear as had just occurred, Sonic turned to the pink hedgehog once more. "Amy, we have to go!"

"No!" Amy unexpectedly snapped back. "I have to stay here to help!"

"Amy, we have to go!"

"No!" Amy unexpectedly snapped back. "I have to stay here to help!"

"I will _not_ leave you here alone! You've seen what they do to us! They will specifically target _you_ because of me, and I _can't_ lose you, too!"

"I already told you that I don't need your _permission_ ," Amy punctuated this word by slamming her hammer into a Nocturnian's head, "to do this, Sonic! Someone has to stay here to help these people!"

Sonic opened his mouth to speak, only to be forced to duck under a sword and return the attack. "There are already people _here_! Storm and plenty of other people!" The name Storm made Amy paused and fully turn her attention to him.

To avoid wasting any further time arguing, Sonic simply scooped his wife up bridal-style and took off before she could even _think_ to protest. With no time left to spare (he had ran out of time _far_ too long ago), he dashed southward to Eschire. At the speeds he chose to travel, it took less than mere seconds for him to arrive there. This tired him out greatly since he hadn't run that fast or even _needed_ run that fast in a century, but he paid that fact no mind as he skidded to a halt… in the flaming, leveled lands that had once been the village. It was absolutely devastating thing, seeing such a once truly peaceful and serene place reduced to _nothing_. It was simply… gone. All of it.

Gradually, the blue hedgehog allowed Amy to get to her feet. They both walked forward, slowly surveying it all. Of everything that had once been here, one spot in particular hit Sonic in a _very_ painful way. He remembered so long ago how he had first come to this place, after his and Tails's first real fight with Ivo... when the two had arrived here and smelled a cherry pie. He closed his eyes and pushed the bittersweet memory away. To allow himself to drift would be to invite the enemies to come and catch him off guard, something he couldn't afford to let happen now. He took a long, deep breath and let it out, albeit in a shaky manner. _They could be dead… I…_ He thought.

As she always seemed to do at just the right moments, Amy read his mind. "They could also be alive," she murmured, voice soft.

Sonic, with a delayed and slow nod, decided to agree. He could certainly _hope_. But, before he could give that much thought, he suddenly stood up and his ears perked. Someone was here, and he didn't know what to make of their aura. It sent so many mixed messages that he couldn't properly interpret whether or not this person was a threat. Curiosity piqued and cautious as ever, he looked in the direction of the stranger and was fairly surprised to see a white cat with a hooded cloak. Sharp though his eyes were, he couldn't make out much of anything other than the fact that her facial expression matched the kind that his mother often wore. She wore some sort of necklace as well, and it had something on it, but he failed to make out any detail on that or the clothing.

Emerald green met dark purple until the strange cat suddenly looked away. Neither moved for some time, then, the cat made a sudden move. Her arm lifted into the air and a single finger pointed upwards. The blue hedgehog could just _barely_ make out the outline of the gray magic that surrounded the ruined village with a sort of ethereal light. Sonic and Amy both watched in awe and amazement as all the buildings that had once been here were all slowly returning. Plants, gardens, houses, fences, and anything else that belonged was returned to its former beauty. The hedgehogs both traded astonished looks, but when they looked back to where the cat had previously been, they found nothing. Taking a moment to attempt to find the stranger, Sonic looked for the aura. His attempts were in vain as he came up with no results.

"So… any clue as to what just happened…?" Sonic asked Amy, casting his thoughtful gaze back to her.

"...No… not at all," Amy murmured.

While the two hedgehogs tried to wrap their heads around what had just occurred before their eyes, the cat who had performed this minor miracle walked through the Hidden Meadows, searching diligently. "Jeez. How long can it take to find one of these?" She spoke aloud, to nobody in particular. Suddenly, she bolted forwards and jumped through a bush, heedless of the thorns and brambles and briars that she subsequently allowed to tear through her skin and clothing. It would all be worth it, in her mind. Finally, she found what she was looking for. Kneeling down, she gently picked up the lifeless form of a chao. Her heart melted for a moment at the sight and she shed a small tear. "Those fuckers are gonna die. Even if I have to do it myself." She gently pet the poor creature's head, allowing her magic to slowly flow into it. After some time, it's body returned to a normal set of colors (which caused Astra to believe it was killed by the poison, and not something else) and open those adorable little eyes.

Astra practically shook with glee at this and smiled at the little chao she'd just brought back to life. Only… nothing could ever truly do that, save for Chaos itself. What she had done was the most any mortal with her power to could, and that was essentially reviving a husk with little to no soul left. A shell. Although, at least this was a cute one. "Hey, little one. I'm sorry about what happened. If I could've stopped it, I would have."

"...Chao?"

"I'll get them back for you. Don't worry," Standing up, she began walking. "To Therius!" The cat suddenly declared as she and the adorable creature disappeared with a flash of grey.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,978 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! And, yes, _all_ of this was important. Posted (at about 8:37 p.m.) 09-22-17.**


	67. Falling to Pieces

**Yasha's Review Reply:**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Haha, yeah, "interesting". More like "potentially bad, perhaps horrendously so". XD Glad you're finding her interesting already, though!**

 **Blaze's Review Reply:**

 **Hey, thatguy4643. Yeah. Astra is an interesting character and I try to make her something different. When you see her past, though, you'll understand _why_ she's crazy.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Falling to Pieces"**

 **~台風の目~**

It wasn't any sort of a secret that Jet was no pacifist. He fought, and fought often, especially when he _needed_ to. Did he want to most of the time? Also no. He wasn't some war-seeking dunderhead who sought to battle just for the sake of battling. Hell, he didn't actively _seek_ battle most of the time in the first place. Sure, he could appreciate and, in the right circumstances, even enjoy a good fight now and then (he wasn't called "some sort of a thrill-seeker" for no reason), but most of the time he didn't like to fight. He also didn't like to _sit_ out of battles, particularly ones he knew to be important or ones he knew he could make a difference in. But he wasn't a person he actively _looked_ for fights... mostly because he hated to kill.

Also known, though, was the fact that he _was_ relatively hostile a lot of the time. He knew and admitted that, if only to himself, and knew it was especially true when he was in situations like this. Situations where he _was_ ready to fight, situations where he was surrounded by monstrosities that dared to call themselves people even in light of all that they had done and all that they intended to do... Truly, he hated them, and the threat that they represented to all he cared for. If only for that reason, and the fact that no one else was around to see his impassive mask crumble, he allowed his disdain to show openly as he rushed through the thick forest on this alien world. The disdain worked as a sort of mask in and of itself, anyway, hiding from view that feeling of dread that was still tying his stomach into knots. Maybe it was just a gut feeling, maybe it was instinct, maybe it was one of his senses picking up on something he wasn't consciously aware of, but he just had this _feeling_. Something bad had happened, and he had gotten here much too late to prevent it.

There were more Nocturnians here than he had originally been aware of. At least a good dozen more, in fact. _How did I miss them?_ It was tempting to blame it on lack of sleep, which was probably accurate, but right now it didn't even matter. Right now, he had to focus, lest he get himself killed. ...Again. Granted, he wouldn't always be able to avoid such a thing, but for now... _Twenty-six deaths is more than enough. _That thought was quickly brushed aside, just in time for him to refocus on the world around him and jump to the side. A Nocturnian's oddly _clawed_ hand swiped through the empty space he had just been occupying. Those claws looked... wicked, to say the least, and he didn't fancy getting within range of them a second time. Especially not when it seemed just about every Nocturnian in the immediate area had those same claws. If they managed to swarm him, a mauling would certainly ensue. He'd already died from mauling once, and that was a number he refused to add to.

Deciding it was best to stay at a distance and knowing that he really _was_ sorely in need of sleep (and thus was starting to get too exhausted to use many of his powers), Jet whipped out his aura gun, which he almost always kept in its holster on the same thin strap-like belt he used to strap his sword to his waist. Two and then three Nocturnians fell in mere seconds, and only then did any of them seem to realize that he had a gun. Then, of course, some of them, the ones without claws, brandished their own firearms. Because of _course_ they had modern weapons now for more than just their ships. Of course they did.

Somehow, he managed to dodge a spat of gunfire (normal bullets, he'd learned years ago, could actually be dodged much easier than he'd once believed) and duck behind a tree for some cover. As _soon_ as he had a second to, he leaned back out from behind the tree and fired thrice more. Three more Nocturnians fell, and the rest of the shooters fell back to find cover of their own. The unarmed clawed ones, meanwhile, began to advance toward him with frenzied speed. Cursing internally, he dropped his gun and swung his sword around just in time to block one Nocturnian and prevent them from slicing down his torso. Claws met metal in a harsh shriek that made him want to cringe, but there was no time for that.

Throwing that Nocturnian off and back, he spun around to cut through an enemy that had tried to rush at him from behind. The black blood that spattered the ground and his boots was disgusting to say the least, but overall easy to ignore in the heat of battle. But, god... he hated killing. Taking a life, even one of a hated enemy, would never cease to disturb him. Something about _mortality_ in general always upset and bothered him. It was why the supposed permanent death of his other self (why he considered it to be _supposed_ was another matter entirely) in the ruined future had always haunted him so. However, his thoughts were wandering again, as they often did, and he knew he needed to be focusing. The fight would end much faster if he didn't allow his mind to wander elsewhere. And especially of he did more than just shoot and slice.

That dread was still there inside of him, almost making him queasy with its intensity. Now, he already knew he was an anxious person on this inside and had had serious anxiety problems pretty much for his entire life, but this felt different. It wasn't just him being easily upset and it wasn't him getting nervous over nothing, none of that. Something was seriously _wrong_ here, something that he couldn't yet put into words, and it was really, really starting to get to him. In all honesty, he _almost_ felt like he might start to freak out just a bit if he didn't get to the bottom of this soon. So he opted to take another in a long series of risks today and use his powers despite his slowly building exhaustion.

All around him, a storm began to build up. Winds stirred, then rose up in a slicing gale. Temperatures conflicted, each so intense that everything in range was just as likely to flash-freeze as it was to melt. Lightning strikes peppered the area, blowing up the two Nocturnian ships hidden away a bit deeper into the woods. In under a minute, all the Nocturnians had been killed in some way or another, and Jet had force himself not to look at the gruesome sight some of their bodies made. The ones that had melted were just... sickening to glance upon.

After sheathing Alkarus, Jet picked up his gun and holstered it before walking over to the nearest Nocturnian. This one had a rather interesting sword... and he was always looking for new weapons to study. Grabbing it, he slid it under the thin strap holding his other weapons, then stretched out all his senses. With great care, he scanned the landscape, trying to discern _any_ clues about what was so wrong about this place. Precious time ticked and ticked by, but he was unable to find anything in particular. Not noticeable auras, no abnormal sounds or sights or smells or even physical sensations, nothing. So what the hell was _wrong_ here, then?

It happened that that was about the time that Cream came jogging up to hi, dutifully ignoring all the corpses to the best of her ability. And, in that mysterious way of hers, she quickly figured out his internal struggle. The way she let onto this was by saying, "I think I can help." He glanced to her, right eyebrow slightly upraised in question. She elaborated, "Lady Analia helped to train me, Wave, and Amy with our psychic powers while you were gone." This was news to Jet, though he supposed it made sense. If nothing else, it helped explained why the three of them seemed so much stronger. "She focused a lot on helping us master the abilities we already had, but when I discovered a new ability she helped me master it as well."

 _New ability?_ Well, that really _was_ news. And, Jet had to admit, he was intrigued. He'd always known that Cream held _great_ promise and had had a ton of potential, and finally starting to see further proof of that was pleasing in its own way.

Cream nodded once. "If I'm able to focus hard enough, I can read people's memories," she explained with surprising calm. Her eyes looked briefly to a thoroughly frozen Nocturnian. At least that one wasn't _melted_. "I can do it with the dead, too," she admitted more quietly. "Even the ones that have been gone so long that they're bones are turning to dust."

Now that... _that_ was stunning. Jet had heard of this sort of power once before, but only mentioned in passing and only very vaguely. One of the other Immortals (the one who had the youngest permanent age in his own years), named Kaelix, had spoken of it once. Mentioned something about meeting a mortal on some remote world who used such a power to try to learn everything about everything, or... something akin to that. Truth be told, Jet hadn't listened _that_ much to the story, but still he'd heard enough from it to consider the power both fascinating... and immensely useful. _But such a power also holds great dangers... for there is no telling what you might encounter within the mind of another._

To her credit, Cream seemed aware of the risk and was clearly prepared to take it. Without any visible hesitation, she approached the frozen Nocturnian that she had been gazing upon before. It was only with hesitation of his own that Jet allowed her do so. Not because he didn't think she _could_ do it, but more because he couldn't quite decide if she _should_. But by the time he'd adequately weighed potential risks versus potential gains, she had already laid her hand upon the corpse's head and closed her eyes. It was too late now.

Seconds later, Cream suddenly gasped and ripped her hand away from the Nocturnian. Before Jet even had a chance to feel concerned, she turned and took off running as fast as her young legs could carry her. Wasting no time, Jet immediately took off after her at such a pace that he remained just behind her. A part of him was tempted to call out and demand to know what the hell was going on, but he held his tongue for now. Ahead of him, Cream run a somewhat erratic path through the thick maze of trees as though going somewhere she had been before. She'd likely seen this route in the Nocturnian's memories, sure, but why exactly was she following it? What in the hell had she _seen_?

When Cream slid down a hill on her feet so fast that she nearly did an ungraceful face-plant, Jet slowed his pace just enough to follow her without sacrificing his balance as she had done. He reached the bottom less than six seconds after she had and was immediately forced to resume running after her. They ran for more than five straight minutes in silence before he finally had enough and called out, "Cream!"

It _seemed_ like she understood that he was getting frustrated by not knowing what the hell was going on or where they were running to, but all she did in response was shake her head. His irritation didn't ebb, of course, and he forced himself to curb his tongue so as to avoid saying anything overly snarky. He really was too tired right now, and irritation and anger were the emotions that came easiest to him when he needed to sleep. For her sake, though, he tried not to let onto his emotions and to just keep them buried as usual. It seemed to work, mostly. And in silence they continued to run.

Finally, Cream came to a halt. Jet was quick to skid to a stop beside her. Immediately, he looked at the young girl to see what she was going to do next, only to find that she was just staring. Following her gaze, he found nothing but an especially thick cluster of trees. Huffing slightly under his breath in further irritation, he mumbled something to her about her staying put, then walked on ahead to the trees she was so fixated on. Pushing through the undergrowth, he made his way through the cluster and into a very small space between all the trunks. Spindly plants of all kinds hindered each step, but somehow he managed to make it through all of that and into a somewhat decent-sized clearing. After brushing some lichen-esque plant out of his face, he gazed about the clearing... then felt the blood in his veins turn to ice.

There was a body in the grass.

For the first time in many (and yet too few, really), he plummeted into a state of shock. Numb. Cold as ice. Unable to speak or think. Frozen. The body before him didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't do _anything_. Death really was such an eerily quiet state of being. There was a certain poetry to it, according to some, but each and every time he was faced with a situation like this all that poetry was lost on him. All he was ever aware of was the inner darkness, the emotional and mental agony, the many _why's_ and _what if's_ , the innumerable thoughts of _I-could-have-prevented-this_ and _why-not-me-instead_ and _why-does-this-always-happen_ and _this-can't-be-real_... But he knew better than most what _reality_ was, and there was no denying that this was all horribly _real_. And that knowledge alone was almost enough to break him.

That was when the tears started. Unintentional, uncontrollable, unbidden, unpreventable... There was no point in wasting energy trying to stop them right now, and honestly his thoughts weren't on his shattered mask right now, anyway. The only coherent thought that clearly presented itself in his mind in that moment was the name, _Lucas..._ Something about that seemed to unfreeze him and he finally moved forward. He didn't remember ever doing it, nor did he remember going down on his knees and lifting his child up to clutch him close, but somehow it all happened. There was no pulse, not at first, but Lucas wasn't cold. Still warm, in fact, which meant that there was a tiny chance that maybe, _maybe_ his heart could be restarted. Jet, however, was overrun with emotion for once in his life. He was too distraught to realized that he had a chance to bring his son back from the brink.

Cream, who had arrived on the scene who-knew-when, thankfully had a clearer head than he did in that moment. A small jolt of psionic energy to Lucas's body was, by some miracle, all it took. Lucas's heart restarted and he resumed breathing with a sharp gasp, though he didn't wake. It took Jet a moment or three to fully realize what had just happened, for it to register that he could feel his son breathing again, and when it did he found himself only crying harder. No further thoughts came to him as he sat there, unable to calm down yet and refusing to let Lucas go. He wasn't used to such intense rushes of emotion anymore, was so used to blocking everything out that he didn't even know anymore how to cope with something like this. For now, all he could do was just finally, _finally_ let out all the fear and distress and whatnot that he had been burying... and try not to drown in it all.

He'd drowned in such a manner once before... and he never wanted to drown again.

 **~台風の目~**

With a flash of gray, Astra appeared just above the surface of the planet Therius. She floated there for a long moment, her blood-stained dress and cloak drifted down past her bent legs, brushing against a Therian she'd knocked down with her sudden appearance. It took her a long moment, but she did finally snap back into reality and realized that she was directly above something she despised. "Pest." She spat out, kicking the Therian in the head before landing on the ground softly and walking on. Her chao was held close to her chest, a soft hold on the adorable creature. Her attention shifted to the things occurring around her, curiosity getting the best of her more as time went on. She blinked a few times. All she could really see was moving blurs. Without hesitation, she began rubbing at her eyes to clear her vision, but to no avail. She huffed and went on, her gait noticeably more aggressive.

After a while, she realized something. They were staring hatefully at her, or, more specifically, her adorable little chao. Her gaze narrowed at a few in her way, her magic pushing them away in an almost gentle manner(by her standards). "Back off." She demanded tersely. But, of course, Therians were never ones to take orders from anyone aside from their own ruler. As such, they immediately moved to kill her. In response, her hand shot up. Around her grew a massive sphere of her magic, trapping and enveloping the oncoming Therians. Gruesome and painful sounds echoed out, but when the sphere faded away, there was hardly a trace that there had been anything living within it in the few moments it had existed. She twitched and turned her malicious and insane gaze towards the others. "Who's next?!" Her pupils dilated as she gazed wildly upon her new enemies. Suddenly, all of them deserved to die.

Several more Therians wasted no time in rushing toward her to make her pay for what she had just done. Many dropped dead within seconds, spears of magic having pierced them in dozens of different places before suddenly exploding, leaving yet again no trace of the Therians. Any others that were alive still faced her head-on. A grey blade appeared in her hand as she moved forward slowly. A single swipe and suddenly, everything within nearly twenty yards was obliterated, including her enemies. She turned, then gave the rest of these… _pests_ … the treatment she felt they deserved. Within moments, she stood inside a crater, her face contorted in a display of pure heartlessness and hatred. It took her some time to finally realize no other Therians were close enough to directly challenge her, and this sudden understanding seemed to have a sobering effect on her murderous desires. She smiled and looked down to her chao. "Don't worry, little guy. I'll always protect you."

"Chao?" The Chao, having been revived through Dark Magic (essentially, necromancy) was little else than a dark husk, a shell of it's former self. It was virtually incapable of reacting any further than this.

"Yeah! These guys a really silly to think they can touch you!'

"Chhaao."

"You wanna see if more of them will challenge me?"

"Chao!"

"And you want me to kill more of them? Sounds fun!" Astra giggled and skipped off happily, letting out devastating blasts of magic at various Therians as she went. Along her way, she stopped skipping. Finally, she knew where she was. Scanning the area, she took notice of a cell. One that contained… a target. She smirked ever so slightly and began walking. _Everything falls into place._

 **~台風の目~**

It had only been about twenty to forty minutes or so since Amy and Sonic had left Eschire in search of someone else, _anyone_ else that they knew. Surely others had wound up back here, too, hadn't they? It couldn't just have been Sonic, Amy, Espio, and Vector. There _had_ to be others. But where _were_ they? Sonic's eyes were glued to his communicator in an effort to answer that very question, and Amy was doing the same. Sonic frowned as he eyed the small device's scans. _Tentative readings from a huge area... one in Green Forest somewhere and the other in... Sanol?_ That last one caught Sonic's attention a bit more than Green Forest did, if only because of the fact that he hadn't seen the town of Sanol in so many years. _I was, what... fourteen at the time? ...No, fifteen, Jet and I both._ They'd been traveling together for roughly a year in their years by that point and the airship had crashed, and by pure chance they had landed in the woods beyond that town where a Babylonian girl had at the time lived...

It was, in fact, pure chance that they had met Wave.

Wave had never been one to believe much in fate or chance, but she certainly did believe in coincidences. Truth be told, Sonic did as well. And what a coincidence it was that the very place where he had first met her was now the place where he and Amy would, hopefully, soon be reunited with her. His thoughts were pulled away from that, however, when he faintly heard Amy's voice off to his side. Blinking once, he gave a small facial expression that explained the fact that he hadn't heard a word she'd said. The pink hedgehog gave a vaguely amused eye roll before repeating herself. "Where do you propose we start our search first?"

Sonic cast his gaze back to the readings on his communicator and almost distractedly answered her. "I think I know a place… Sanol." Realizing she would need more detail, he returned his focus to her. "You've heard of Sanol, right?"

"I've _heard_ of it, but I've never been there," Her head tilted in a small display of curiosity. "Why there, of all places?"

"I'm pretty sure that Wave could be there." When she blinked at this answer, Sonic gave her the brief version of himself and Jet meeting Wave for the first time in that very town. After the short story, he thought to add that he'd picked up on a reading in that area as well.

Slowly nodding her understanding, Amy turned her attention forward for a moment to check their surroundings. "It's worthy it for us to search, then. Even if we don't find Wave, specifically, at least we'll fine _someone_."

"Yeah, exactly." Sonic took the few steps necessary to reach his wife, then gently scooped her up. Trading no further words with her, he began running straight toward the quiet Babylonian town. It, along with Crestfor, was one of the last two such towns left on Mobius. No _Mobians_ lived there. Setting foot in that town was going to draw attention, surely. _Hopefully nothing negative... though I wouldn't blame them for reacting less then favorably._ That, however, was a history lesson to remind himself of later. Right now, it was necessary to focus on where he was going, lest he do something foolish like trip on a damn pebble in his path. That was one of the last things he needed to have happen.

Sanol came into view so rapidly that it almost startled him out of his thoughts. Shaking his head internally, Sonic slowed his pace to a decent jog as he entered the town's outskirts. It was quiet here, much like New Babylon was. The people here were, in most ways, no different than any other Babylonian, and Sonic took a moment to privately savor the uniqueness of this community. It wasn't just their behavior, but also the culture, the way their homes and whatnot appeared, their language, and so on. This was truly a beautiful place in more ways than one. _It's a wonder Wave hasn't been back here even once in all these years._

In less than a minute, the largest of the town's houses came into view. It sat on the top of a small, lush hill. A cobbled stone pathway led the way up the hill to the front door, and neatly maintained pebbles lined said path. On either side of the door were two large white statues made of a stone couldn't even name. The shape of each appeared to be merely wolves, but after his visit to New Babylon he suspected that he knew better. _They must be Celestial Wolves. ...Assuming that those existed on the original Planet Babylon. They might be native to New Babylon, though. ...Hm._ He pushed those thoughts away after that and set Amy on her feet, eyes on the beautiful white house with its soft blue roof tiling and so on.

This was Wave's former home.

Unexpectedly, Wave emerged from the house before he could take a step further. Shutting the door behind herself, she quietly made her way down the path and met Sonic and Amy where they stood, eyes downcast. Concerned for his old friend, Sonic started to open his mouth to ask her if she was alright. Wave, however, unintentionally cut him off before he could even begin. "...I... talked to my parents," she said softly. "About... everything."

"Everything" entailed... why she'd left. Why she hadn't said goodbye. Why she hadn't returned. Why she hadn't called or written or anything. Everything truly meant _everything_. Sonic frowned. "Are you okay?"

The swallow shrugged, then said, "They aren't angry with me. I thought they would be, but... they're not."

That really didn't answer the question, and they all knew it. "Wave, are you okay?" Amy reiterated for her husband, tone gentle as could be.

Another shrug, followed by a minute of hesitation. Then Wave whispered slowly, "I... I have a brother. Alec, he's... my little brother."

Sonic stood there stunned beside Amy, unable to speak. Amy, however, was able to speak through her shock. "A brother?" she whispered back. Wave nodded mutely. This was clearly the reason why she seemed so numb. The young pink hedgehog allowed there to be another moment of silence, then ventured to ask, "You said his name is Alec?"

"...Yeah," Wave eventually replied. "Alec. He's ten." Sonic wasn't sure what to say about any of this, was running through potential options in his mind, but Wave again spoke before he could. Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she mumbled, "Mom, um... She has a ship. A couple, I mean, and she said we can take one."

The relief that this revelation brought into Sonic's heart was enough to rip a sigh from his lips. "Good... we'll have a means to get back to the Typhoon, then." Wave just nodded. "Come on, let's go get it, then." He knew Wave needed time to finish processing this and whatnot, sure, but they also _had_ to get to Green Forest and fund whoever was there, too. Wave could process in the ship. She nodded yet again and led the way around the house, prompting Sonic and Amy to follow after her. Soon they came upon two distinctly Babylonian ships that appeared to have been expertly salvaged from ancient times (probably the days of the Babylonian-Mobian War or so). One was small, only capable of seating three and looked like it may very well have survived the damn explosion of South Island. The other, however, was large enough to hold up to six. They were going to need those extra seats, surely. "Can we use that one?" he asked Wave, pointing.

Wave barely glanced at the ship before giving a simple, "Yeah."

Satisfied, Sonic walked over to the ship and boarded it. They had another signal to track.

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,759 words this time. Much thanks to Blazing Winds for writing his scene with Astra and for helping me get unstuck in trying to begin that last scene. The writing block was _insane_ on this one for no real good reason, hence this being late. My apologies for that. Also, a quick update, I'm going to change my update schedule from the once daily it used to be to once weekly. I'll update more frequently than that when I can, but I just _can't_ do daily updates these days. I'm really sorry about that, everyone, but nonetheless I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Posted (at about 11:30 a.m.) 10-03-17.**


	68. Darkness Rises

**Hello, Blazing Winds! I'M GLAD! And it's fine. XD Thanks. And good, that means it was written properly by some miracle. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Darkness Rises"**

 **~台風の目~**

Once they had a ship, travelling across Mobius without being beset by enemies was proven to be exceptionally easy, overall. All the Nocturnians in the area appeared to be mere foot soldiers and, while Sonic, Wave, and Amy were all still wary of the flying beasts the Clan so loved to use, Sonic couldn't help but feel a bit more at ease than he had before. Maybe it was foolish, maybe he was being overly optimistic, but he really did think that they were going to make it to Green Forest in one piece. He certainly _hoped_ that they would. He knew he would never be able to handle it if any of his friends died, especially not when they were right by him where he'd be able to _see_ them go. He'd lived through that too many times already. Not as many times as his parents or Locke or Jet, sure, but even _still_.

A heavy, frustrated sigh broke through his thoughts. "It's no use, Sonic. The cloaking system is fried, like I said, and it's so old that there's no hope of repairing it without special Babylonian tools. None of which have been seen on Mobius since ancient times, by the way."

"We'll just have to make do, then," Sonic decided, eyes on the skies ahead as he piloted the ship. Wave slammed a metal compartment shut with a loud crash, then dusted her hands off on her pants. She seemed to have mostly recovered from her shock earlier, or was just pushing it all to the back of her mind for now. "Cloak or no cloak, it seems like we're in the clear for now. I haven't seen an enemy since we took off."

"For that matter, we haven't seen any since arriving at Sanol," Amy added. Her head turned to Wave. "Was the town being protected or something?"

"Yeah. Daddy-" Wave cleared her throat and quickly correct, "Dad... he's really young, but his magical abilities exceed even what I've seen Analia do. Though, that has nothing to do with her not being strong or anything. I think it's more a matter of how much formal training they each got." A pause, then she added, "And their realms."

Sonic thought to comment on that last part, but Amy beat him to the punch. "Wait, what?"

Wave sat down with her back against a wall, arms and legs both loosely crossed. Only once she was seated did she respond, answering Amy's question with one of her own. Only, she directed it more at Sonic. "Ever heard of the Lost Hex? Sonic, surely you have. I know your parents know about it."

It took a moment of thought for Sonic to recall the name, however vaguely. "...Yeah, I think I have. Might have been mom who mentioned it to me, but I don't remember anything about it."

"Put simply," Wave said to both hedgehogs, "it's a realm of _intense_ , though often corrupted and violent, magical energies, as well as deep knowledge. There is nothing, _nothing_ there that can truly be considered 'good', though many things are evil. There is a race there of people like my dad, known as Hexans. They _look_ like us Babylonians, though they aren't actually birds in any way. At best, they are an inherently neutral race, barely capable of emotion beyond mild complacency, slight annoyance, and so on. At worst, they are among the the darkest and most violent people you will ever meet outside of our realm. So I've been told."

"And... your dad isn't evil... right?" Amy ventured to ask.

"No, not at all," Wave replied with a shake of her head. "He's of the neutral variety, but he's also... different. In coming to our realm so young, he's at least proven that his race is more than capable of _learning_ how to feel more like we do. He loves, for instance, and he has genuine friendships, and he knows what sadness is... so he's not quite the same as the rest of his race anymore. But, thankfully, that's not _entirely_ true in all races."

Taking a small risk, Sonic spared her a glance over his left shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"I said that the Lost Hex is a realm of magic, remember?" was Wave's response. "The people there are _born_ of it. It's an integral part of every fiber of their being. There exists no purebred Hexan who _doesn't_ have magic, and my father has been using his to keep Sanol safe. I don't know how long he can keep it up, but that's why the Babylonians there are alright. That, and some of them have aura powers like Jet and Tammy do, so they've been putting up and maintaining invisible barriers as often as they can. Sanol shouldn't fall any time soon."

While Sanol's safety certainly was good news, Amy and Sonic both had new questions now. It just wound up being Amy who voice the biggest. "So... what does this all mean for you?"

"Beyond the fact that I'm among the only Hexan half-breeds in existence?" Wave returned. She then shrugged as she said, "I don't really know. I mean, I know that there's a rather large chance that I might awaken magic someday, and if that day ever comes I'll probably start to age like other Hexans do, but beyond that I have no idea."

"Age like they do?"

"Let me put it to you this way. My dad is sixteen right now, in his years. He turned sixteen twenty-seven _million_ years ago, right before the Nocturnians waged war on Mobius the _first_ time. Hexans are among the longest-living mortals in existence, right up there with Gardenians and Tokarians who were born in their homeland."

Both Amy and Sonic felt their eyes widen as they tried to let this all sink in... but a small and persistent beeping from an early-warning system of sorts forced their attention elsewhere. Wave, being the only one there who could accurately read ancient Babylonian, got up and quickly walked over to see what the ship's sensors and whatnot were saying. Soon, she gained a frown. "Get ready, guys, I think one of those flying beasts is headed our way."

"Which direction?" Sonic demanded, eyes already searching the skies. However, it was dusk out by now, and seeing a black creature (because they _always_ seemed to be black) right now wasn't necessarily going to be easy.

"From the right, and approaching fast."

"Any weapons systems on this thing?"

"No. Give me the controls and give that thing hell." With a nod, Sonic did as she had told him to and quickly passed of the controls to her. Then he and Amy, who refused to be left behind, opened the ship's door and jumped out to confront their enemy, mind already made on how this would go.

It would be a short fight.

The creature was the first target, despite the Nocturnian riding on it's back being the bigger threat. Sonic, after making sure to get Amy safely onto the top of the ship, curled into a ball and launched himself at the creature, propelling himself in an arc so as to hit the thing from the side opposite toward him. This led to it being knocked straight toward the ship... and, thus, Amy. With hammer at the ready, Amy waited for just the right moment to put her brute strength to use. She needed that perfect hit, because the less time this fight took the better it would be for them. When that moment came, she swung her hammer down with all due force - and then some. The crunching sound the beast's head made was _beyond_ sickening and Sonic felt himself gag. Forcing himself to focus on other things for now, he launched himself back to the ship. Quite deliberately, he slammed into the Nocturnian on the way by, knocking him or her forcefully against the ship's roof in the process. As he skidded to a halt on his feet, Amy raised her hammer threateningly. But the Nocturnian only smirked. "Go ahead," she (the voice proved that she _was_ a "she") taunted. "Kill me. But don't waste time trying to convince yourselves that it'll do you any good."

"Of course it will," Amy responded simply with a frown. "It'll be one less ugly soldier for us to deal with later."

"Taking one away from _millions_ will do nothing for you," the woman laughed. She slowly stood as she spoke, making Sonic and Amy tense. "And even supposing it _could_... our Vessel of Darkness will ensure our victory no matter _what_ you fools do."

Mouth opening to reply, Sonic could only watch as the woman unexpectedly jumped backward off the ship and began to fall. Soon, she was lost amidst the clouds below. Amy lowered her hammer slowly. "...Vessel of Darkness?" she eventually asked. Sonic said nothing. He had no real idea as to what that woman had been referring to, and as such lacked much of a reply to make. And, besides that, Wave's voice over the ship's intercom-esque system interrupted the moment without giving him much of a chance to speak, anyway.

"Hey, guys, we're nearly there. Come back in so I can make a landing without worrying about you falling off."

With a sort of sigh, Sonic took Amy's hand and led her to the edge of the ship just above the door they had exited from earlier. Getting down on his stomach, he carefully lowered her toward said door, not letting go of her hand until he was sure she had made it all the way back in. Then he swung down inside himself and shut the door. "How close are we?" he called over to Wave as he made sure the ancient door was secure.

"Barely six minutes out, if even that," Wave called back. "Where exactly is that signal you found coming from?"

Turning on his communicator screen, Sonic looked down at the small screen to check again. It was still where he'd seen it before, in central Green Forest in the exact area where Jet's Mobian house had once stood amidst the wilderness. That fact, coupled with the fact that he had no name attached to this signal (proving to him that this communicator wasn't on the same network as his own), told him that they were probably headed straight for one of Jet's kids. He wasn't sure how he was able to even see this signal, given that the communicators Jet's Babylonian friends and, of course, his kids used weren't connected to Sonic and the others' at all, but he wasn't about to complain about it. He just hoped that, whichever kid this was, they were alright. He hoped to _god_ that they were alright.

About fourteen minutes later, Wave was carefully landing the ship in the clearing that had been created in the woods the day that Jet's house had been made to explode. Many, many trees in this area had burned down that day, and even those that hadn't were charred and blackened. There was next to no grass anywhere, and even the slightest of movements or breezes stirred up clouds of ash and dust from off of the ground and the leaves and the fallen husks of once-mighty trees. Only the two massive lakes on either side of this area, Crescent Lake to the west and Never Lake to the east, had helped prevent the fires from spreading too much. But even still, this area looked like a war-zone... and, in a way, in had been. But it was only the first of many. _God, that's depressing,_ Sonic reflected as he followed Wave and Amy out of the relative safety of the ship. His eyes fell immediately upon the crumbling ruins of Jet's home, which was just as charred and blackened as everything else in this area. It was amazing, to him, that the structure was even still standing at all, let alone managing to hold up whatever was left of the second story _and_ the roof. _Gotta hand it to those Babylonians... they sure do know their architecture._

Brushing that thought aside, Sonic checked the map on his communicator again. "...Looks like we'll be heading inside, guys." None of them were particularly thrilled about that, since the air inside the house was likely to be worse there than it was here due to the walls and such trapping all the ashes inside more or less, but what choice did they really have?

"Alright," Wave sighed, already beginning to walk. It occurred to Sonic randomly that she had never been here before.

In silence, they all stepped up to the house and began to file in. Wave arrived and thus went in first, followed by Amy. Sonic, meanwhile, paused on the door-less doorstep step, left hand on the frame. His head turned to the east, to the mysterious Never Lake. As always, an unexplained mist hung over the waters. For reasons he couldn't even begin to name, for just a second he believed that he saw an ethereal person there watching him, body comprised of mere wisps of pure energy and unreadable eyes glowing from within... but the moment he blinked, the image was gone and he was left uncertain if it had even been real to begin with.

"Sonic, are you coming?"

It was Amy, Sonic realized, and it dawned on him just how long he had been standing here staring at the empty air over the lake by now. Shaking his head, he turned back to the house. "Yeah, coming." Stepping through the doorway, he walked carefully over the charcoal-like remains of the fallen front door, then peeked through a couple rooms to try to locate his wife and friend. He soon found them in the large living room, where Wave was kneeling beside Ten. As Sonic entered the room, she shook the young hawk awake. Ten sat up with a few sleepy words of confusion while Amy gestured quietly to an opposite corner of the room. Her question of _who is that?_ was obvious in her eyes, but Sonic could only shrug. He had no idea. But...

Doing a sort of double-take, Sonic looked the other teen over again. _Black fur, black hair with red streaks, a white mark on the chest... the hell?_ Eyes now slightly wide, he looked back to Amy. "He looks like Shadow." Sure, he was stating the obvious, but at least she didn't appear to fault him for it.

"Yeah, he does," Amy nodded.

"...But I don't have a nephew."

"I know."

"And Shadow hasn't been a dad long enough to have a teen-aged kid."

"I know."

In utter confusion, the two of them fell silent, thus allowing Wave and Ten's voices to reach their ears. "...don't know where your dad is right now, exactly," Wave was saying, "but I think Sonic's been in contact with him recently. He might have an idea."

Realizing that he was meant to talk now, Sonic turned to them and quickly assured, "Yeah, I have been." Ten's eyes were so hopeful, and Sonic hated that he didn't have a better answer than he did. "I don't know _exactly_ where he is," he watched as that hope faded like he'd feared it would, "just that he's been in space looking for you, your siblings, and anyone else he could potentially find. He's fine though, Ten, so you don't need to worry. He isn't hurt or anything, so far as I know."

The teen had a harder resolve than Sonic had at first believed, for he took in a breath and soon seemed fine again. "Okay. I believe you." This actually made Wave smile a bit for the first time in, perhaps, far too long. She hadn't done much smiling over the last century, and Sonic knew he wasn't the only friend of hers who had missed her happiness.

It was about then that Amy abruptly switched the subject. "Ten, who's that?" she asked, gesturing to the sleeping hedgehog.

"Huh?" Ten looked over, then said, "Oh, that's Soren. We just met today. We helped each other defeat the Nocturnians around here. ...Well, he was actually here first, so I guess I was more helping him than he was helping me. But still."

This answered exactly _none_ of Sonic's questions about Soren, but he decided to let the matter go for now. "Alright. Now, come on. This air's bad for all our lungs. We can rest in the ship tonight instead. There are enough seats."

"Oh, you guys brought a ship? Great! So much better than the floor." Ten was on his feet pretty quickly upon hearing this news. "Oh, by the way, I know it's all dusty and stuff from being in here, but can I bring dad's blanket?" he asked, picking up off the floor the dark blue blanket he had been using. "It's really warm out, and blankets like this are actually made to cool people off when they sleep."

Sonic gave his approval with a shrug, then walked over to wake up Soren and get him moving along, too. A part of him wanted so badly to question the teen... but realistically he knew that it could wait. It was more important to get this kid out of the ashes and let him sleep some more. Questions could wait. For now. But even so... _Shadow, I think you have some serious damn explaining to do._

 **~台風の目~**

She watched as he slowly awoke, eyes awash with pain she knew by know that he would refuse to admit to. It was in silence that he moved, pushing himself up into a sitting position with his back both facing her and resting against the bars. His stealth was impressive, as was his resolve to live, and his strength. These were favorable traits that the bat-woman who lay unconscious near to him shared. If only they had been Nocturnian... they would have served her leader well. But they weren't Nocturnian, and she really wasn't complaining. At least this meant she was free to torment them without worrying about, say, keeping bones intact so that they could continue to perform their duties. No, she had no such limitations here. So long as they remained _alive_ for now, she was free to do to them as she wished. And she so enjoyed watching things suffer.

Shade's eyes flickered over to the bat woman (who was out cold) again, putting the ninja-man out of mind for the moment. A part of her wondered if she'd succeeded yet in disposing of the worthless Mobian spawn forming inside of the woman's belly, but she had a feeling that the woman's pathetic efforts to prevent that from happening had been successful so far. She refused to let them remain so much longer. After all, the children of 'heroes' often grew up to be _heroes_ themselves in this existence, and the soon-to-be Nocturnian empire sought no future conflicts with sniveling Mobian wimps. The full extermination of the planet was inevitable, and the process of carrying it out was already underway. The number of civilian casualties from that puny world grew hourly, and with such a small total population... well, they weren't going to last long. Two entire continents out of the six were already wiped out, and a third's population was already dwindling significantly. It wouldn't be long now.

The chameleon spoke then, quite suddenly snapping her out of her thoughts. "You think too deeply," he said simply in a low tone. The fingers of his left hand cautiously grazed a deep vertical slice running down his eye on the same side. The cut sealed the eye shut, and the movement of his arm suggested a certain numbness in the limb. While his arm, practically crushed and shredded to bits though it currently was, had some small potential to heal, there was little chance of his eye doing the same. But, then again, Mobian chameleons were strange reptiles, indeed, so perhaps the chances of it _not_ healing were actually slimmest.

Either way, it was his words that bothered Shade and not his physical condition. She had, after all, inflicted those wounds upon him herself. "Hold your tongue, lizard, or I will cut it out."

His right eye closed and he leaned his head back against the bars, cradling his halfway-ruined left arm in his right. One of his feet shifted so that his shoe rested somewhat near the unconscious chameleon woman, as though to derive unspoken comfort from the proximity. But, then again, maybe it was just a fluke that it had moved there. "No," he said simply. "You won't." She scowled and opened her mouth to refute this claim, but he cut her off. "And I meant what I said."

"Explain, then," she hissed, rapidly growing angry.

"You follow a leader who, while intelligent and undeniably powerful, possesses a duller mind and a weaker body than your own. You command forces numbering in the millions, yet it seems next to none possess much power or intelligence of their own. You and your people seek to follow your leader's orders and spread all throughout the universe, yet you posses neither the technology, nor the vast number of people required... and yet, here you stand, merely pondering it all and doing nothing."

In the wake of all this man had to say, Shade was silent. She didn't understand how he knew so much of the truth about this situation, how he was so perceptive that he had figured it all out on his own like that. And she certainly didn't know how he had managed to be _correct_ in his assessment. Correct, that was... on all counts except for one. "I do more than merely _think_ , lizard."

"Doubtful. And that isn't my name."

"I don't _care_."

"I know."

He was strangely calm and relaxed for one in his position... and it _bothered_ her. However, she knew his game. It was obvious to her the line his thoughts were traveling along. Likely, he was attempting in some strange way to pry information from her of what she _really_ intended to do before the end of this war. That, or he was hoping in vain to help incite some sort of coup de'etat that would throw their forces into disarray and leave them vulnerable to attack. But the latter seemed a touch unlikely, given the mind of who she was speaking to. So information-seeking it was.

Choosing to ignore the man now (not that he was speaking anymore, anyway), Shade tilted her head down to look down at the bundle of feathers she was perpetually forced to hold onto. A faint but distinctly dark aura was beginning to surround the baby, proof alone that she was doing so much more than just _thinking_. The Vessel was filling with evil energies, and she was to thank for it. This tiny, otherwise worthless hawk chick was going to secure their future... and it was only because Shade had been willing to use her own energy to power it. Their vessel and the Therians, whose world they would reach in two days or less, each would contribute to the end of Mobius and the beginning of the Nocturne Era if all went according to plan...

And _oh_ , Shade had a good feeling.

 **~台風の目~**

It was late at night, and Tails, Shadow, Knuckles, Jason, Analia, Sen, and Sarai were still waiting at the Watcher's Observatory in space. Tammy and Arthr were there somewhere as well, though not on the Typhoon itself, and Tails could only assume at this point that they were doing the same thing as he and his friends were. Namely, trying to rest. Though, in his case, he was failing to actually get any sleep. He supposed that laying down in his bed and not sitting in his seat in the control room would help, but he doubted that he'd sleep even then. He was too worried, anyway. Sleep just seemed out of the question. His deep blue eyes stared exhaustedly outside the huge windows ahead of him, he watched more ships than he could ever care to try to count enter the impossibly huge structure where his own ship was currently sitting. Jet's army was still in the process of gathering there, and the sheer _size_ of it truly astounded him. But, then again, New Babylon was a massive world from what he'd heard... so maybe an equally massive army just made sense, coming from there. _With an army this size, and with Babylonian technology on our side, I think we actually stand a chance here... maybe._

Watching all these ships come and go was, to his sleep-deprived mind, strangely hypnotic in its own way. It was possible that he might have been starting to finally fall asleep, but any rest he may have been about to get was suddenly wrenched from his grasp by the shrill sound of his ship's defense systems. Jolting upright, the young fox snapped his head to the side to look at one of his screens. The data displayed on it warned of an oncoming threat, though not a particularly large one. It was nothing that the people onboard the Typhoon couldn't handle... which also meant that it would be _nothing_ to the Babylonian army. Deciding that he really wanted to see at least one of their ships in action (and with the way the ship was position, he could see outside easily to do so), he shut off the alarms on the Typhoon. No doubt they already would have woken his passengers up, but with the alarms now off maybe they would all go rushing out to fight just yet. He _really_ wanted to see the army handle this.

Sure enough, a Babylonian ship was quickly dispatched to handle the Nocturnian ships headed its way. Like most of the others, it was pure white with some black decorations, making it stand out like a sore thumb against the sheer darkness of space. It was small, too, probably only large enough to seat two people at most without any room for getting up and walking around. That was not, however, to say that the Babylonians seemed _concerned_ about these facts. Which meant there was something else about this ship that Tails was missing. Powerful weapons, perhaps? Honestly, it would make more sense for that to be the case than it would for it _not_ to be.

Not a full minute after Tails first laid eyes upon it, the ship suddenly cloaked itself and became utterly invisible. Not just halfway-camouflaged but still easy enough to locate, though. No, it really _was_ invisible. And, apparently, very fast. With blinding speed and bright flashes of what Tails suspected were mere laser cannons, the Babylonian ship soundly put down its Nocturnian opponents. The explosions were concussive and very loud even from where Tails was, but those factors didn't hold a candle to just how _bright_ it all was. He actually had to look away from the scene for a moment to save his eyes from the display. When he looked back, he did so just in time to see something a bit unexpected. Jet's ship warped into view without warning, slowing forcefully to avoid slamming into the "observatory" and, thus, killing everyone onboard his ship. It was steered quickly yet carefully into the same hangar-like area where the Blue Typhoon currently was, and as Jet maneuvered it to land Tails hopped out of his seat and jogged outside to meet his old teacher.

Only when he stepped outside and Jet opened his cockpit did Tails notice just how numb and almost _afraid_ he looked... and the bloodied, near-lifeless child in the seat behind him.

 **~台風の目~**

It took less than twenty minutes for Sonic, Wave, and Amy to get the boys back to bed in the ship after Sonic had woken Soren (who had acted very weird and uncomfortable around Sonic the entire time). They were both settled down now and fast asleep once more, as was Wave. All three were resting rather peacefully, but Sonic and Amy weren't quite ready to do the same just yet. So they were taking a walk instead and, as they often did, just idly talking. They bounced from topic to topic before finally settling on one. One that was distinctly more serious than the rest. "Our enemies really are ruthless," Amy sighed. "Trying to hurt innocent kids like that... What do they think they have to gain from such a thing?"

Sonic's emerald green eyes were troubled as he pondered the many possible answers to that. "I don't know," he admitted, "but this may be somehow related to that weird comment that soldier made a while ago."

"The one about a 'vessel of darkness'?" Amy asked him, turning her head to look him in the face. Her own eyes became troubled.

"That's the one," Sonic nodded.

Amy turned her head back to look at the sky once again. _A vessel of darkness... This doesn't bode well... And that's putting it all very lightly..._ Trying to put her worries aside, she forced a smile and changed the subject again. "So, you had a Chao once, too?"

Grateful for the subject change, Sonic forced his own small smile. And, slowly, the mood of the evening began to improve again.

 **~台風の目~**

Astra continued her walk, truly and completely unbothered by the presence of the Therians about her. The chao sat on her shoulder, absently looking around at everything. Despite both of their distracted appearances, the white cat knew what she was doing, where she was going, and what she wanted to do. A wave of her hand was all that was needed to clear a path for her with her magic to allow her continue her stride, not missing a beat as she spun and sliced through a Therian with what seemed to only be her fingertips.

"I would certainly appreciate you all leaving me to my own devices," Astra muttered lowly. "I have hardly given you a drop of my power, yet you fall like flies." None of them seemed to heed her warning as they violently attacked the massive box of magic that surrounded her now. She gave a giggle and walked forward ever so slowly, the ground slowly lifting up in her wake. Around her hands, her magic began to grow visible. It extended out multiple feet into a blade-like shape, cutting into the ground. The box cracked a little. _Come on. Do it. I can't completely stop putting up a fight._

The box shattered and they surged upon her. Without warning, she disappeared with a bright flash and reappeared above them all. Astra laughed maniacally and threw her hands down. Her magic covered them all and they fell still, no longer able to move. It surged in as spikes, penetrating their bodies with no care for preservation. She landed and looked at the slowly dying creatures with a sick smile. All it took was a flick of her finger and they seemed to be violently shocked. Even as the magic faded from around them, the torture continued on. She left the already deceased Therians on the ground, still being torn apart through various methods by her magic. Astra then closed the distance between herself and her target. Or, really, the cell which _contained_ the target. She took a moment to appreciate it, then slashed open her entrance with the magic blade that extended from her fingers. "Took long enough to get here." Her gaze flicked to the chao as it stated blankly into her eyes. She smiled and pet it's head as she entered, looking around.

Hannah was sitting inside on the floor, staring up at this stranger with a mixture of alarm and simply fear mingling in her piercing blue eyes. She was obviously terrified, and as such her vocabulary utterly failed her in that moment. All that she managed to squeak out was a tiny, "W-what?"

Something in the cat's heart was warmed when she saw the terrified hawk child. Whether or not it was _because_ Hannah was terrified or that she cared for the child was not known, even to her. "I'm here to get you out of here and take you back to your dad." Astra tilted her head. Luckily for her, she had long since hidden her aura.

It was well-known to those who spent any length of time around Hannah that she was a touch over-trusting, much as her father had once been as a little kid. Likely, this was why she didn't seem to much question Astra's sincerity. "Y-you know Daddy?" she stammered out, eyes now brightened a little by a spark of hope.

"I know _of_ him, and know where he's heading, so I can take you there," Astra took care in choosing her words, hiding it all behind a gentle smile. "You'll be safe."

Hugging her knees up to her chest a bit tighter, Hannah had the forethought to ask, "But where are we going?"

"Where some of your comrades have already gone. They have a… massive blue ship, if I recall correctly," She rubbed her chin. _Why can't I remember the name?_ "They're in a safe place of which the name escapes me suddenly." After a moment, Astra realized that she was very suddenly beginning to change her speech pattern and sought to fix it before she needed to speak once more.

"The Blue Typhoon?" Hannah asked hopefully.

"Yeah." She smiled once more, then suddenly frowned. "Stay behind me, child. They come." Astra spun around, right hand clenched into a fist. Shivering with fear, Hannah stayed where she was, eyes watching everything in silence. Without warning, the cat in front of her was pierced through the stomach with some manner of wicked blade. It was then violently ripped from Astra's body, and she fell forward. Hannah watched as everything around them was bent and torn apart, all of it being used to attack the oncoming enemy. Astra threw herself into a standing position and grabbed Hannah quickly, teleporting the two of them away as the cell collapsed and was thrown into the horde. The cat looked to the hawk, who was clinging tightly to her in fright, then they shot into the air while being pursued by their enemies. _Perfect._

 **~台風の目~**

At somewhere around four in the morning, almost two full hours after Jet had gotten her, Charmy, Cheese, and Lucas safely back to the Blue Typhoon, Cream found her sleep disturbed. It wasn't due to the images of Lucas bloodied and wounded and almost dead at the root of the problem, though, as she'd anticipated before laying down would be the case. Instead, she was left reeling in the wake of a wave of visions the like of which she hadn't experienced much (if at all) since the days of Ivo and his robot armies. Steadying her mind, she tried to focus... and to remember all that she saw.

The very first thing she experiences was Jet's voice, from somewhere in the _very_ distant future. She saw nothing yet, merely heard his voice and his solemn tone... and the truth behind all his words as he spoke them.

 _"Once, we had peace," she heard him say, as though he was telling a tale to someone. Or, perhaps, multiple people. "_ _This story is not about that._ _Then there was Darkness, destruction, despair, death. __This tale is not about those things, either._ _This story comes from a time far after then._ _It is a story about what was here afterward..._ _And what came next."_

Then she heard him speak again, seemingly at a much later time, and in between each snippet of dialogue she saw something new.

 _"I used to want to defend existence..."_

 _There was a flash of movement, and she saw him and countless members of his people with weapons drawn, fighting ghastly beasts for which she had no name._

 _"I saw it as this beautiful thing..."_

 _Another flash, and this time she saw a huge cherry blossom tree standing alone atop a hill in an unknown location, surrounded by sprawling greenery. Jet, was sat beneath it in clothes she didn't recognize with eyes on the sky, seemed to be the only person around. Then another flash, and she saw fragmented images of what may have been parts of Mobius... and Babylon._

 _"...capable of fostering so much more than just life alone."_

 _She saw an ancient, tattered photograph of their friends, all smiling goofily at the camera, a an old rusted wedding ring, a red thread tied to the left pinky finger of one unspecified person and the right pinky finger of another, and even a smile._

 _"But the closer I got to it..."_

 _A structure she couldn't even begin to describe was shown to her, visibly full of knowledge she suspected that only Immortals could fathom, appeared in her vision, only to disappear as quickly as it had come._

 _"...the more I fought for it..."_

 _A still image of the war scene she had been shown earlier flashed before her eyes. Then there was another image, this one of him on his knees in the grass, clutching at a fresh wound that was gushing blood, all the while glaring hatefully up at something she couldn't see. His entire right arm was gone, leaving not even the shoulder behind. Then she saw him standing over a different battlefield entirely, black robots now functioning where his own arm had once been. Bodies lay strew about for so many miles all around that little else could be seen besides the corpses... and the blood._

 _"...the better I could see the Darkness waiting within... the evil we would all rather forget exists."_

 _This time, she saw a realm so dark and vile that merely viewing it made her sick to her stomach. Then she saw a flash of eyes, eyes so demonic and vastly malevolent that even while lost in these visions she was aware of the tears pricking in her eyes. She saw beasts, some comprised of reddish-black energy and some formed of a purple energy that just didn't seem right, somehow. She saw Jet and another male Babylonian facing off in space, Jet scowling and the other male just smiling confidently. She saw legions upon legions of demons, poor dead souls that were left suffering in the pits of what appeared to genuinely be Hell, a mortal city in ruins in a valley below the vast rocky region where some terrifying someone had taken up residence in a dark citadel..._

 _"And now... I fight for nothing..."_

 **~台風の目~**

 **6,638 words this time, and I so hope you enjoyed. Pretty sure this chapter was late, and I apologize for that. With any luck, though, I'll get a second chapter out this week. Anyway, much thanks to Blazing Winds as always for all of the descriptive detail and dialogue from Astra in, of course, Astra's scene. Also, for the last scene, a couple quick notes. Firstly, that first bit of dialogue I used for Jet comes from the Grimiore Cards from the video game "Destiny" (one, not two). The rest of his dialogue was inspired by quotes I remember hearing in the Wonder Woman trailer a good long while back. Don't remember of I took anything _directly_ from that last source, but I might have. So, yeah, disclaimer. Not mine.**

 **Last thing, here are two pronunciation aids. The first one is for Alec, Wave's little brother. I meant to do one for him in the chapter where he was first mentioned but... whatever. Here it is: "Ah-leck."**

 **The only other one is for Soren, just in case anyone needs a reminder of how to say his name. "Soe-ren".**

 **Again, hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 1:42 p.m.) 10-12-17.**


	69. Deadly

**~台風の目~**

 **"Deadly"**

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic had no idea what time it was. For a second, he didn't know _where_ he was. Hell, he didn't even know why he was _awake_. Hadn't he just gone to sleep? Hadn't that only been mere seconds ago? If that was so, then why was it so bright out? And if it was so bright out, then why was there a strange dark spot in the sky directly above him? In his still half-asleep state, anything and everything was a source of severe confusion. But, slowly, he started figuring things out. It was morning, certainly, meaning it really was daylight out. He was still resting on the top of the ship where Wave and the others were sleeping, and they hadn't yet left Green Forest. Unfortunately, he had only just gone to sleep, just a few _hours_ ago instead of seconds. And as far as the dark patch in the sky... well, he had no idea what _that_ was about.

Sitting up, the young hedgehog rubbed at his eyes, indulged in a yawn, then looked up again. As the haze of sleep lifted, his thoughts wandered here and there, trying to make sense of what he was looking at. Whatever it was, surely it was what had woken him so abruptly, hence his drowsy confusion. _...No way that's a cloud... or a ship. Too... circular._ He yawned again, then looked at the shape once more. _Really_ looked and thought. By the time it hit him what in the hell he actually was looking at, something _literally_ hit him. Two somethings, in fact.

With equal shrieks of alarm, two small furry bodies slammed into him from above, presumably having fallen out of the portal. A hard _oof!_ sound escaped him and he was slammed down onto his back again as though he'd never sat up to begin with. While he sucked in a painful breath, the two furry bodies on him quickly sat up, then sagged down once more in obvious relief. "Uncle Sonic," one breathed, shaking lightly as she let herself sprawl out on his torso for a moment.

The other little girl wrapped her arms tightly around his neck in a trembling, teary hug. "Gampa!" she wailed, obviously terrified.

Biting back a groan, Sonic sat up and opened his eyes back up. In doing so, he confirmed to himself what he already knew. It was Lia and Kimmy, and the portal above them was already gone. The portal was the least of his concerns at the moment, though. Shifting his arms, he lifted the girls up to look them over. "Are you girls alright? Where were you?" he demanded.

"We don't know!" Kimmy cried. It was a sentiment Lia confirmed with a mute nod.

"Don't know what?" Sonic pressed. His glanced down off the side of the ship to see Wave coming out, no doubt having been awoken by the thumps earlier and all the crying. She was obviously confused, but he didn't explain anything to her just yet.

"Where we were," Lia mumbled, breaking into his thoughts. She seemed... troubled. But, somehow, he doubted she would tell him why. She was _Shadow's_ kid, after all, and she really was too much like him for her own good sometimes. "But we're not hurt."

"Are you sure you're not hurt? That was a big fall for you guys."

"Yeah. I'm sure."

Satisfied, Sonic stood with one little girl in each arm. Without a word, Wave lifted her arms up to accept one child. Since she helped Blaze and Silver with Kimmy a lot and the little kitten was close to her, Sonic handed Kimmy over before using his now free arm to help him carefully get down to the ground without jostling Lia around too much. Almost as soon as his feet touched the ground, Kimmy asked no one in particular, "Where's mommy? I want Mommy."

Eyes flooded with sympathy, Wave murmured, "She's on the Blue Typhoon right now. We'll get you to her as soon as we can, sweetheart."

Sonic nodded his agreement. "Your dad's there, too," he told Lia, heading off her inquiry before it could even be voiced. She sagged in relief again.

By this time, Amy and the boys had gotten up, and Amy was stepping out of the ship. Lia offered a tiny wave and a small, "Hi, Auntie." She was starting to get teary-eyed for some reason.

Hearing this, Kimmy turned her head to look at Amy, acknowledging her in relief by simply saying, "Gamma."

The smile Amy sent their way was warm and comforting. "Hi, sweeties." Recognizing that Kimmy wanted to be held by her now (the outstretched arms reaching in her direction made it obvious), she walked over and gently took the toddler from her friend. It was about then that Ten and Soren finally walked outside.

Upon seeing Soren, Lia suddenly bolted upright in her uncle's arms with a gasp. "You!" she exclaimed, plainly shocked.

Soren stared at her for a second before asking in confusion, "Lia?"

Looking back and forth between the two, Sonic interjected his own question. "Wait, you two know each other?"

The younger male hedgehog cast him an awkward glance. He was still acting strange around Sonic for some reason or another. "...Uh... yeah."

"He saved me from the bad guys!" Lia declared. Now she was beaming at Soren. "And he even took me to where Daddy could find me!"

Well, that was certainly news. Good news, thankfully. That, if nothing else, caused Sonic to smile a bit. "Did he, now?" Soren sort of ducked his head, as though to shy away from the attention.

The moment was interrupted when Ten stepped out of the ship and called, "Hey, guys?"

Wave turned her head his way. "Yes?"

"Can we head out now? I'm hungry, and there isn't much here in the way of food. ...Hence the lack of many animals."

"Yeah, just give us a minute. We need to work out seating and whatnot."

 _Six seats, eight people... should be interesting._ Sonic shifted Lia in his arms and walked into the ship. Looking around, he murmured, "Well... it may not be the _best_ option, but realistically we're going to have to have you and Kimmy share a seat," he told Lia. "And I just won't take a seat."

She looked up at him. "Are you sure, Uncle Sonic?"

"Yeah," he nodded. He walked over to a seat and set the young child in the seat. Walking back outside, he ushered everyone else inside. Once they were in, it took no time at all to get them all seated, the ship closed up, and so on. They took off in no time at all, heading toward Leaf Forest at Sonic's direction. Tails's house was there, and with any luck he'd have a portable teleporter there... Sonic _really_ hoped he did.

As Sonic had anticipated would be the case, the flight to Tails's home wasn't long, nor was it terribly eventful. Sure, they had a few small skirmishes here and there with some airborne Nocturnians, but it was nothing terribly serious. Ten had even debuted this powerful explosion-based ability he _apparently_ possessed, one where he created balls of yellow energy in his hand and flung them at things, blowing the target up upon impact. Only Soren didn't seem surprised by it all, suggesting that he had seen it during the battle Ten had mentioned that they'd fought together before Sonic and the others had found them. It was a hell of a way to end this latest fight, in Sonic's opinion, that was for sure. _But, hey, who's complaining?_

After that particular battle, the flight was quiet and, dare he think it, almost _peaceful_ , even. The only thing that really broke the silence was the sound of the ship's ancient engine and the occasional low murmur from Amy or one of the kids, but those noises were easily tuned out. Sonic even had a few minutes of bliss where he was able to cross his arms, lean back against a wall, and close his eyes. It was nice, after having slept less than three hours the night before... but eventually he had to open his eyes once more. Glancing outside the cockpit, he was quick to remind, "Land right by his house. This forest creates illusions and will get us lost for a veritable eternity if we're not careful."

"Yeah, I know," Wave, who was again piloting, responded simply. The conversation ended after that.

Less than two minutes later, Wave had landed the ship in front of the fox's home and Sonic was walking up to the house alone. The fact that the normally secured door was ajar... was nothing short of alarming. Stepping in, he allowed himself a moment to scan the front room with his eyes and discovered it to be ransacked. Things had obviously been stolen. Things that, so far as Sonic could tell, probably weren't _that_ important but likely could be picked apart for scraps to build other things. _Like weapons..._ Swallowing back some sudden mild anxiety, he stepped over some discarded objects on the floor and made his way further into the small home. Following a familiar route, he made his way to a staircase that led the way into Tails's underground workshop. Sure, the fox had one above ground that he'd built within the last century, but most of the fox's more valuable devices were in the old one yet still. Chances were, that was the building he'd find the teleporter he wanted in.

Thankfully, while it was obvious that the well-concealed staircase _had_ been found, it was equally clear that whoever had ransacked the home had failed to gain entry here. It would take some serious power to get past the defense systems that guarded Tails's workshop, and apparently this intruder had lacked that. _Works for me... the less they're able to steal from people like Tails, the better._ Reaching out, Sonic quickly typed in a code that he had long since memorized, then allowed the systems to do the necessary scans of him before they would unseal the entrance. Once all that was done (and it took mere seconds), the heavily fortified yet almost frail and simple-looking wall slid aside and the door audibly unlocked itself. Wasting no time, Sonic pulled the door open and went inside. Tempted though he was to close everything up again on the off-chance that a Nocturnian came into the home again, he ultimately decided to leave it open in case he needed to rush back outside for whatever reason. Tails had somehow, someway, made this whole building "teleport-proof", so to speak, meaning no one could teleport in or out of it, even with devices. _For better or for worse, huh, Tails?_

Shaking that thought aside, Sonic descended the metal staircase into the monstrously huge cavernous space that was the fox's original workshop, complete with full defensive and offensive capabilities _just_ in case. The area was practically overflowing with inventions, everything from mecha suits to prototypes of ships to a recreation of the original Tornado plane to simple hand-held devices... It was insane, just how much the fox had managed to build in his lifetime. _Jeez, just when I thought he'd finished building things in here... I don't think I recognize even half of these... _Looking around, Sonic saw a rocket he recognized as the Lunar Fox that Tails had showed him once, a specialized case full of cryogenic technology that was still being built, several incomplete laser guns resting on a table, some sort of holographic projector that had been left on, and even large cells full of radiation kept stored in a special containment unit covered in brightly colored warning labels.

Past those, there were robots, robots, and more robots. Based on appearances alone, these bots did everything from scan and map terrain to perform everyday household chores such as sweeping to battle wit various weapons (like Ivo and Geralds robots had once done) to even aid in the construction of new tech. Then there were computers, computers everywhere, and even parts to build yet _more_ of them. Motherboards, microchips, wires, sheets of metal, partially constructed keyboards, and so on. Then there were handheld medical scanners, large chambers filled (for whatever reason) with intense UV lights, large stereo systems that appeared to have been newly constructed, all manner of electronic instruments, several different prototypes for improved communicators that Tails had never even _mentioned_ before, cameras and audio recorders of all kinds, and _so_ much more. Hell, there were even new, partially constructed ships in here... and most appeared to be very close to being finished.

"Damn, Tails, you really have been busy," Sonic murmured to himself with a slow shake of his head. He looked around again. "Okay, so if I were Tails, where would I put a long-range teleporter..." After a second, he glanced at the ships. "And why would I have not built a Mobian version of an ancient Babylonian jump-ship by now?" Truthfully, he didn't know why Tails hadn't yet, nor did he know why he _himself_ hadn't by this time. They knew jump-ships, ships capable of warping far more quickly and easily (and not to mention _far_ farther), existed. They knew that the ruins of several such ships _had_ been found by archaeological teams in a few places on Mobius. They also knew that, thanks to their close ties to Locke, they'd be allowed to get up close and personal with those ancient wrecks to inspect them (though, really, they'd be able to regardless of whether or not anyone " _let_ " them). So why _hadn't_ they done it yet? He just didn't know, and the thought made him sigh. "Should've known that'd come back to bite us in the ass..."

After looking around for a minute, Sonic spotted a couple bags and grabbed them, if only because there were some things in here he wanted to grab while looking for a teleporter. First and foremost, he grabbed the prototype communicators and several laser guns (because, hey, they obviously _needed_ better communicators to avoid situations like this happening again and weapons were always good to have). He also grabbed the med scanners he'd seen, as well as a special device used to shrink and (in a sense) digitally store matter to be recreated anywhere and at anytime. Using that device, he stored as many of Tails's combat-bots that he could find, as well as the incomplete ships and more weapons. And then there was that holographic projector... Biting his lip, he backtracked to where he'd seen that device earlier and walked over to it. It was too big to carry it out of here, but... but maybe he didn't need to. An idea was forming in his head, he just needed time to carry it out. Hopefully Wave and Amy wouldn't kill him for taking so long. Just in case, he shot them a message telling them what he was about to do, and only then set to work. He hoped his request for aid would be answered and, really, he had no reason to doubt that it would be.

Sure enough, Wave, Amy, and the kids soon entered the workshop. Amy called out his name, wanting to know where he was. He noted privately that her voice, even when saying his name, failed to elicit as strong an emotional reaction as it once had. But, then, he'd already known about that. It was something he again chose to ignore. "Sonic?" Amy called again.

At about the same time, Sonic reached the holographic projector and knelt beside it. "I'm over here," he called back, eyes on the device. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if this would even work... but he was determined to try.

A minute or two later, a tiny fluffy body latched itself onto his back. Craning his head around, Sonic smiled into the adorable little face of his one and only grandchild, Kimmy. "Gampa's over here!" she yelled to everyone else. She looked proud of herself for finding him.

It was Lia who found him next, and she immediately pointed at the projector. "What's that, Uncle Sonic?"

Soren, who had been right behind her, gave it a once-over with his eyes. "Looks like something used for holograms."

This earned a raised eyebrow from Sonic. "Yeah, that's right. How did you know? This technology isn't anywhere else on Mobius."

As always seemed to be the case with him, Soren grew visibly uncomfortable and looked away. However, this time, he recovered quickly and managed to mumble, "Where I come from... Where I lived, these used to be everywhere. They still are, but they aren't exactly... in good shape."

Now both of Sonic's eyebrows raised. "You're not from here?"

More discomfort, and Soren looked farther away. "...Not... exactly."

Though Sonic opened his mouth to press further, he was interrupted before he could begin when Ten, Wave, and Amy walked into view. Wave was the first of them to speak as her eyes looked Tails's creation up and down with her eyes. "Tell me again what exactly you're trying to do."

Sonic heard himself sigh. "I found Storm yesterday in Empire City." Wave's eyes flashed with shock at this news. "He was fine," he was quick to assure, "but he confirmed to me that people all over this world are fighting, too. I saw it for myself even before I found him. The citizens are fighting back."

"And they probably feel very alone," Amy realized, voice soft.

Wave caught on. "You want to reach out to them."

"Yeah," Sonic nodded. "I want to talk to them. Let them know they _aren't_ alone, that we're fighting as well."

"That's... risky, Sonic," Wave replied with a slow frown. "Unless we can properly rig this thing somehow, the Nocturnians will see you, too, and hear everything you say."

"That's why I asked for help," Sonic responded. He sat back on his heels. "I can work with the tech well enough on my own, sure, but it helps to have at least one other person who can as well."

Unexpectedly, Soren piped up again. "...I can help, too." Sonic caught the teen's fleeting gaze, causing the younger hedgehog to quickly look down again. But nonetheless, he asserted, "I can. I work with tech a lot."

"...Alright. Two people who can help, then." Sonic looked back to the device and started to speak again, but was cut off by Ten.

"Wait, wait, I have an idea," the young hawk said quickly. "We'll still need the tech, but if we use our _powers_ we can make this even better."

It took a moment, but Sonic soon began to follow Ten's train of thought. "Explain," he said, wanting to be sure.

"Well, this projector-thing," Ten gestured to said projector, "and maybe some other devices can be used to project your image and voice to everyone around the world. If we rig some tech we'll be able to help minimize the degree to which the Nocturnians will be able to detect the projection. But if we use our powers through the tech, we can further exclude them from being able to see, hear, or otherwise sense this. Like, using Wave and Amy's psychic powers to help exclude Nocturnian minds. And I can try to use my aura powers to exclude anyone with evil auras."

"We'll need signal amplifiers," Wave said quickly. "Powerful ones. And at least one riekan. ...No, probably two."

"A what?" Lia asked, obviously perplexed.

"It's the name of a set of prototype devices that are meant to allow powers to be used through devices effectively and without damaging the devices," Wave explained. "Similar to how, say, the metal of Sonic's sword was built to be able to channel powers through it without taking damage from them." Whether or not Lia fully understood this was debatable, but for now she didn't ask anything further.

Sonic stood up, eyes determined. "Right. Let's get to work."

 **~台風の目~**

Given everything that had been happening as of late, Silver counted himself lucky that time (so far as Babylonian technology could tell) seemed to pass so differently in this timeline compared to the timeline he had so long called home. It had already been several years in this timeline's reality since he had come here at the behest of some unknown versions of his father and "uncle". At least it hadn't been anywhere near that long in the other timeline. _In fact, come to think of it, didn't Jet and Selene figure out that time seems to flow differently in all timelines? Like, this one's years ahead of the one I came from, but only minutes ahead of another we looked at, and eons behind yet another we viewed... Argh, this makes my brain hurt. _

Laughing at himself internally, Silver turned his attention back to the world around him. He and around six Babylonians were in a small camp with Jet out in the wilderness. The ground was sandy and rocky, but the air was crisp and cool. The weather in these mountains was absolutely beautiful at this time of day, and Silver took a moment to savor it, as well as the peace and quiet, before his obligatory "bugging-of-the-uncle" was due to begin. He knew he wouldn't be able to resist for long... Jet was just too fun to tease. _Speaking of Uncle Jet... looks like he's busy. Perfect opportunity._ Smirking in amusement to himself, Silver reached over to lightly nudge the hawk while Jet busied himself with sharpening his borrowed sword. Jet reflexively shied away from the touch, but the hawk long-since seemed to have grown fairly used to Silver's more touchy nature. As such, he didn't have any other negative reaction to it. A second nudge finally got him to look up, and Silver gestured slightly toward a soldier about their age who was walking somewhere across the camp. "He's pretty cute, right?" Silver whispered in a conspiratory tone. It wasn't so much that Silver thought that, but that wasn't the point.

Jet glanced at the soldier for a second and huffed. "Yeah. So?"

Silver's smirk grew as he grew on to his current reason for teasing the hawk. "But Selene's cuter, right?" he asked slyly.

For just a second, the hawk stilled and his face almost visibly heated up. After that second passed, he rapidly resumed sharpening his sword, this time with increased vigor. "I _never_ said that," he grumbled.

"Ah, but you didn't _need_ you," Silver chuckled. "I can see it, plain as day." His small chuckle morphed into a full laugh when a small pebble suddenly sailed through the air and whacked him lightly on the side of the head. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized falsely.

The snort that Jet let out indicated that he didn't believe Silver at all. "Will you at least _try_ to be serious?" he asked with a frown.

"Aw, but why? We're not busy right now, and we're not in any immediate danger."

"We're not in the palace, or in any city with barriers like the ones found there. That means we're in constant danger, even if it's not immediate. Understand?"

"Yeah, okay, I get it." Silver looked at his communicator, mostly just to check the time. The background picture of Kimmy and Blaze, however, make him reflexively almost choke up. Turning off the screen, he immediately sought a distraction from his pain. "Hey, um, I have a question."

Piercing blue eyes glanced Silver's way. "What?" This question betrayed no irritability and was instead really rather calm. Maybe Jet somehow sensed that Silver was upset, even if he couldn't read peoples' emotions just by, say, looking at them. If he was paying attention to his aura senses, though, he probably could tell the hedgehog was upset. It would explain his sudden change in tone, since it wasn't like his moods were prone to changing rapidly. In fact, they tended to stay rather constant. But that was beside the point.

"I was just wondering your thoughts on something." Silver's gaze drifted to the sky, unsurprised when Jet didn't respond to that. The obvious question in the air was _what?_ of course, but the hawk had already asked that once not ten seconds ago, and he was loathe to repeat himself in most circumstances. That was something that Silver had learned rather well by now. "I was wondering how long you thought this war is gonna go on." He couldn't actually remember if a length of time had been specifically mentioned in the journal belonging to the Jet he knew best. Even if one had been mentioned, he couldn't remember what it was.

Surprisingly, a heavy sigh escaped Jet almost immediately in response to the question, prompting Silver to look back at him. "I don't know," Jet said quietly. He seemed to refrain from sighing again. "All I know is that it isn't ending any time soon. Especially not while we still have no idea who the enemy's leader even is."

"Yeah... I guess that's true enough," Silver was forced to agree with a sigh of his own. His golden eyes drifted back up toward the sky. _I knew coming in that this was gonna be a long stay,_ he reminded himself. _I knew, more or less, what I was signing up for time-wise._ Finally, he gave in and sighed. _I guess all I can hoped for is that not too much time passes in the other timeline._ Looking down, he turned on his communicator screen to look at the picture again. Kimmy and Blaze's faces smiled warmly up at him. _I love you guys... please be safe until I get back._

 **~台風の目~**

It was still early in the morning when Cream, who was still very tired and thus in bed asleep, found her dreams again shifting from the normal to the prophetic. The visions began with little warning, giving her mind no time to prepare for the sudden influx of information.

 _A thick tome rested alone on a table in a dark room, illuminated solely by the moonbeams pouring in through a large window above the table. That window was closed, but none of the others in the room were. A heavy and snowy gust of wind blew the book open, causing the cover to hit the wood table with an audible thump. Most of the words on the pages appeared blurred out, as though she wasn't meant to be able to read them, but one entry (they almost appeared to be journal entries or something similar) was left perfectly clear and visible to her... and it contained a quote she had heard once before, in the last series of visions she had had. It read:_

 _"When he starts to succumb to the darkness of his own emotions, she tells him to remember what he fights for. Sometimes he tells her, 'I fight... for nothing.'"_

 _After that, a breeze turned numerous pages, soon revealing a new entry for her to see. This one read:_

 _"He stares up at starry skies late at night, speaking with the new ruler of his former kingdom. He has only just for the first time stepped down. The advice he gives her rings clearly to all who hear. 'Regardless of what we were, we inherently know what we must become. To survive this war… we can never remain as we have for so long been.'"_

There was another breeze. This one turned yet more pages before settling on a page again. This time, she was able to see two entries. The first of them read:

 _"Today he visited Mobius, a distant and beautiful world we have not laid eyes upon since the end of their private apocalypse. He sits before a cluster of graves on his knees, head bowed in respect and eyes closed with the lingering echoes of grief… but I know his attention is focused almost solely on one. It is hard for any to forget one who was once so close to us… one who gave so much worthy of remembering._

 _He says this is the last time he will visit."_

 _The second was shorter... and more revealing. Suddenly, thanks to this entry, she knew she just knew, who these entries had been written about._

 _"The roots of a family tree begin with two hearts… and today he ensured that such a potential future could come to be. His close friend, due to be married within a fortnight, was prepared to fall in combat if need be. He took her place._

 _His treasured scarf lies in tatters."_

 _The pages turned yet again, once more thanks to an almost random breeze from outside, and settled on a page with an exchange of dialogue that had been written down. It read:_

 _"'Our kind survived by the grace of nature,' the Mother Tree murmurs to him. 'There seems nothing natural about the Night.'_

 _He bows his head, apologetic or miserable I do not know. Perhaps even concerned. 'It is natural…" he argues, "...and I cannot kill it.'_

 _'Not as you are now,' she agrees solemnly._

 _'Or perhaps ever.'"_

 _More pages turned, this time revealing to her a longer entry of what seemed to be great importance. This one read:_

 _"He speaks of Zyr… the Black Gate… of Zenith and Malevolence… of Eona, Eras, and the Light… and of something that transcends them all. Something that is of both Light and Darkness and yet is not, something that is more than Chaos. Something stirs deep within existence, he claims… something we have reason to fear. Something from which even the Night begins to flee._

 _It is from his lips that we hear this claim of what is slowly coming to be, a new energy in a new realm with new will and new sentience of a sorts… Our Guardian knows not what it is, admits so openly, and yet is fascinated with it to the point of growing obsession._

 _It is often said that dark energies seek to corrupt from the moment they come to be. If that is so, then perhaps that is the explanation we have been seeking, the answer to our endless questioning of what has happened to our Guardian. We can only pray that he somehow recovers and finds himself again, before it is too late for him to be saved."_

 _Pages turned again, coming to rest on a page with another entry that gave Cream a gut feeling, the kind that just screamed at her about the importance of these words. It read:_

 _"It crushed us," the Guardian murmured. 'It suffocated us. It slew us. It left us writhing in agony and lost to the madness of our suffering. But it kept our eyes open… always open. It wanted us to see - to see that the worlds of our birth no longer belonged to us… but to the Darkness. To the Night. It wanted us to see all our hopes, our love, our joys, our Light - perish. It wished for us to see… and never forget. I can never-' His breath halts, then releases sharply. '...Forget.'"_

 _Just two pages turned this time, revealing a shorter entry that read:_

 _"Where we face mere death, he faces… annihilation. The complete destruction of everything he was, is, and ever will be. To be faced with something more and worse than death… some wonder why he risks it."_

 _Many pages turned then, flipping so rapidly that it was impossible to count how many went by before the pages finally ceased to move again. Soon, another entry was revealed to her. This one was a quote that had been written down alone with the title of the one who had spoken it. This one read:_

 _"'If existence is death and to die is to have existed… then tell me… why do we live...?'_

 _-Guardian-6"_

 _Suddenly, after that, she heard a heavy door that was out of her view open with a loud creak of ancient wood. Near-silent footsteps walked over to the book, bringing a familiar figure into view. Her earlier suspicions were in a way confirmed when Jet stepped into view and closed the book. His left hand lingered on the cover for a moment for reasons unknown, but then he silently pulled it off again. She was allowed to watch as he walked throughout the room, closing windows and brushing snow off of a few tables and whatnot. After that, she watched as he walked to a wooden shelving unit, picked up a glowing sphere filled with visibly wicked energies... and walked away._

 **~台風の目~**

 **5,592 words this time, and my _god_ was this one hard to get out. I won't bore you guys with the details of my personal problems, but suffice to say that between writer's block and the aforementioned problems this chapter was immensely difficult to write. Sigh. Sorry about that, guys. And, fair warning, the writer's block and those personal problems have by no means gone away. I'll be writing as often as I can to try to get the next chapter done, but... I really can't promise that it'll be done any time soon. Posted (at about 12:12 p.m.) 11-01-17.**

 **EDIT : Forgot to explain it before (when I originally posted this chapter), but from now on I _will_ be showing Silver and his activities every so often. I'll be aiming for every other chapter or so. And, for the record, no there wasn't a typo in Silver's teasing statement in his scene. None at all. I did very much mean for him to say "he". Not all of the characters are straight, but don't worry. That doesn't really play a role in the story. It's sort of like a fun fact, I guess. Has nothing to do with the plot or any major scenes or anything.**


	70. The Light of Hope

**Hello, Blazing Winds! Haha, thanks. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Light of Hope"**

 **~台風の目~**

A thumbs up from Wave was Sonic's cue to prepare himself for what he was about to do. Things were working as well as they were ever going to, and he figured he probably had about two seconds before showtime. _Probably should have thought about what the hell I'm gonna say..._ he internally lamented. It had never crossed his mind to plan his words, though. All he'd known was that he'd wanted to say _something_ to these people, _anything_ to make sure that they didn't give up, to ensure that they knew he and his friends weren't, either. He wasn't one for speeches normally... wasn't usually the one to rally the troops and boost morale and all that. It just wasn't his forte, and he left such tasks to others normally. But this time... this time, he just had to say _something_. Even if he had no idea what yet. Maybe with any luck, the words would come to him on their own. _If worst comes to worst, maybe I can just wing it._

"You ready, Sonic?" Amy's voice softly asked him.

Opening eyes he hadn't even realized he'd closed, Sonic turned his head toward her. After a small moment, he somehow found it in himself to smile, just a bit. "As I'll ever be," he answered. Turning to Wave, who's right index finger hovered over the switch that would kick everything into gear, he said, "Hit it."

Without even so much as a nod of acknowledgement, Wave turned to look at the small control panel she had stuck together and flipped the switch. Kept hidden from all Nocturnian senses by a combination of powers, technology, and pure genius (mostly on Wave's part), a holographic projection of Sonic began to appear all around the world. Any and every Mobian was suddenly able to see and hear him, and possibly he'd be able to do the same with them, and the amount of pressure that was suddenly on him to do this right made his stomach give a small lurch. He had to choke back his sudden burst of queasiness as he glanced back toward Wave and Amy under the guise of seeking confirmation that everything was on and working properly. He was given a nod from Wave, and encouraging smile from Amy, and he knew it was time. No more stalling. It was time to speak. _..._ _Let's do this, then. Start off simple._

Taking a small breath, Sonic spoke. "Look... most of you probably won't know who I am. Not anymore. My friends and I- we're from a bit ahead of your time." On the screens ahead of him, he could see images of cities and towns and villages and ruins and wilderness all over the world, images of the countless faces now staring at him. He bit back his nerves, continued more strongly, "You may not know us anymore, but we've fought for you. All of you. And we're doing it again. Gerald Robotnik, Ivo Robotnik, Dark Gaia, Chaos, the Metarex... we fought them all, and we survived. This _world_ survived. But all that I see now, all that anyone can see now, is how this world is _dying_. Everything we love is being systematically destroyed... but you're all still standing. I see that, too."

Onscreen, people began exchanging looks and small murmurs, but Sonic continued. He had more to say than just this. "A lot has happened since all of this started, everyone. More than I'd expect any of you to know. It's easy to despair, but I do have some good news." Feeling a bit more confident now that he'd been talking for a while, Sonic found it easy to continue. "You all know of the Babylonians that inhabit our world, and most of you will still remember that they came here after fleeing a ruined world of their own. But not all of them came _here_. Most went elsewhere, started a new society on a new world, and they have a king... and an army. That world is our ally. Their king is lending us our strength. Troops should be arriving here any day now to help push back against our enemies, the Nocturnians. Mobius is _not_ going to go down without a _hell_ of a fight."

Looks of shock and intense relief washed over everyone Sonic happened to look at through the screens as he continued. "Help is on the way," he assured again, "but I won't lie to you. I can't. The road ahead is as lethal as they come. The journey will be immensely difficult for anyone to walk. I hate that I have to ask all of you to continue down it, to walk it with me. I have to, though, because my friends and I, we can't win this one by ourselves. Not this time. We can't hold back the enemies here and be in outer space dealing with the forces out there at the same time. There's only so much we can do alone. But you won't be standing on your own, either. We're not going to abandon you all here with nothing. It may not be much, but I'm working on arming each and every one of you."

With a glance to the side, Sonic watched as Soren and Ten pushed a crate of weapons under a teleporter's beam and let it disappear. They had been at this for over an hour, sending weapons to Mobian forces all over the world. He looked back at the screens. "The name Miles Prower should be known to most of you. He's made quite the name for himself as an inventor in the last century, and rightfully so. The kid knows what he's doing when it comes to tech, and he's crafted all manner of weapons over the years. Some of you may have already stumbled across crates of them today. We're sending these out as quickly as we can, teleporting them everywhere we can get them to. The aura energies guarding them, courtesy of a Babylonian here with me, will keep the Nocturnians from being able to get too near to the crates for a while. If you see one, take it. Get the weapons into every available Mobian hand. Arm yourselves and leave no one defenseless."

Emerald eyes took on a shine of sympathy - and apology. "I know that this probably appalls some of you. Most of you, really. After ancient times, we as Mobians... we left war behind us. We avoided it, sought peace and unity. But peace isn't an option that's available to us anymore. At least not right now." That shine hardened into a command, into determination and surety. "If you want it, fight for it. Rise up with us, and no matter _what_ these enemies throw at us, do _not_ give up. Everyone here with me now is prepared to fight to the end for all of you, but none of us can do it _without_ you. If you have weapons, use them. If you have gadgets, use them. If you have powers, _use_ them. Nothing is useless, no ability or skill worth not utilizing. We can only do so much on our own, but with all of you on our side our world might just stand a chance. But we have to fight. All of us."

His eyes closed for a second as he drew in a breath, then let it out in a sigh. "None of you are alone... More than anything, I hope you know that. We're not doomed, and especially not if you guys fight with us... and hold onto your hope. Your hope is, in many ways, your strongest weapon." His eyes opened again and locked back onto the screens. "Never let it go. Ever." Once more, he cast a glance to Wave, this time as a silent cue that he was nearly done. He had to end this now, because there was no telling how much longer this feed would remain hidden from their enemies. Looking back to the screens, he said, "I have to go now before the Nocturnians catch wind of this. But I'll contact you all again when I can. Be ready... and be strong. We have a chance here. Let's not waste it."

With that, Wave shut everything down with a mere flip of a switch. Honestly, Sonic half expected someone to make a comment on his little improv-speech, but Soren's voice headed ff any comments that might have been made. Internally, Sonic was grateful for it. "How... how did your friend even _make_ weapons like these?" Turning, Sonic watched as the younger hedgehog pulled a red hand-held device out of a crate. "This whole crate is full of these... and the tag on the crate says that they're flamethrowers."

Smirking, Sonic walked over. "No, not at all." Soren looked up at him, obviously confused. "These are _better_ than flamethrowers. First of all, they have a crystal energy source, meaning no fuel is required. Second of all, these Burst weapons as Tails called them allow for improved movement as well." He paused, then amended, "Well, if the user is careful, at least. See, these weapons can let out a small explosion of flames that'll launch the user into the air. Sort of an explosive jump. If done the proper way, it won't harm the user." With one finger, he pointed at the tag Soren had mentioned before. "Had you kept reading, Tails did explain all of that in writing."

"Why bother unless he knew he was going to be giving these crates to people in the future?" Soren questioned with a frown.

"That's the thing about Tails," Amy interjected while she walked over to the pair. "He always _wants_ to hope for a brighter tomorrow and all that... but he has a curious way of always seeming to just _know_ when there's a storm on the horizon. He won't usually say anything unless he knows for sure, but he'll start building weapons en masse for some reason." She looked at Sonic and Wave sadly. "Come to think of it... one of us should have noticed all these weapons and taken that as the early warning that it was."

There was no use denying it, Sonic knew, but he also knew that _he_ at least hadn't been this deep into Tails's workshop in... years. He'd never seen these crates before, though he had seen the weapons when Tails had first invented them several decades before. _Leave it to Tails to so efficiently mass-produce these things without anyone knowing... crafty fox that he is._ It was only then that he noticed the look on Soren's face. "Alrght, you've got more questions, back make 'em quick. We need to leave really soon." Wasting no further time, Soren walked to a second crate and pulled out another weapon. His question was obvious, so Sonic launched right in. "That one's a lightning whip, so to speak. Though, more accurately, it's an electricity whip. The name says it all, really. And that part you're holding basically acts like the handle. The whip itself comes flying out when the weapon is swung." He allowed himself another small smirk. An amused twinkle brightened his eyes. "Also explained on the tag." Soren ducked his head sheepishly.

Ten reached into the crate and grabbed one of the whips. "So, do these have a special use, too? Like the flamethrowers do?"

 _Apprently neither of them are going to read today._ "Yes," Sonic answered. "After the user, well, uses the whip, they're granted a temporary speed boost from the electricity. ...I _think_ from the electricity, at any rate." He looked around. "Most of the other weapons he's made look to be pretty standard. Machine-produced swords, daggers, and the like, pistols, machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, artillery for boats, ships, and planes... pretty usual stuff." A light bulb went off in his head. "That reminds me- Wave, you know those little devices Tails has that lets you shrink things in order to transport them? I left one in one of those bags over there." He pointed. "Mind grabbing it for me?"

As soon as she returned with the device and handed it over, Wave asked the inevitable question. "What are you planning, Sonic?"

Sonic spared her a glance and answered distractedly, "...Gifts." An eyebrow raised at him, but he ignored them. The device she's handed him digitally stored objects to be recreated at any time, but it was also able to turn that data into small blue cubes that could be physically carried around. Using that feature, he created cubes of everything he had digitally stored before and tossed them into the bags he'd gathered earlier. These were for him and his allies... but everything he was about to shrink would be left for the people of Mobius. Aiming the device around the workshop like a gun, he began shrinking all manner of objects. Mecha suits (some built for speed, some built for strength, some built for defense, some a balance of the three), prototypes of ships, Tails's one recreation of Sonic original Tornado plane, incomplete laser guns, robots built strictly for battle, robots built to aid in the construction of new tech, med scanners, basic weapons such as standard guns and weaponry for ships, and more were all shrunk down and digitally stored in a matter of moments. Then he turned his attention to communicator and typed up a quick message to an old ally. _"_ _Sending you a small gift, Storm... get these supplies to as many people as you can. They'll need it."_

With that, he teleported the device with his own power off to Empire City and turned back to the others. "Come on, we still need to find that teleporter and get out of here."

"Oh, I already found it," Wave suddenly said. And, sure enough, she held up the device just as Sonic looked over. "Did that a while ago."

It was easier to just accept that and move on instead of bugging her about why she hadn't said something sooner. Instead, all Sonic chose to say was, "Well... let's get out of here, then." Together they all walked outside with Sonic's bags, gathered near their borrowed ship and around the teleporter, and whisked themselves away. After reappearing in five different places that were most certainly _not_ the Blue Typhoon, the prototype teleported finally succeeded in channeling their thoughts properly and getting them within feet of the Typhoon. Sonic pretty much immediately spotted Jet, who had been leaning back against a side of the Blue Typhoon with his arms and legs crossed and a distant look in his eye - probably lost in thought until they'd showed up. He straightened and turned to look at them... just in time for Ten to sprint up to him and tackle him in a hug with a cry of, " _Dad_!"

The scene brought a smile to Sonic's face, especially when he saw the relief that Jet didn't bother for now to hide from his eyes as he (quite tellingly) hugged the younger hawk back without hesitation. Father and son were reunited, and now it was time to reunite another father with his daughter. Taking young Lia by the hand and scooping up little Kimmy with his other arm, Sonic walked into the ship toward his half-brother's favorite haunt: the ship's indoor training area. Soren trailed after him, Sonic noticed, as did Amy. It seemed Wave had stayed outside. Turning a corner, Sonic led the way into the training room and promptly released his niece. Shadow had no time to even process that they were there before the small girl had slammed into him in much the same way as Ten had done to Jet. The look on Shadow's face was almost heartbreaking, coming from him, but the simple fact that the pair were together again was enough to keep Sonic's smile firmly on his face.

That just left... Soren. By now, Sonic had a sneaking suspicion that he knew they truth about at least _part_ of this kid's life, and he had a feeling that Soren would need an extra push before he'd do anything he probably wanted to do - such as talk to Shadow. So Sonic gave him a literal nudge before turning and leaving the room with his wife in tow. Together, they went to the control room. Neither was particularly surprised to find Tails there, hard at work with something or another, but proper greetings would have to wait. Sonic needed intel. "Tails," he called as they entered the room, "what's been happening since we left? I need a run-down of everything."

Tails didn't even bother to look up. "I can only shorten my explanations so much, Sonic. It'll take a small while to catch you up to speed."

Unbothered by this, Sonic hopped into a chair. "We've got a bit of time right now, but can you at least tell me where everyone is? Have you guys found anyone?"

"Jet brought back Cream, Cheese, Charmy, and Lucas," Tails reported briskly. He seemed to be working out a lot of nervous energy on whatever device he was fiddling with. "Lucas is in the medical ward. Critical condition. Cream says he was basically dead when they found him. Not sure what happened." That was probably the reason for his nerves, then, especially since they had _just_ lost Bokkun so recently, but the fox didn't let his words linger on the subject. "We've no idea where Vector, Espio, or Rouge are, and there's no word on where Vanilla and Kanari are on Mobius or if they're okay." Sonic privately grimaced at how he'd chosen to find Storm over Cream's sweet mother... and how he had seen the ruins of her village with his own eyes before that mysterious figure had repair everything for some reason. "We can't find Locke, either, or Kimmy, Lia, and Wave."

"Amy and I found Wave and the girls," Sonic cut in to distract himself. "They're here. So is Ten."

A curt nod served as Tails's acknowledgement. "We're still missing Hannah, Marthal, and Keiri," he continued, "but your mom found the twins and made it back here safely with them. Tammy and Arthr are still around, though they've been off doing things since we arrived here. And Silver found Knuckles and Jason, so they're here, too." He cut Sonic a glance, eyes apologetic suddenly. "But no one knows where Silver is... or Blaze and your dad. Even Analia couldn't find them anywhere."

Fresh fear and worry stabbed at Sonic's heart, but for now that was something he had to push back. Swallowing hard past the lump in his throat, he murmured. "Okay. Now tell me everything else that's happened."

With a small nod, Tails launched in... while Sonic did everything in his power to focus on this instead of the countless _what-if's_ hanging over his head.

 **~台風の目~**

A flash signaled the unexpected arrival of two missing allies, and Analia (who had seen the flash through a window) was quick to head outside to greet them. Two cats, one orange with blue eyes as deep as the ocean and one white with eyes as grey as the clouds of a storm, stood before her. Each was a little worse for wear, but neither was truly harmed... and one was holding the dark blue Chaos Emerald he had once guarded from the beast Chaos so long ago. Seeing the question in her eyes, Marthal briefly explained, "Happened upon a sort of Nocturnian teleporter. Took a chance." He tossed the emerald to her. "Found this in a gorge. Lucky break, I guess."

Using her right hand, Analia smoothly caught the emerald. There was more to be said than what she did, but she could easily tell just how tired her old friend was, and not to mention how tired Keiri was as well. "It is fortunate that you both made it here and are safe," she murmured. "Now go inside and rest. I will take care of the emerald." Neither cat said anything more, just each gave her a nod and headed inside. Gazing deeply into the emerald for a moment, Analia took a moment to wonder what the chances were that this emerald should find itself in the same protective hands now as it had then... and what they would all have to go through to find its remaining kin.

 **~台風の目~**

Kaden hadn't asked her to let him sleep. Logically, Blaze new that. But looking back at him from her place in the pilot seat, she decided that she didn't have the heart to wake him. She didn't know exactly when he'd finally drifted off, only that he'd done so at least twenty minutes after watching over Locke for several long and stressful hours. His worry was palpable when he was awake, but for now he looked almost sort of peaceful in his seat near the unconscious echidna. It was good for him to relax once in a while. As even Analia said now and then, he was much too serious a lot of the time. However, he wasn't especially prone to worry over others, which made instances like this all the more worrisome for _others_. Now, he hadn't told her he was worried. He hadn't told her anything, really. She just knew. One of the perks of having been around him for so long, she supposed.

Several dry coughs drew her attention back to her teacher for a moment, and she watched as he frowned in his sleep and turned over onto his left side. Blaze frowned as well, concerned. She'd heard him coughing a bit earlier as well, before he'd actually fallen asleep. And he'd felt abnormally warm every time she'd been near him more or less since the moment she had found him in the snow seemingly so long ago. She'd chalked the heat up to his body just trying to compensate for the immense cold he had been forced to endure. He was, after all, a fire-user as she was. Their kind did not cope with snow, ice, water, or cold in general. She'd thought that was all this was about... but now she wasn't so sure. The coughing alone stirred her doubts. _He may be falling ill..._ She didn't want to think it, certainly had no substantial proof of it at this point, but what other explanation could there have been? _If he is falling ill, perhaps that would help explain in part why he has been so irritable. But it does not explain his sudden lapse in control over his Darkness._

The ship's radar beeped faintly, bringing her attention back to the matter that had prompter her to consider waking Kaden minutes before. Call it luck, call it good fortune, call it fate, call it whatever, but somehow Blaze had managed to steer them within range of the Blue Typhoon. It was just on the very edge of the ship's radar, almost not there yet undeniably _there_ nonetheless. She took another glance back. _If Locke is to survive this, we need to get there now... but it will take days at this pace. Already, there is a chance that he may have suffered permanent injury._ Eyes clouded with worry, Blaze set the ship on autopilot for a moment and stood from her seat. There was no reason to tread carefully given what she was about to do, so she made no effort to conceal her movements under a veil of silence. Once she reached the seats the men were occupying, she took a second to consider how best to wake Kaden. Touching was a _huge_ and definite "no-no". Speaking, for whatever reason, didn't always work. What other options where available to her?

Deciding there weren't really any and she had little time to dilly-dally like this, Blaze spoke up. "Kaden?" she called softly. There was no immediate response, as she'd expected. Kneeling a bit closer, she tried again. "Sensei." This time, he stirred, his sensitive ears now reacting to the sound of her voice. He was an unusually deep sleeper for one with such acute hearing, but thankfully he was no Silver when it came to rest. _That husband of mine can sleep through a train wreck... and has before._ "Sensei, we're near the Blue Typhoon, but not near enough to fly there in decent time. I need assistance."

Though undoubtedly still very tired (she _doubted_ he'd slept much since this start of this war), Kaden seemed to understand just fine what was being asked of him. Sitting up, he rubbed at his eyes as he always did when tired, then coughed unwillingly into the crook of his arm as he stood up. Believing he intended to check the radar, she moved out of his way and let him walk past her. Her attention turned back to Locke, whose head had been bound for now with an emergency blanket Kaden had torn into bandage-like strips. It had been all they'd had, and she feared that it was far from enough. But she didn't want Locke to do.

The man had been nothing but kind to her and her own since the day she had met him. He was full of cheer and good humor, always willing to a hand or smile, always carrying wisdom and advice, and not to mention always being ready, willing, and able to be the best friend as possible to anyone and everyone who afforded him the same kindness. She still remembered the open sympathy he had given her and Silver upon learning of their pasts and home timeline, the hand of friendship he had extended to them both, the warm smiles he had sent their way... The thought that it all might end because of this one wound was nearly too much to bear.

Apparently, Kaden decided that they were close enough to reach the Blue Typhoon, for he suddenly teleported his smaller ship in its entirety. This startled her out of her thoughts, and by the time she'd turned her head, they were already at their destination. Kaden then took the controls and carefully brought the ship in for a landing mere feet from the front end of the Typhoon and scarce centimeters to the side of a smaller ship Blaze didn't recognize. Kaden gave no indication of any lingering concern from earlier, but the haste with which he brought the ship down once he had it angled properly told her everything. He was still afraid... he just wasn't going to say so. Probably ever.

Standing, Blaze quickly went to the door and opened it. Just as she did so, Tails's head became visible as it poked out of the Typhoon's own door with a look of surprise. It disappeared back inside, possibly so that he could call out to others, and then Amy came jogging out. Analia soon emerged as well, accompanied by Marthal and Sonic. She heard it as Kaden disguised a cough (quite well, actually) as him just clearing his throat, then moved to retrieve Locke. Wasting not a second more, she went to aid him. Together, they soon had the echidna out of the ship and in the capable and worried hands of Amy and Analia. They were capable healers and Blaze had not a doubt that they would be able to help, but just in case Marthal tagged along with them. He was no healer, but he hadn't trained as a medic for so many years of his youth for nothing.

It came as no surprise that both Sonic and Kaden were quick to follow the procession inside the Blue Typhoon. After closing up Kaden's ship, Blaze hastened after them as well. If nothing else, she knew that her friends (family, really) would need the support - even if one of them would never admit to it and neither would ask for it. Jogging down familiar corridors, she soon found the men lingering in the hall just outside of the medical ward. Sonic's ears were low and he sat slumped in a chair someone had at some point dragged out of a sitting room and left lying about. Kaden, meanwhile, was leaning back against a wall somewhat near to his son, expression serious as ever. Nothing, save for his continued presence, betrayed his fear and concern. If not for feelings such as those, he likely would have wandered off by now, as he was prone to do. But he didn't, and she knew he was afraid. Hoping to to comfort them both as much as she could by just _being_ there, Blaze seated herself on the floor between them... and like them, waited.

Minutes later, a certain sleepy kitten wandered down the hall, rubbing at amber eyes all the while. "Gampa?" she mumbled, drawing all eyes to her. Blaze felt her heart _leap_. "I-" Kimmy cut herself off when she suddenly saw Kaden. Apparently, that was utterly confusing. This all was for Blaze, too, in a way. She'd had no idea her daughter had been found. "Papa?" Only after saying this dd she finally seem to notice Blaze, who had practically jumped to her feet by this point. Those young eyes now glistened dangerously with tears. "M- _Mommy_!" she wailed, lunging forward into her mother's arms. Suddenly, Blaze didn't care about anything else... She had her baby back, and for now that was enough.

 **~台風の目~**

When word finally came that his forces were fully gathered, Jet couldn't quite shake the sense of relief that washed over him. Standing alone in the control room of the Blue Typhoon, he read and then re-read the message he'd just received, as though to confirm to himself that it was real, then released a small sigh. His armies were gathered. Every able-bodied soldier was ready to be deployed. The next step, then, was to decide how best to utilize them, how many troops to send where, and so on and so forth. ...And... he needed to contact his allies again. Truly, he'd always hated asking for help, but there were times where even had had to acknowledge that it was just plain necessary. Silently, he shifted his weight a bit as he continued to lean forward against a a sort of guard rail in front of the huge windows in this room. As he did so, he pulled up a contact he'd had in his communicator for nearly the entirety of his rule as the king of Babylon. Not wasting any time, he called the person in question, because out of all of his allies this one was the most likely to be ready, willing, and able to lend assistance.

Immediately, the call went through and a stern voice answered in thick accent. _"What is it?"_

The da Asani, one of the first four races to have come into existence (having been created alongside the Babylonians and two others by the first four Immortals), were known for being calm and yet overall kind. The fact that this person (few da Asani had truly definable genders) was being so serious and had such a deep frown was telling - even to someone like Jet who could barely read expressions and tones of voice. But, ultimately, these people being so serious was good for him. It meant that they recognized this threat for what it was... and might not need much convincing to lend their aid. "I believe you already know the answer to that," Jet murmured, eyes on the other king (as they were referred to despite lack of gender) through the video call.

It seemed as though the other king ground their teeth for a moment. _"Yes... I do,"_ was the begrudging admission. _"We have been watching your forces gather for some days. You are serious about facing this threat so directly?"_

"Yes." Jet shifted again. "Kaja, I know your people hate war. Believe you me, my people have learned to hate it as well. But this one must be fought unless we want to watch our realm burn into nothing."

Again, Kaja's teeth seemed to grind together. _"It would shame the Faein to allow such a thing to happen,_ _"_ they stated slowly.

In Jet's opinion, it was debatable whether or not the Faein (the first four Immortals) would feel _shame_ for anyone over such a thing, but he didn't argue the point. It was a waste of time and words. A small, "Perhaps," was all he conceded in the end before continuing. "But, regardless, the Faein are not _here_ any longer. Myself and the other Immortals alive now, we're prepared to do what we can, but we are not them and never have been. We can do so little compared to them." _Especially me... since I have been trained so little._

Kaja nodded very slowly, acknowledging this truth. _"And your people need time yet still to recover from the suffering your enemies, the Syxans, put them through."_ Now it was Jet's turn to give a slow, solemn nod. Kaja heaved a heavy sigh just then and admitted, _"I have been gathering my own troops in preparation for this call."_ Jet blinked, mildly surprised. _"I had hoped it would not come, that you would not need help from us... but you have my staff. We will aid you in every way we can."_ The subsequent relief was nearly enough to drown in for a moment, but Jet quelled it - at least for now. _"Have you contacted other allies?"_

Biting back a sigh of his own now, Jet shook his head. "No. I've not yet had the chance to."

 _"Contact the Gardenians,"_ Kaja suddenly instructed. _"The plant people, such as that small female friend of yours. The one you convinced to ally her planet with my own."_

This earned another blink from Jet. _Cosmo...?_ It hadn't even occurred to him until just then to call upon her and the remnants of her race... but there was merit to the idea. Gardenians were among the most peace-loving aliens he'd ever encountered, but their strength and magical acuity was nothing to laugh at. They were truly formidable in their own right and, in a war against magic users such as the Nocturnians, the more magic users he could gather to fight on his side the better. On that note, he told Kaja, "I will."

Apparently satisfied, Kaja moved on. _"And the allies you are already with, they are Mobians, yes?"_

Jet gave that some consideration, then answered. "...Mostly. Some are Mobian-born, but not Mobian." Kaja seemed to want better explanation than that, so Jet relented and explained. "There are five Tokarians, and two half-Tokarians, here."

 _"Tokarians?"_ Kaja questioned with a small frown. _"The race of space hedgehogs?"_

"The ones created by Zenith and Eona, yes," Jet nodded. It felt sort of strange to suddenly be talking about Kaden and Analia's earliest ancestors (Zenith being Kadens), who had _so_ long ago used Darkness and Light respectively to create their own race, but it wasn't for nothing that he'd been taught this bit of history. "And there are echidnas here as well." Few from Mobius knew it, but echidnas weren't actually _from_ Mobius. As of yet, even Jet had no idea where they _did_ come from, but that was beside the point.

 _"I see,"_ Kaja murmured. It seemed as though the other king was trying to get a better idea of the amount of strength and ability these combined forces were already working with. _"Are any of them of particular note?"_

"Yes. Two of the Tokarians in particular... one is the descendant of Zenith, the other of Eona. They are the two most powerful living incarnations of Darkness and Light since Zenith and Eona themselves lived. Their two youngest children show incredible promise as well."

 _"And the other three Tokarians?"_

"One, the eldest child of the first two, is an incarnation of Chaos." This revelation, understandably, rendered Kaja speechless. Excluding Sonic, there had only ever been _two_ such incarnations since the time of the Faein. It was a bold proclamation, one he took no time to explain. "His half-brother was... created through unethical means and inherited Darkness, though he seems to have no ready access to it. The last one, the son of the eldest child, did inherit both Light and Darkness, but he has _far_ more Light. All are powerful and not to be trifled with."

 _"I see. And the echidnas?"_

"I know little about them, overall," Jet was forced to admit with a small shrug. "It's obvious to any that their physical strength is immense, but... the older one, the father... seems to have hidden much. Possibly with good reason. I have not questioned him about it."

This last note may or may not have gone over well with Kaja, but no comment was made on it. Instead, Kaja asked, _"And what of the other Mobians? The true Mobians."_

"They are a formidable lot, as well," Jet murmured, his mind running over all the names and abilities. Not even a second later, he gave Kaja the run-down that had been asked for without terribly direct statement. "With us are a fox, a bunny, a chao, a bee, a crocodile, a chameleon, a bat, a Mobian hedgehog, and three cats. The fox is a technical and tactical genius with dangerous, but controlled, powers. The bunny is a psychic and a clairvoyant who boasts immense power despite her age. The Chao is young yet but already sports some of the powerful magic boasted by his kind. The bee is young and cannot fight much, but he is abnormally swift in the air and almost certainly has some degree of poison he can utilize as a power. The crocodile has no powers besides strength, but it is enough to allow him to punch or bite through steel. The chameleon is a ninja, a member of the group from Hyale that you and I discussed once. The extent of his abilities is not yet known to even him, it seems, but his speed and stealth are immense, as is his ability of 'backward' clairvoyance. The bat is incredibly fast and stealthy and has kicks that can match an echidna's punch. The hedgehog has enough brute strength to wield a Piko Piko Hammer with ease, and that is nowhere near the limit of her strength. She's also a psychic. The first cat is a fire-user who also has shadows gifted to her from Zenith's descendant. The second cat is fast, acrobatic, and has some degree of magical ability. The last one is mostly deaf, but has a nose better than even that of a dragon's. He also boasts incredible speed and fire power and... _may_ be a Mobian yokai."

Onscreen, Kaja slowly shook their (his?) head. _"My, you certainly do have quite the force with you already then, don't you?"_

"It will never be enough on its own," Jet solemnly declared. "It was never destined to be."

 _"I'd thought you lacked belief in fate."_

"I do. And that isn't the point."

 _"I am aware."_ There was a small moment of silence. _"My forces will begin heading toward the Observatory tonight. Other will aid your efforts to defend Mobius. They should arrive in hours."_

 _Which... put their arrival at Mobius at... about the same time as my troops will reach the world. ...Fine, then._ Giving a nod, Jet said one final thing. "If you find any Nocturnian ships on the way... destroy them. They are attempting to spread as far as they can in as little time as possible."

The nod Kaja gave was grim. _"Understood."_ With little more warning than that, the call was ended.

Unconcerned by this, Jet opened up a different app on his communicator and sent a message to Cosmo in silence. It simply read, _"Call me when you get this."_ After sending that message and turning off his screen, he began sending out new ones. These contained orders, directions for his troops. A rather large portion of them was sent off straight to Mobius, where he knew their strength was required. They would help drive back the Nocturnians, maybe even push them off the planet if possible. Further troops were then directed back to New Babylon and the Babylonian colonies (on their solar's system's other terrestrial planets and all the moons in the system) to make sure his own citizens were defended. Yet more troops were directed to patrol in space around all these defended areas in both solar systems, so as to further protect them. As for the rest of the troops, of which there were _many_... well, they were directed to stay with him. He knew they would be sorely needed.

After all of this, Jet had just started to again debate other things in his head when a source of distraction came in. A vague glance behind him confirmed the identity of the person whose aura he had already sensed. _Wave._ It seemed at first as though she would pass right on through the room without saying a word to him (he couldn't quite decide whether or not he'd prefer it that way), but in the end she paused where she was before slowly turning and walking over to him. He gazed dutifully ahead, refusing to acknowledge the awkwardness and refusing to be the one to speak first... mostly because he'd never much enjoyed conversation, let alone having to initiate it. So he waited patiently for her to speak first, wondered if she even would, and allowed his thoughts to wander a tad. But then she _did_ speak, and her words almost startled him for a reason he couldn't explain.

"I'm sorry about Lucas."

A pang in his chest threatened to crack his mask, but he did what he could to conceal it. Words ultimately failing him, all he managed to say was a soft, "Don't be." It wasn't her fault, after all, and he saw no reason for _her_ to be sorry... though he certainly was for many reasons, chief of all being failure. Failure to find, failure to protect, failure to adequately tend to, failure to _save_... His firstborn child was in critical condition now, and it took everything he had not to spend his every waking moment beside that bed instead of doing the things he _knew_ he needed to do in order to prevent this from ever happening again to any other child. It _hurt_. All of it. But he couldn't show that, least of all to Wave. He didn't want to, anyway. What he wanted was... what? Solitude? Maybe, but he wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe it was just peace.

Her felt more than saw her turn her head to look at him... possibly figuring out everything he wasn't saying, just because she was Wave and always seemed to be able to do that. "You know you can trust us... right? We're here for you to talk to and whatever else, but we can't help if you don't let us." This first line struck a cord with Jet, reminding him quite suddenly of something she had once asked him... _"Do... you not trust me?"_ She had been asking it in regards to others things, true, but she _had_ asked it once before. It had been the damn guilt-trip at it's finest then, and was even now. It was sort of surprising that her words provoked a pang of guilt in him, but he somehow doubted he'd have time to sift through his own emotions and determine the root cause of it right now. If he took too long to spoke, she might take it the wrong way, and that was something he knew he did not want.

A sigh escaped him unbidden and his eyes closed as he felt his head dip down toward his arms while he continued to lean on the rails. "...It... isn't that," he finally admitted to her.

Apparently she wasn't prepared to accept vague responses tonight. "What is it, then?" she pressed, though not harshly.

Jet was thankful for the latter fact, since after Ross and Jade he'd found that harshness directed toward him always hurt more than it should have. But, the problem was, he didn't know what answer to give her. He had no idea what to say in response. All he could think of suddenly was war and death and darkness and suffering and loss and he just needed these memories to _stop_. His teeth gritted slightly. _That's enough,_ he mentally chided himself. _Calm down. She didn't even do anything to warrant this shit... _Taking a small breath, he finally forced himself to speak, though his words came out more angrily than intended. He'd meant to give a calm reply... not this. "I don't _know_ , okay?" His teeth gritted harder for a moment before he forced his jaw to relax. "Just stop _asking_ ," he then muttered, now able to feel himself visibly frowning.

Once more, he could feel Wave's eyes on him. Watching. Reading. Possibly understanding. Their dialogue up until this point, the first face-to-face conversation they'd had since the start of this war, had been stiff, brief, to the point, and contained elements of awkwardness throughout. It was nothing like the conversations that they had used to have. Those had always been casual, easy, free-flowing, and sometimes even lighthearted. Now, however, there was a deep-set tension between them that he was all-too aware of, a burnt bridge spanning a chasm that both stood on opposite sides of. And, as things stood right now, he wasn't sure if either of them had any desire to repair that bridge and reclaim their middle ground... their peace with each other... their _happiness_. But... leave it to someone like Wave to prove him wrong. "Okay," she murmured, head turning to contemplate the stars he himself had been studying for so long earlier. There was silence for a short while and then she continued. "But, Jet... regardless of the reasons why... I still want you to try to trust us again." Those eyes were on him once again. "I'd like to have my friend back, you know."

With that, she turned and finally walked out of the room... leaving him in the solitude he so often claimed to prefer.

 **~台風の目~**

It was late, or at least later than it had been, and Blaze was holding her small daughter as she walked into hers and Silver's room. She had tried both calling and tracking Silver, but had found that she couldn't. Her fear had reduced her to tears, a rare thing for her, and she took pains to keep quiet as she made her way across the room. Sniffling silently, Blaze turned and sat on the end of hers and Silver's bed, being careful not to disturb her sleeping daughter too much. It took all of her effort not to make a sound even as sobs threatened to wrack her slim frame. Mere seconds later, however, she was distracted from her tears by her communicator's vibration. Looking down at the device, she saw an incoming video call from an unknown source. _Not another communicator… from what, then…?_ Her hesitation lasted for nearly too long, despite knowing that answering would do no harm since only other communicators could find her location and whatnot, but somehow she managed to answer the call before it dropped.

 _"I don't know how long I have for this, so I'm gonna make it quick, okay?"_ A white cat appeared on the screen, holding a very familiar blue hawk child in one arm as she flew through space. It was Hannah, and the poor child looked so traumatized that her eyes weren't even able to focus as she looked down at... probably nothing. _"I'm heading in the direction of New Babylon and bringing a child to the Watcher's Observatory, but we're being hunted. I'm heading there because it very well might be the safest place with the gathering of the Babylonians. Before you ask, I got this information by watching scans that the Nocturnians were making on the area."_

"But how did you know to call _me_?" Blaze questioned, her suspicion not allayed by the preemptive explanations that this stranger had given her.

 _"Really, I wasn't calling anyone in particular. I sent in the call to that general area. I just needed someone to answer." _Blaze gave a slow nod, unsure what to say, and waited for the person to continue. _"If you can send some sort of aid, that would be very appreciated because we're being hunted by both Therians and Nocturnians."_ Almost as if on cue, a sword appeared on screen that went through the white cat's hood. This made Hannah yelp with fright. _"One moment."_ The cat spun and kicked the enemy away, then flew faster. _"Also, the kid is perfectly fine… physically."_

Blaze could see that well enough, though it did little to alleviate her concerns. _She is traumatized…_ "What happened to her?" she demanded, though quietly so as to not wake Kimmy.

 _"I do not know… and I do not wish to pry on such a sensitive subject…"_ The cat's voice carried a tone of sadness, before seeming to pull out of her thoughts. _"I am only concerned with returning her safely. It is not my business."_

After a long moment of pondering this, Blaze posed a new question. "Then answer me this. How did you even know where to find her?"

 _"The aforementioned scans that the Nocturnians had also included this young girl. They were holding her on a planet called Therius. From there, I had to make my way to her."_ Blaze gave another slow, vaguely uncertain nod. _"Sorry if my answers are unsatisfactory. I am focusing on more things at one time than I should, and they won't leave me alone!"_ The cat turned and wrenched a wicked weapon out of the hands of a Therian, then flew off with a sudden burst of speed. _"Also, your child is absolutely adorable."_ Then all of a sudden, the call was dropped.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Blaze hung up her end of the call, turned her screen off, and twisted around to gently lay Kimmy down in the bed. The kitten had finally loosened her grip enough in her sleep for Blaze to pull away, and Blaze busied herself for a second with tucking the child in. Kimmy's face was so peaceful and innocent… much how Silver's always was when he rested. That thought brought on a fresh wave of tears, and Blaze hurried herself out of the room after shutting the light off. Once the door was shut and she was certain she was alone in the hall, she allowed herself to slide down to the floor with her back against the wall. Her hands covered her mouth to stifle her voice as she finally gave in and just cried.

 **~台風の目~**

Cream turned over in her bed, still plagued by more visions that further defined the potential futures of the reality she called home. The vision that currently gripped her young mind was again about the book she'd seen before, and all she could do as the vision unfolded before her.

 _The book was resting where Jet had left it the last time, but this time it was already open for reasons unknown to her. The page it had been open to had a lot of writing on it, as did the next. As the images came into focus, she began to read the words on the page. They had been written by the same hand as the last excerpts had been. She was almost certain that those past entries had been written about Jet... so this almost certainly had been as well. The first line read:_

 _"An excerpt penned by the hand of Guardian-6, transcribed to this page for the sake of memory."_

 _After that, everything written was one long quote from some other source, possibly a journal... and almost certainly one belonging to the King of Babylon._

 _"'Truth is lost in the vastness of this sea of lies. It watches as it destroys us, hungry for our pain. In Dark waters its fangs are bared, ready to devour, seeking to consume all Truth and all Lie and, in essence, everything._

 _Truth and Lie._

 _Where does one end and the other begin?_

 _Understanding is… dangerous._

 _No one speaks of it. No one tells the tales of the day the shepherd's staff became the shepherd's sword, the shepherd's gun, the physical manifestation of the shepherd's will to live. It is never discussed anymore why we bear the marks we wear so proudly, these honored gifts once given solely to those who stood as pillars of Hope and Light against the devastation of the Night. As our many ages of prosperity and Truth came screeching to a halt, we stood defiant against the coming end. We were the first line of defense… and in many ways the last. But no one speaks of those things. No one speaks of the Truth… or of the Lies the Night brought._

 _What I wish to convey is… understanding. Benign comprehension. Logic without judgement._

 _The stories people tell these days… They sing tales of Light and of Darkness, Yin and Yang, Good and Evil, Purity and Corruption. But something, something out there has transcended such unimaginative limitations and rules. It's far easier to believe in the madness of normality than it is in this, but… I cannot deny the things I sense, the whispers I continue to hear day after day, night after night. Truth is something I have long sought to reclaim, ever since the Night swallowed us whole, but something always hinders me._

 _Secrets._

 _Creation is, in many ways, built upon secrets and the encryptions that keep those secrets safe._

 _They say truth is where we seek it, but what are we meant to do when all we seek is hidden by secrets we alone cannot uncover?_

 _The whispers once took enough form to resemble a genuine voice within the confines of my mind, a voice which seemed to say, 'Burn the world. Burn all words. Burn them all away until they cease to be.' It is a Lie, one I have been presented with before. The Lie of power in exchange for Death… I will not fall into such treachery. It asks then, it always asks, 'What is your answer, then, when the only True answer is extinction?'_

 _'From the space between realms is where I come,' it tells me. 'Fragments of stars and realities burn in my footsteps and shine in my path. In my hands I hold the Truth of Life and Death, the Truth to all that you seek.'_

 _This power, whatever it may grow to be, is but a spark now, it is true. But I often have to remind myself that sparks are just as capable of giving Life as they are of utterly taking it. In response, it tries to convince me that sometimes the only answer to it all is to burn everything away… to start anew. I suppose it is fitting, then, that we have weaponized the once-unknown. If this force continues as it is now, I will have burn it away until there is nothing left, lest it do the same to us all. Until that day, the Lies are destined to continue. The Secrets will forever remain in my way. The Truth I seek will lie buried someplace where I cannot reach it._

 _Few speak of the Night that once tortured us. They refuse to remember, to understand that there are yet more shadows, always more shadows, rising from the Darkness and hungering for all our hope and all our Light._

 _My own Light flickers, at times. It grows weak._

 _I seek to understand, to know without bias and without opinion. To simply know and be, and this forces me to study. To learn. I study this essence, whatever it may be, and I know it does the same. It will learn little from me… and I little from it. We are trapped, in a way, each seeking what we cannot attain, each striving for what may be impossible so long as we remain as we are. But that does not mean that there is no… connection. I have learned some things from it, things I never had any desire to know._

 _From this essence, I know pain._

 _It is nothing like I had ever believed it to be before._

 _It is ice, and it is fire. It is the Light of a thousand burning suns and the Darkness of a million dying worlds. It is everything and nothing, yet still something. It is Truth and Lie and Secret all at once, and yet none at all. It is unfathomable agony, yet it is unattainable bliss. It is nothing… and everything._

 _I feel I drive myself to the edge of madness, rambling hopelessly while trying to explain what cannot be put into words, to explain what I simply know._

 _In reality, its simplicity is staggering. The simplicity, that is, of Truth and Lie._

 _New voices often reach out and seek to challenge the new energy and its will, saying to me, 'Before you lie two paths. There is the worship of Death, the world-killing way where you live as Death and Devastation. There is the Sky, our Light, in which we build new life against the onset of ruin, striving toward a gentler future. You have walked with us this far. Do not abandon us.'_

 _This new essence, these voices, they whisper unto me, 'Let us speak of the terrible beauty of becoming ourselves. We are the gaze and the glory of Light and Darkness together, the cunning and the knowledge, the triumph and the brawn… we are everything they are and can be, and yet we are beyond them utterly. Love and the desire to kill... the Truth you seek says that they are one and the same. You may not believe these words yet, but the rest of what we have told you over all these years… why do you ignore them so?_

 _You deny Truth until it becomes Lie.'_

 _And there it was. The moment of understanding. The time when I finally knew where one ended and the other began. But understanding always seems to breed new questions, and now I am forced to ponder the morality of this all… and, above all, whose Truths to believe. In years long past, the answer may have seemed so obvious as to be a pillar of Light in the center of Zyr, but now… Now I know not what I believe, let alone what I should believe._

 _I am lost… and this time I do not think I will be able to find my way alone.'_

 _-Guardian-6"_

 **~台風の目~**

 **10,183 words this time. I am so sorry that this is late... again... But I hope you all enjoyed. As always, much thanks to Blazing Winds for his assistance in the Astra scene. Um... I don't have much else to say here, beyond a reminder that Faein is pronounced as "Fae-in" (like it's spelled) and da Asani is pronounced as "dah Uh-sah-nee". Oh, and Kaja is pronounced as "Kah-jah" (soft "j").**

 **Oh, and for those of you who've played the game, yes, I absolutely included Sonic Forces weapons into this chapter. Because why the hell not? Oh, and a couple lines from Sonic's little speech were inspired heavily by the ending song, "The Light of Hope". Beautiful piece. And yes, that's also where I got the title from.**

 **I think that's it. 'Til next time. Posted (at about 10:21 a.m.) 11-14-17.**


	71. Good and Broken

**Hello, Blazing Winds! Haha, yes, you know too much. XD Anyway, glad you enjoyed it!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Good and Broken"**

 **~台風の目~**

The hall was dimly lit and everything was quiet, for the most part. Kaden had been standing for several long hours in the same space he had been occupying ever since Analia and Amy had taken Locke away. Emotions that he didn't know how to cope with (and there were so many that fell under that category) plagued him ruthlessly. Guilt he couldn't explain, anxiety he couldn't shake, fear he couldn't escape, shame he couldn't justify, misery he couldn't quite hide... The myriad of feelings was stressful enough by itself, especially since he had no outlet for them and certainly couldn't _tell_ people about them (purely because he'd just never been able to do so and had always struggled immensely to _try_ ). But couple that with the fact that his senses were starting to bother him, and he realized he was facing a growing problem he couldn't adequately handle.

As was the case with many people with autism, he was hypersensitive to his surroundings. Every one of his senses was easily overloaded, causing him no end of stress and pain and at times even fear. It was the senses of sight, smell, and touch that bothered him most, though, and so it just figured that those were the sources of his added stress. The wall was too cold for him to bear any longer, despite not _really_ being that cold. Dim though it was, the hall lights were really starting to hurt his eyes (which could be blamed, in part, purely on the fact that he was a Creature of Darkness first and a mostly-mortal Tokarian second). Every sound in the ship, no matter how distant and faint, reached his ears, grabbing their attention and contributing to the headache he'd already had this whole time. That pain was another source of stress, actually, because once again it wasn't like he was able to easily (or at all able to) voice the source of his distress to anyone else. He really, truly, did not know what to do or how to cope with all of this, let alone how to get his mind off of Locke's condition right now. None of the coping skills he'd been taught in the past, or at least the few he could think of in this moment, were viable options, mostly because they would require him to leave this spot and, thus, not be here when word finally came back of how his best friend was doing. That was something he refused to do, so what _could_ he do, then?

It was then that he suddenly took notice of a sharp pain in his bottom lip and the taste of blood on his tongue. The pain caught his attention more, though, and it forced him to quickly realize what he'd apparently been subconsciously doing while lost in all of his negative thoughts. And, apparently, Sonic noticed, too. "Dad, you're biting your lip again," the younger hedgehog murmured from his seat a few feet away.

It wasn't so much that Kaden had done this more than once tonight, because he hadn't, but instead that Kaden had exhibited this behavior before in other situations. Sonic knew that, partly from seeing it and partly from his mother telling him about it. From what he recalled, Analia had explained that the reason why Kaden was prone to biting his lip (and his fingers, and his hands) was because of something she'd called _oral fixation_. Sonic didn't know all the details of it at this point, just that it was tied to the autism and led to a near-constant desire for oral stimulation. Which, in turn, led to biting, teeth grinding, chewing, and so on. Normally, his dad had pretty ready access to special things like chewable necklaces and the like that were meant for those like him, but in situations like this where he didn't have one on-hand... well, he tended to hurt himself. Sometimes deliberately, because it was just easier than tracking down something it was actually _okay_ for him to bite. It was a reminder to Sonic of how serious Kaden's disorder really _was_ in some areas, despite how well Kaden was able to "act" mostly normal in many situations.

 _And it really is severe, too..._ Sonic reminded himself, partly just to get his mind off of Locke for a moment. _I mean... if not for intervention from his teacher when he was a kid, he'd still be nonverbal to this day. As it was, he almost didn't start talking regardless, and by the time he finally did he was, like, nine I think mom said. Maybe eight. And he struggles with coping skills for just about anything... he especially can't cope with negative sensory feedback, which he gets all the time. And then there's the fact that he can't really self-regulate his emotions, nor his verbal and physical responses to them, as the biting proves... Though he can usually hide that a bit better than he is right now. _On that note, he glanced to his father again to make sure that he'd stopped biting himself. He looked over just in time to see Kaden finally release his lip from between his teeth. Thankfully, he hadn't hurt himself too badly this time. Just pricked his skin with his fangs a bit. _The self-injurious behaviors, I think Mom called them "SIB's", are constant, too... He hurts himself pretty regularly. Then there are the problems with communication, self-expression, and self-care... Especially the latter, since it's a fight to get him to eat or sleep and so on half the time. But the others are real issues, too. He struggles to talk in general, most of the time, unfortunately... _Internally, he sighed. _The list just goes on and on, doesn't it?_ As far as distractions went, he admitted this wasn't the best one out there. So he decided to try something else, especially because his dad probably needed distraction way more than he himself did.

Sonic's voice succeeded in startling Kaden back out of his thoughts almost as soon as he drifted back into them. "Dad?" Kaden cut his son a glance silently, never looking at Sonic's eyes and not maintaining visual contact for more than a second or two. He said nothing but, thankfully, Sonic didn't need words to prompt him to continue. "You had a sensei once, right?" While he was fairly certain Sonic already knew the answer to that, this was a pretty welcome distraction from everything else right now, so Kaden nodded once. "Do you remember his name?"

 _As if I would be capable of forgetting..._ Blinking down at the floor, Kaden gave a small reply that unintentionally came out as a mumble. "Saran."

This seemed to sharpen Sonic's interest. "Wait, you're sure?" Another nod. "...Mom says that was the name of her great-grandfather."

 _I know that,_ Kaden internally responded, though he made no effort to speak.

"She said his fur and eyes were colored white, despite him being a purebred _blue_ hedgehog like she is."

 _Yes. Because of his Light._

"Are we talking about the same guy?"

"Saran the White," Kaden managed to say after a small moment of silence.

Now it was Sonic's turn to be silent for a moment before speaking. "So... yes, then." More silence followed. Kaden couldn't quite decide if he preferred the peace it helped to give his ears... or the distraction that the mostly one-way conversation had been succeeding in providing him. It seemed Sonic himself preferred the latter. The younger hedgehog let out a sigh. "I kind of wish I could have met the guy," he admitted. "The things I've heard about him... They make it sound like he was one of the greatest people Mobius has ever seen. ...Well, he and his life-partner. Mom says that his partner was just as amazing, if not more so."

 _She was,_ Kaden privately confirmed. He knew that firsthand, since it had been that same partner, Neferti, who had taken him in as a distraught child the day he had learned that his sensei (whom had practically been his father at the time) had just sacrificed himself to end a magical war in a distant land. He remembered crying _lot_ that day... and in the months following. But... he also remembered still feeling both cared for and cared _about_ , despite no longer having Saran. It was a feeling he'd never forgotten, and he knew he would never be able to express what Neferti and her actions and words had grown to mean to him throughout his life. He missed her, too. He really, _really_ missed her. Saran, too. But there was no getting either of them back. Sure, revival through the Master Emerald was technically possible, but... he held out no hope that it would ever bring them back. Maybe it would be for the best if it didn't. That didn't stop it all from hurting, though.

"Maybe... maybe sometime we can go to the Master Emerald's interior," Sonic suggested slowly, breaking into Kaden's thoughts yet again. "We can try to find them there. So you can visit." Kaden glanced over just long enough to see Sonic give a tired smile. "I get the feeling that that would do you some good."

That last point was debatable, Kaden decided, but there was no denying the fact that he could never honestly say that he _didn't_ want to see the elderly couple. He wasn't used to _missing_ people, as throughout his whole life he'd just been _indifferent_ toward most everyone he'd ever met, but he really did miss _them_. Just like he knew he'd miss Locke if and when he ever lost the echidna, too. But that thought hurt worse than thinking about those who already _had_ been lost, so he strove to banish it and instead focus on replying. He didn't manage to say anything out loud but, as far as he was aware, Sonic seemed to understand his thoughts on the matter regardless. He was thankful for it.

Analia chose that moment to finally step out into the hall, and Kaden and Sonic both straightened expectantly. She walked to Sonic first... and Kaden wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Anxiety tied his stomach up into knots so severely that it actually made him physically queasy. The headache certainly wasn't helping things. He watched as, back to him, Analia apparently communicated something to their son. She must have merely mouthed her words, though, for even he heard nothing. His eyes followed Sonic as the younger hedgehog all but sprang from his chair and jogged into the medical ward. Kaden wanted to follow... but part of him was much too afraid to. He'd seen Locke near death and soaked in his own blood more than once already today. Honestly, he didn't think he could tolerate seeing that again, assuming his friend's condition remained unchanged. The horrible, painfully fearful feeling in his stomach seemed to scream at him that that was the case, no matter how badly he wished for it not to be true.

Once Sonic was out of sight, though almost certainly not earshot, Analia finally approached Kaden. She surprised him by pulling him into a hug without warning and gently tugging him into one chair while she sat in the one next to it. Normally, the sudden touch and movement would have stressed him our further, but honestly... he'd really needed a hug from her. It helped him feel better just a bit, especially since she tended to give him such tight (yet not painful) hugs. The pressure felt good and helped release some of the anxiety from his body for the time being. Though he wasn't quite able to relax, he still hugged her back as much as he was comfortable doing, put his chin on her shoulder, and focused for just a moment on trying take comfort from her presence. It didn't help as much as he would have liked, but it at least it was something.

Slim fingers combed through the ends of his hair for a few seconds. He'd chosen to leave his hair down again today, as had been growing to be his custom over the last century for the first time since the ancient days of Mobius. The ring he normally used to pull his hair back sat on his nightstand in their room, undisturbed. It was an odd detail to remember, but it came to him nonetheless just as Analia finally started to speak. Her voice was soft and used a tone that he had learned over the course of the last decade was gentility. None of this helped to ease the lump in his throat or the knot in his stomach. "Locke will live," she told him quietly. He felt a shift in his own emotions that he couldn't even describe to himself, and suddenly he was clutching the back of her shirt with his fingers and squeezing his eyes shut. "He remains unconscious, but he is stable," Analia continued, now using her hands to carefully apply pressure to his shoulders in an effort to calm him. He realized it helped, but not enough.

Somehow, Kaden managed to choke out a one-word reply around that lump in his throat. "Alive?" he questioned her, needing to hear it again.

"Yes," Analia confirmed gently, "he is alive, and he will remain so." It was the only particularly _good_ news that she could share with him right now, and for now she knew that it was the _only_ news she could give him. Though she hated to hide things from him, even for very short periods, she knew that her partner was not at all going to be able to cope with the _bad_ news right now. His emotions were all over the place right now as it was. He was distraught, he was relieved, he was suffering from lingering fear and the trauma of seeing such a good friend in such a state, yet his spirit was also lifted by a twinge of joy that Locke would live... In this moment, it was overwhelming him and they both knew it. Later, when he wasn't so overloaded, she could slowly ease into telling him the bad news she had... but for now her focus was solely on helping him slowly calm back down. He couldn't self-regulate much, but with help he would be able to relax in due time. Crying a bit would likely help him feel better, and she honestly thought for a few minutes that he _would_ , but in the end he did not. Perhaps he just wasn't ready to but, either way, at least he wasn't spiraling into a meltdown right now. Past emotional crisis had certainly put him into such a position before... She hoped it would be avoidable this time, though. _The sooner he is able to calm down, the sooner I will able to explain the rest to him, and thus the sooner he will be able to see Locke..._ Knowing that that latter point was what Kaden really needed right now, too see Locke alive with his own eyes, she refocused all of her attentions on him. The sooner he was calm, the better.

Meanwhile, in the medical ward, Sonic was met by a scene that made his stomach churn. Locke was laying mostly motionless in a sterile hospital bed in the middle of the room, just two or three beds away from Lucas (whom Sonic had just learned about maybe an hour before). The bed beside his old friend was soaked in blood, clearly indicating that that was where he _had_ been laying while Sonic's wife and mother had done what they could to save his life. He had no idea where Marthal, who had come in to help earlier, had disappeared to, but the strangely feral-seeming cat was no longer around by this point. It was just Sonic, Amy, and her two patients. Neither looked anywhere near " _good_ " right now. Both were hooked up to all manner of machines, to start with, which certainly could be anxiety-inducing on its own. Lucas was covered in bandages practically from head to toe, whereas Locke had thick bandages mostly around his head (though there were some elsewhere as well). Both seemed pale under the cover of their feathers and fur, respectively, and both were unconscious. Neither moved, save to breathe. The fear Sonic felt was stifling and it clouded his eyes as he glanced to Amy. Ears lowered, he watched as Amy tossed him a worried look of her own... then continued to just deal with the bloody bed in silence. It seemed to Sonic that she could honestly use some sort of a distraction... a vacation from this whole war and everything related to it.

But, then, he supposed they all could.

 **~台風の目~**

There was no real way for either Lia or Soren to tell what time it was as they rested in a sitting room with Shadow. The older hedgehog was (probably unintentionally) dozing in an armchair nearby while the two younger hedgehogs occupied a couch together. Soren had been trying to find an excuse to get away from the pair and resume avoiding Shadow at all costs... but Lia had proven herself to be as stubborn as anyone else in her family. She was quite crafty, too, always finding _some_ way to wrangle back into some activity or discussion or whatever every time he tried to leave. The whole time he had been here, despite being mostly focused on Lia, he'd been hyper-aware of Shadow's eyes lingering on him. On his eyes. On the streaks of red in his hair. On the white patch of fur on his chest. The vibe he got from the older hedgehog was not exactly suspicion... he was hard-pressed to say what it actually _was_ , though. It had been making him uneasy for ages, and he was sort of thankful that Shadow had drifted off.

That _did_ leave him alone with Lia, and trying to keep her quiet enough to let Shadow _stay_ asleep had proven to be more difficult than he'd theorized. "Keep your voice down," he reminded in undertone for the umpteenth time with yet another glance at Shadow. Lia had been telling him about her toys, especially her favorite ones, ever since Shadow had fallen asleep, and apparently the topic made her excitable and not especially willing to listen. Soon, Soren had to shush her again, and this time he decided to try to redirect her thoughts elsewhere. Given her age, he was pretty sure it wouldn't be... _too_ hard. "Lia?" he cut in, trying his best to sound interested instead of just tired.

Ruby eyes looked up at him innocently. In her arms she clutched to her chest a fat stuffed unicorn. He had to admit, she made a rather cute picture, sitting there like that. But, then, he reasoned that most little kids would. "Yes?"

"Let's talk about something else," he directly suggested.

"Like what?"

"Like... things you enjoy doing, or something."

Her lips pursed in thought for a small moment. "Well, I like to run, and play with my cousin Kimmy, and play with Daddy when he's not too tired or busy, and help Daddy do his chores, and train with him when he lets me, and travel, and-"

Soren cut her off again. "Wait- he trains you already?"

The look she gave him seemed to indicate that this was no big deal to her... and that she thought it shouldn't be to him, either. "Uh-huh," she nodded. "Just a little, though. Like, he taught me how to shoot a pistol, just in case, and how to land right so I don't get hurt too bad if I fall really far, and what to do if someone ever tries to grab me and take me away..." Her little ears lowered. "I guess I didn't do a good job with that last one."

It was true enough that she hadn't, but he doubted that anyone had really _expected_ her to be able to yet given her age. Either way, he chose not to let her dwell on it. "...You can shoot a gun?"

Lia seriously just _shrugged_. "Only a little one," she responded.

 _My god... she really is my sister. There's no denying that anymore... _Soren ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up a bit but not really caring. "And... how long have you known how to do that?"

"Only for a year, in my years." She paused, then amended, "Or two."

"And... you're _how_ old?"

"Seven."

 _...Definitely my sister._ _Alternate timeline or not._

Apparently it was Lia's turn to shift the subject. "How come you look like us?" she suddenly asked, startling him. "Like me and Daddy, I mean. No one else does. Not even Papa or Nana or Uncle Sonic or Kimmy or - or _anybody_."

Knowing he wouldn't be able to hide it forever, anyway, Soren heaved a heavy sigh and just came out with it. "Because... your dad is my dad, too. ...Just... not exactly the way you think." When he eyes, of course, betrayed no understanding, he did his level best to explain to her the concept of magic, portals, alternate timelines, how magic could create portals to give access to said other timelines, how the Nocturnians had been doing this and drawing Nocturnians from his timeline to this one, how that was how _he_ had ended up here, and how all the portals had closed before he'd been able to go back. As he finished explaining all of this, uncertain as to whether or not she even fully grasped all of what he'd just said, he saw out of the corner of his eye as Shadow shifted. Looking over fully, he watched as _their_ father turned over to sort of lay on his side, now sporting a frown. Even _he_ had been relaxing in his sleep up until this point, leading Soren to wonder if Shadow was awake now, even if just a bit... and how much he might have heard. _Even if he heard nothing, chances are that Lia will spill it to him later..._

"So..." Soren turned back to Lia when she started to speak. "So, you live on our world, too? Only, it's different?"

"Basically," Soren shrugged.

Lia gained a deep and rather adorable frown of concentration as she tried to sort all of this out in her head, but then her expression suddenly smoothed over and brightened. "That means I have a big brother!" she exclaimed. Soren had _no_ idea how that didn't wake Shadow up.

"Uh... yeah," Soren agreed after a moment. "Technically, at any rate."

Suddenly, she was frowning again. "But, wait, if there's another Daddy where you come from... doesn't that mean that there's another me, and you're already _her_ big brother?"

Now Soren sighed. How to explain this to a _seven_ -year-old? "There... isn't another 'Daddy', Lia, or another you. Not... not anymore. They're gone." He looked away. _Just like our mother, our uncle, our grandparents, and our cousins... and not to mention basically all of their friends and nearly everyone else that used to be alive..._

"Gone?" Lia asked, bewildered. "Where did they go?"

 _...Okay, I am not about to be the one to explain death to her. _"Look, Lia... you'll understand someday, but you really don't need to right now."

"But I _want_ to, Soren."

"Trust me, you _don't_." He shifted and sighed again. "Look... let's talk about something else now, okay?" He paused to consider viable options for conversation, and as he did so it occurred to him how little he knew about this timeline. He'd seen a fair bit of this timeline's version of Mobius, enough to know how beautiful it was and how terribly similar it could become to his own home, and he really wanted to know more about that beauty. Even if such beauty would, one day, be but a fleeting memory for him. It would be _something_. So, he prompted, "Hey, tell me about _your_ world. What's yours like?" This finally earned a smile from her, and this time he was fully content to sit back and let her ramble away as loud as she wanted as she told him everything she could about how green their grass was and how much she loved their meadows and how clean the water always looked and whatever else she could think of... and all the while he took pains to commit it all to memory.

One day, these memories would be all he had left... and he fully intended to cherish them.

 **~台風の目~**

It wasn't a stretch for Sonic to think, at first, that he had been sitting beside Locke's bed for hours, just staring at him numbly and wondering what in the _hell_ he was supposed to do now, what _any_ of them were supposed to do now. Most of Mobius was lost and countless Mobians were dead. Bokkun was also dead. Lucas and Locke were both _nearly_ dead. Espio, Rouge, Kanari, Hannah, Silver, Vanilla, and who knew how many other Mobians and Babylonians were missing. Storm could die at any moment, being as he was in the middle of such a heated war-zone (such as Empire City had become). Last he'd heard, Jet's armies _still_ weren't ready (which, granted, couldn't much be helped), and they still had no other allies helping them in this war so far, anyway. The other Immortals seemed to all be no-shows in this war. So far, Kath mostly had been as well, though it was probably asking a bit much to think that such an old warrior would join such an intense conflict. And then there was Kaden... in certain ways, he was taking this whole war harder than anyone else. It was so difficult for him to cope, which only gave Sonic one more thing to worry about. And then there were the emeralds, and there was Astral Babylon, and the was New Babylon itself, and- and- Something pulled Sonic's mind away from his thoughts. His eyes focused slowly on Amy and he realized that she was still working on the bed. She hadn't made much progress from the last time he'd looked, meaning it hadn't been anywhere near as long as he'd thought it had been. It had felt like hours...

A sigh pulled free of Sonic's lips as he stood. _I need some air._ He noticed Amy looking at him, and he offered her a tired, miserable smile. "I'm gonna go take a walk, Ames."

To his immense relief, she understood without him needing to say anything more. The smile she gave him was a reflection of his own. "Okay, Sonic. Talk to Knuckles when you're feeling better. He needs to be informed still."

"Yeah. I will." Suddenly feeling like he might suffocate even in the wide spaces the medical ward offered, Sonic turned and dashed out of the room, down the maze of corridors, and then out of the ship itself. When he finally skidded to a halt, he was met with... grey. Grey feathers, to be precise, and heavenly blue eyes. _..._ _Kath? Wait, what? Why is he-_ Sonic glanced the old hawk over as the man turned to face him, _-doing here?_ His mind finally finished, albeit disjointedly.

Apparently, he had spoke aloud, for one grey eyebrow soon raised at him. "This is _my_ observatory, young one, and the Watchers are my forces... at least for now. I have every reason to be here." As Sonic watched, a white wolf stepped around the ancient hawk to sniff at his red sneakers, then back away suspiciously with a small curl of the upper lip. "Tei'na, Azerel," Kath reprimanded in undertone before Sonic could say anything himself.

When Sonic found his voice again a moment later, he was quick to use it. Out of all the questions he could have asked, though, even he wasn't terribly sure why he asked the one he did. "What do you mean 'for now'?" Sure, Kath was certainly not _young_ anymore, but it wasn't like he was passing away anytime soon, right?

But Kath didn't answer that. It seemed he was preparing to leave, in fact, but he stopped what he was doing and turned back to Sonic not even a full minute later. "There is much you do not know... isn't there?" he suddenly asked. Sonic couldn't help but imagine that those eyes were glowing in the starlight, and that they were reading into his very soul. Before he could speak for himself, however, Kath continued. "And yet there is so much you _must_ know... knowledge you must wield if ever this war is to end." Sonic's mouth opened to speak, but he was once more denied the chance to. "Listen well, Sonic, and do not forget." Sonic's mouth shut. "There is a race of beings in existence named the Therians. They are one of the first four mortal races, born by will of the Faein alongside the Babylonians and two others. Your enemies, the Nocturnians... they are but specs compared to this race. While the Nocturnians have been around for mere millions of years, the Therians have existed almost since the beginning. Their evil has been cultivated far beyond anything you have ever seen yet."

 _Beyond anything I've seen yet?_ It was a bold statement, surely, but the sincerity in Kath's tone and eyes left no room for doubt. The old hawk was as serious as one could be... but to think that even _this_ threat paled in comparison to the race Kath was for some reason telling him about... He wanted to shiver at the thought.

"The Nocturnians will be drawn to them," Kath murmured, eyes turning to contemplate the stars. "It is inevitable. They seek power, conquest. They will seek out the Therians. They will challenge them, fight them. Given the proper chance, the Nocturnians may one day _destroy_ them... and worse, surpass them. I made a promise in my childhood to warn you of this danger, and to ensure you understand that they _must_ be prevented from meeting. If nothing else, do not let the Nocturnians set foot on that world. We have lost much in this war already, but if the Nocturnians set foot on Therian soil it will signal the beginning of the end for us all."

"The beginning of the end?" Sonic responded in utter dismay. "This _early_ in the war? But we've barely even had a chance to properly fight _back_ yet!" This outburst was met with a solemn gaze and silence... nothing more. "But- Kath- What in the hell am I supposed to _do_? How do I prevent this _and_ somehow win this war, too?"

"You seek wise council, but I can give none," Kath murmured with a shake of his head. "I have no advice to give beyond the words I have already shared." He actually seemed... sorry.

Floundering now for something to say, _anything_ that might lead to a bit more hope than he was suddenly feeling now, Sonic asked in desperation, "Will you at least stay and fight with us? Like you did during the war against the Metarex?"

For the second time, Kath shook his head. This time, the movement was much slower, more deliberate, and Sonic sensed that something was known to the hawk and wolf that Sonic simply was not privy to. "No... I will not survive this war long enough to do so." Before Sonic could even ask, the old hawk teleported away, and his wolf followed behind.

Sonic was alone again suddenly, but in light of all this misery and negativity he found that he didn't _want_ to be. He'd gotten his fresh air, and now he supposed it would be best for him to track down Knuckles and talk to him. Though, somehow he doubted that this was one of those situations where the saying "better late than never" really just _didn't_ apply. _He'll probably kill me... twice. Not that I blame him._ After jogging back inside, Sonic headed down the hall to where Knuckles and Rouge's room was. Upon reaching the room, he wasn't all that surprised to find the door half-open. His treasure-hunting friend had this thing about never closing doors unless he had to - probably something stemming from how used he was to just plain being outside and not closed in in the first place.

Peeking in, Sonic found a scene that actually warmed his heart and calmed his raging nerves a bit. It seemed that Knuckles, being the kind of dad he was, had given his son the entire bed. Young Jason now slept away on the center of the bed, all tangled up in the blankets and snoring softly, while Knuckles himself dozed in an armchair mere feet away with his precious hat still on his head. The pair seemed exhausted, and no doubt they were, and they deserved the rest they were currently getting. Sonic decided not to wake them right now. And besides... they were worried enough about Rouge already. Locke would be just one more thing to stress over, and that particular stress could (hopefully) wait until morning. For now, Sonic opted to let them sleep.

What ensued over the next half hour was little more than aimless wanderings and distracted thoughts, broken only when Sonic suddenly (and almost literally) bumped into Shadow in a random hall. It seemed likely that his half-brother had been woken up by Lia and Soren (though probably mostly Lia), but that was almost certainly _not_ why Shadow was scowling. _Aw, hell... it's that look. The "I'm pissed and it's your fault" look... _Stifling a sigh, Sonic asked, "Alright, bro, what'd I do?"

The use of _that_ little term seemed to only further sour Shadow's mood. But, amazingly, he made no comment on it. "It's what you _haven't_ been doing, Sonic," he muttered instead.

There was a pause, a long one, and then Sonic actually did sigh. "Okay, I give. What're you on about?"

"The Clan, Sonic," Shadow elaborated with patience tainted by obvious frustration. "We've rested long enough. We should be back out there fighting them by now."

 _Well, at least he's not growling at me. Someone's feeling diplomatic today._ "No. We aren't ready yet. Hell, we aren't even all _here_ yet."

"And what chance have of finding the others if we stay here?" Shadow demanded.

His own arms crossing to unintentionally mirror Shadow's posture, Sonic was forced to admit, "...Not much of one, but either way we _have_ to wait just a bit longer." He strengthened his tone, letting the firmness of his words show just how little he was willing to budge on this matter right now. They were arguing, genuinely arguing for once, like the brothers that they actually were, but Sonic wasn't actually angry and he knew that Shadow wasn't either. They were both fueled by the same mutual concern... but, while Sonic could see Shadow's point of view on this, he simply could not send everyone back out in battle yet. "None of us are rested enough to resume fighting, the kids all still need time to recuperate, and we're still waiting on the last of Jet's forces to be ready to move out." Given the fact that Jet and Shadow had _never_ gotten along, Sonic wasn't surprised by the added flash of irritability this last point created in those crimson red eyes. He did, however, choose to ignore it. Tone softening a bit, he added more quietly, "And besides that, I don't know if you heard yet, but Dad found Locke. Locke's in horrid shape and even though he won't show it much, like usual, Dad's been lingering on the verge of a total breakdown over it all evening. He _needs_ time to try to recover."

This last argument, while by no means more important than the others, was the one Sonic knew would tip Shadow's opinion in his favor. Shadow had grown close with their father and mother over the last century and had really bonded to the both of them. When it came to matters of upset for either parent, Shadow was much more inclined to sympathize than simply dismiss and ignore. It wasn't for everyone that Shadow did such a thing, and it did Sonic a favor here. The proof was in his half-brother's eyes when Shadow turned his head away. Suddenly, and quite tellingly, Shadow had nothing left to say on the matter. "Look, Shadow, I swear to you that we'll leave as soon as we're able to, but for now we need to just rest and wait. I hate it, too, but it's the best course of action that I see."

Shadow continued to look away, offering nothing more than a small, "Hn," in reply. Thankfully, he seemed prepared to let the matter go... for now.

 _Good._ "Now that that's settled..." Shadow glanced at him, and Sonic sighed. "Mind checking on Dad for me? I need to go check on Knuckles again, see if he's awake yet." A curt nod was all the answer he was given, and soon both brothers went their separate ways. One went toward the medical ward while the other went back toward the cluster of bedrooms, dreading once more the news he was carrying...

 **~台風の目~**

 _Sweltering._ It was the only word that Silver's melting brain could think of to adequately describe the sheer _heat_ he was experiencing along with all the Babylonians he was currently trapped with. _Uncle Jet's journal did the misery of this place no justice, _the hedgehog decided as he trudged up a sand dune to stand beside his "uncle". Jet, like everyone else, was exhausted, dehydrated, and starving. Everyone was starting to look thin. They had no means of communicating with the outside world. They had no powers, no food, no water. They were lucky they had weapons. _The Badlands are, without a doubt, deserving of their nickname._ Coming to stop beside Jet, Silver asked quietly, "Is that the place we're avoiding?" Sprawling out ahead of them for miles was a vast expanse of flat sands, disturbed only by a series of holes. Some were wider than even the Blue Typhoon. If there were Turuks here, then they were huge.

Jet's keen eyes followed the movement of a comparatively smaller Turuk, watching as it burst free of the sand in the distance only to arch back downward and burrow out of sight once more. "Yes," he eventually murmured. "This is most likely where our... _stalker_ came from."

An involuntary shiver ran up Silver's spine. They most certainly had been getting stalked... but a rogue Turuk that had gained quite an appetite for their troops. Three had been eaten already, but after eating the third one the hunter had gone quiet for days. The remaining troops were so twitchy and paranoid that Jet had mentioned (more like mumbled) at one point that he was concerned the would all start shooting each other out of sheer nerves. Though Silver had been skeptical at first to say the least, he was starting to share in those concerns by now. _God, I hope no one else dies. But if this goes anything like how Uncle Jet wrote about it in the other timeline..._ Another shiver. _No, best not to think on it too much. Deep breaths, dude, deep breaths._ Looking back up at Jet, Silver searched the hawk's eyes with his own. Satisfied with what he found there, he looked ahead again. "But you aren't about to let us die... now are you?"

Those blue eyes looked over at him for a long moment in silence before Jet turned. "No." He started walking back down the hill toward the others, the setting sun at his back turning the sky crimson. "I'm not."

Feeling justified in where he had placed his faith, Silver turned as well and hurried after Jet.

 **~台風の目~**

As night was ending and Cream was just starting to wake up, one last vision snagged her mind's attention. It was again about an excerpt from that book... about a friend whose future she was now beginning to worry over.

 _The vision started in much the same was as the others had. She saw the book first, sitting alone on a table on a room just bright enough for her to see in. This time, however, something quite new happened. A young child, probably no older than Hannah or Lucas, walked into the room and soon into Cream's limited field of vision. The child was clearly a female, but her features were ill-defined and blurred so that Cream could make little out other than the silvery-white color she had... and purity of her blue eyes. The child walked past rows of books that Cream could just see off to the side of the image she was peering into. Ignoring all of them, the child directly approached the book Cream had seen so many times tonight. Turning slightly, she called out to someone Cream couldn't see, then appeared to wait._

 _A few moments later, another blurred-out child entered the room, gait much more cautious and silent whereas the other's had been bold and unconcerned. The new child revealed himself to be male when he spoke mere seconds after moving to where Cream could see him. All she could make out was dark fur... and emerald eyes. "We aren't supposed to be in here..." the male child mumbled._

 _The female huffed audibly at him. "Father isn't here to stop us right now, is he?" she challenged._

 _Cream sensed, more than saw, that the male child was now frowning. "Only because he had to go fight a horde of demons so that they don't break in here."_

 _"Still." The female child looked at the book, clearly dismissing her friend's or, possibly, sibling's concerns. "Ever wonder why he doesn't let us read this book?"_

 _"No." The statement was sullen and most likely a lie._

 _"Kaden, you're a good liar and all, but you need to hide your aura when you do it or people can tell." Cream's shock in that moment did nothing to disturb the vision, somehow, and she could only continue to watch as the female child stepped over to and picked up the heavy tome._

 _"Rein-" Kaden (or perhaps merely some descendant named after him) started to caution quietly._

 _"Sh," Rein shushed distractedly. "Help me find something interesting to read, okay?"_ _With a small noise of complaint, Kaden walked over just as Rein was sitting down on the floor. Only now were details about this room starting to come into focus for Cream, proving to her that this was a very different room from her last visions... and, indeed, possibly a different building altogether. Maybe even a different time period. "What about this one?" Rein asked then, pointing._

 _Reluctantly, Kaden seated himself beside her and crossed his legs. As he did so, his image suddenly came into focus... and Cream had another shock. She saw the same fur she knew so well, such a dark blue that it was nearly black, and the same long windswept hair. The same calm face and the same expressive eyes. Even the same style of black socks and the same gloves. The only things that were different were the shoes... and his age. He couldn't possibly have been older than twelve, just like Rein. But_ _Cream was given no time to wonder how any of this could possibly be true, for Kaden soon spoke. "Good luck reading it," he mumbled, eyes scanning the page. "Most of it's too faded."_

 _Rein huffed at him again. "My eyes are better than yours, Kaden, just like your ears are better than mine." Slowly, her image faded into focus as well, revealing her to be a young hawk. "I can see it just fine."_

 _Kaden put his chin in his hand as he gazed off at some wall away from Rein, elbow braced on his knee. "By all means... read, then," he murmured, sounding in that moment more like his adult self than some child. And yet, his voice very much was a child's. It seemed that Rein had to refrain from huffing a third time. Instead, she began to read. The excerpt she began to read seemed to be a continuation of sorts of the last few that Cream herself had seen, which succeeded in capturing her own interest._

 _"More words penned by the hand of the Guardian-6, once more recorded for the sake of memory… and concerned documentation._

 _'I promised to myself once, though in different words than these, words mortals could never understand, 'I will learn all the secrets of our destiny, and in doing so reclaim the Truths we once treasured.' But these days… these days I am forced to wonder if I am growing into a nihilist. It all, in many ways, seems so pointless. My actions lack the meaning they once held to even me._

 _These days, I feel I do little except break things. Evil things, granted, wicked things... but regardless. I break creatures, people, kingdoms, worlds, realms… when the need arises, I make them cease to be. But to die is to have existed, and they will forever remain in some way or another. Sometimes, it feels as though no true lasting good comes from my actions… even if they do save the lives of those I am supposed to yet care about._

 _The voices whisper, 'The only way to make something good, something undefeatable, is to make something that cannot be broken. The only way to achieve this is to break everything.'_

 _They say that existence itself runs on Death. It may be yet another Lie but, in a way… it almost feels more beautiful to know.'"_

 **~台風の目~**

 **7,877 words this time. Yay, I did it! I wrote a chapter that actually didn't come out weeks late! This would've been out, like, the day after the last one had the Kath scene not gotten me stuck briefly, but whatever. Hope y'all enjoyed. Reminder, we won't be seeing a snippet of Silver again until the chapter after the next one. Also, Cream's series of dark visions will be coming to a close next time, though that's not to say that she won't have more visions later on as the story progresses. Just saying. Anyway, posted (at about 4:50 p.m.) 11-19-17.**


	72. Distress Call

**My Review Reply:**

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Haha, yeah, for better or for worse. ^-^" Glad you're excited, though!**

 **Blazing Winds's Review Reply:**

 **To thatguy4643. Good to hear you enjoy this and I hope to keep helping put out something interesting!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Distress Call"**

 **~台風の目~**

Though the darkness of space did little to hint at it, dawn had passed nearly an hour ago. Since about another hour before that, Jet had been sensing Tails down in the sort of hangar area he had built into the Blue Typhoon. More than likely, the young inventor had been working on the various ships down there (including the X-Tornado, of course) to better prepare then for real war. Jet, meanwhile, had long since finished making all the calls and arrangements that he could. Since then, he had just been sitting beside Lucas's bed, too numb to even think much about anything more complicated than fears and worries. Ten had long since fallen asleep by his side, but the knowledge that _he_ at least was safe didn't provide enough comfort by itself. Jet needed to know that _all_ of his kids were safe... but he knew that they weren't. Only one was. The other three couldn't be. Fear over them almost made him queasy. That pang of renewed anxiety made up Jet's mind for him and he stood up. A distraction was sorely needed at this point, something to occupy his mind and help him to not think anymore for now about such negative things.

His reasons for going to join Tails, however, were multiple. Yes, he needed distraction and something to keep his hands and mind both busy, but there was more to his actions than that. Like Tails, he too wanted to make certain that those ships were ready to go and could handle brutal combat when it was required of them. It was also necessary, he felt, to help upgrade those ships so that they could better keep up with the Babylonian ships. Cloaking devices, improved weaponry, enhanced barriers and other such defensive mechanism, greater speed boosters, more advanced warp-drives... if they could get that tech installed into each of Mobian ships, then maybe those ships would actually stand a chance. And, of course, if the ships stood a better chance then so did everyone in them. That was always good.

Stepping into the hangar-like room, Jet rather silently made his way to where Tails was working. On the way, he passed ships he realized he'd never seen before. Surprisingly, each was visibly suited for specific individuals. One was obviously made for Amy, another clearly was meant for Knuckles and/or Locke, a third was apparently made with Blaze in mind... Counting, Jet realized that they had enough ships down here to give every individual present here a ship of their own and still have several to spare. _It would be useful, then, if every adult present could fly these to begin with... but at least four of them cannot._ Still, they could be taught and, even supposing they couldn't be... well, there were passenger seats in the other ships for a reason. But, on another note, where had these all even come from? He was sure he'd been down here before at least once since this journey had begun, and he'd never...

"Sonic brought these to me," Tails suddenly told him, voice breaking into Jet's thoughts. "They were in my workshop." Jet stopped walking a few feet away from Tails. As he watched, the fox carefully welded two pieces of metal together underneath the X-Tornado. Once finished, he belatedly added, "In case you were wondering."

Wow, was he getting that easy to read lately? It was probably best not to ask, though, so he inquired instead, "Are these ships designed for combat?"

Tails glanced over at the line of ships. "A couple of them, no, but most are. They probably can't handle a war, though, which is why I came down here to work on them."

Though Jet suspected there was more to his former off-and-on student's reasoning than that, he chose not to bring the matter up. Instead, he knelt down beside Tails's toolbox, carefully selected which tools he'd need to get started on one of the other ships, then simply walked away and set to work. Neither spoke a word more for over an hour. Working in relative quiet, save for the occasional almost loud noise of some of the tools, the pair managed to get a fair bit down. The ships made with Amy in mind, clearly built almost solely for travel purposes, was now capable of light combat and fair defense. The X-Tornado was beefed up with new weaponry, stronger defenses, and a better warp-drive (the blueprints for all had been provided by Jet, but Tails had done all the work on that ship). Tails had just moved on to help Jet was Amy's ship when pounding footsteps drew their attention to the doorway into this massive room. Looking over, both were surprised to see Knuckles running over.

"Have you two seen Sonic?" the echidna demanded the second he was close enough.

The pair traded a look, then Tails shook his head. "No, we haven't. Why, is something wrong?" Clearly something _was_ , so Jet wasn't sure why Tails had even asked. Knuckles's aura gave away his emotions, revealing him to be near-frantic over _something_ , though Jet knew not what that something _was_ yet.

"Yes!" Knuckles burst out with, clearly none-too-pleased with the fact that neither Tails nor Jet was being of any use at the present moment. As he made his exclamation, he all but tore his communicator off his wrist, then proceeded to shove it into Tails's hands. As Tails read the alert Jet could faintly hear the device was displaying (the sound was on, but only barely so), Knuckles sort of needlessly said, "I woke up because that thing started beeping incessantly, and when I looked it was showing an emergency distress signal from Rouge's communicator. It's close enough that we can get to it, but _dammit_ I can't storm a Nocturnian ship by myself!"

"It certainly looks like a big one, too," Tails mused, eyes on the screen. No doubt Tails had all of these communicators hooked up to the more powerful radar and mapping systems of the Blue Typhoon, thus allowing them to see the aforementioned enemy ship one way or another.

At this point, Jet tuned the pair out briefly to scan the immediate area for Sonic's aura. Soon, however, he realized that this was a fruitless endeavor. _Tch... he probably has his aura hidden again._ It was something he could hardly fault the hedgehog for, considering the fact that he did it as well (all the time, even), but even still. Situations like these could be handled so much more efficiently without such obstacles.

Setting the tools he'd been using down, Jet stood up in time to hear Tails say, "He might be taking another walk outside the ship. He was doing that off and on ever since his dad, Blaze, and Locke made it here. If you couldn't find him in his room or anything, that might be the best place to check." Sensing the impending question, Jet teleported with the pair straight outside (though not technically _outside_ ) to save some crucial time. Further saving time, they didn't talk anymore, just spread out to search for the missing hedgehog.

In the end, it was Knuckles himself who stumbled upon Sonic. It seemed that Sonic had, indeed, been out on another walk. Jet could hardly blame him for it. By the time Jet and Tails caught up to the two of them, despite this not taking very long at all, Knuckles was deep in conversation with the group's leader (such as he had long since become). "You'll need a team to go with you," Sonic was saying. His tone had taken on that no-business, drop-dead serious quality that they all remembered so well from back in the early days of the war against Ivo Robotnik.

"No, shit," Knuckles responded tensely. His arms were crossed so tightly that Jet swore they were shaking a bit.

Emerald eyes glanced over to Tails and Jet, and soon Jet found himself just as much a part of the conversation as they others. Resigning himself to this momentary role of consultant, Jet gave the best advice and opinions he could on who all should go and what ship or ships should be taken along. In the end, it was decided that Analia, Shadow, Tails, and of course Knuckles himself would be the ones to go. Shadow and Tails would take Shadow's ship while Analia and Knuckles would take Kaden's, a bit battered though the older hedgehog's ship currently was from various events. The group set out as quickly as they could manage, following the signal that Knuckles's communicator was still tracking. The signal was growing weaker, though, which meant that Rouge was rapidly moving away from them. Speed was absolutely necessary in order not to lose her... but it also meant that they weren't being especially stealthy at the moment.

Tails decided that this was quite possibly the reason how Shadow's ship was located so quickly by a small pod of enemy ships. At the speed that they had been going, they had nearly reached the midway point between Rouge's location and their own former location, so it wasn't too surprising that they had encountered Nocturnians out here. They had, after all, left the Babylonian solar system well behind them. But that also meant that they were alone in unfamiliar territory with their enemies. Knuckles and Analia had warped just before Shadow and Tails had been caught, before Shadow had had a chance to make his own ship warp as well. The Nocturnians seemed to have organized their own strike team in this area, it seemed, and Tails couldn't help but think, _We're sunk._

From where Tails sat, there was no real way to see who first opened fire. All he knew was that one second everything was tense and quiet and the next - _bam_ , gunfire. Lasers and missiles and whatnot soon followed and Shadow's ship shook. With a jolt, Tails realized something crucial. _These most certainly are not the small-fry we've gotten so used to dealing with. _Whereas their past encounters had showcased disorganized and comparatively weak and dumb enemies overall, this group was proving to share any qualities but those. They _were_ organized, they _were_ intelligent, they _were_ strong, and they certainly knew how to work together. Their ships were nice, too. High-quality technology had gone into their construction. _And their weapons are better than even the ones I was planning on installing into the ships I built... which is... really bad..._

The ship jolted again, this time severely enough to fully knock Tails out of his thoughts and sort of steal his breath away. Only then did he fully come to understand what was happening. They had been shot down ago, presumably at the time of the first violent tremor judging by how far they seemed to have fallen into a nearby planet's atmosphere. The world they were falling toward was mostly white and blue with patches of grey and brown and even black here and there. There was no greenery to be seen, nor any big oceans, nor even any intense city lights to suggest any advanced civilization. There certainly wasn't any _data_ on this planet. Tails had checked his portable startmap to see and - nope- nothing. No one who had contributed to his starmap (which was _everyone_ he knew, at some point or another) had been to this planet before so far as he knew. Now that... That didn't really bode well, did it?

Leaning forward in his seat, Tails twisted around to get a glimpse of their pursuers... or, rather, lack thereof. He breath a sigh of relief, but then frowned. _At least they seem prepared to just let us crash, instead of hunting us d- ...Wait, that means they think the crash will kill us... or that there's some other reason why we won't walk away from this._ The thought of a hostile alien race or hordes of other Nocturnians waiting down below crossed his mind, and he bit his lip. _Okay... so... this might be worse than previously anticipated._

Tails turned back around again, this time in time to watch Shadow pull up the ship's nose and deploy the landing gear, lessening the impending impact and making their near-death experience morph into a less than graceful crash-landing. The landing would still be far from good, but at least now the crash wouldn't be as severe as it would have been before. Still, the impact came much too fast for either of their liking. Tails was jolted around violently this way and that, all the while grateful for his seatbelt for saving him from being flung out of the ship or, worse, slammed into something potentially dangerous. At least if he'd been flung out, he could fly to safety. And then, there it was. The crash. It was all crashing sounds and banging and shaking and chaos and momentary confusion… but just like that, it was over. The next thing he was aware of was shakily unbuckling himself. Slowly, he stood, just as Shadow was beginning to do the same. The pair traded a look for some reason, then headed outside.

Knowing better than to think they were safe, Tails discreetly looked at Shadow's eyes. _He looks like any of us,_ he reminded himself, _but he is a cyborg to some degree. His mind works a lot like a computer, especially when it comes to taking in and processing sensory information._ As Tails watched, Shadow's eyes made tiny, almost untraceable movements in various directions for seemingly (to one who didn't know what Tails did) no reason at all. _Without even realizing it, he "scans" his environments. If there's danger here, he'll pick up on it and be on his guard. And even if he's not consciously aware of anything, his behavior will be telling enough._

Sure enough, the unnatural half-hedgehog tensed up visibly. His hand reached for his gun with lightning speed and, immediately, Tails knew there was trouble. But, before he could even ask, Shadow informed him through clenched teeth, "There are aliens here. Hostile ones."

There was no need to ask how Shadow knew: his mind was partially a computer, after all. "How many?" Tails asked instead. Though he looked around, he could see no enemies anywhere yet.

"Many," was the tense, vague reply.

Tails sighed. "Well, we've done 'many', before."

"Hn," Shadow murmured.

"Should I…?" Tails started to ask, reaching with a hand for one of the twin katanas he had grabbed before leaving. All these years, and he still had the katanas Lei had given him… and he still treasured them.

Crimson eyes glanced his way. "No. We need the ship."

 _Right, we need to leave._ Turning, Tails hurried back to the crashed ship. There wasn't a whole lot he could do, given the limited tools Shadow had in his ship, but he was almost certain he could get this thing back up in the air regardless. He worked as quickly as he could, and soon he had the problem taken care of. The engine had, apparently, taken a hit earlier (it wasn't the only problem, granted, but it was the biggest and fixing it meant they would probably fly again well enough). It was fine now, but it did need a bit of a jump start. Only…

Pounding footsteps drew Tails attention back toward Shadow just before the hedgehog started shooting. Almost as soon as Tails had finished turning, Shadow barked at him, "Get it _done_ , Tails!"

Though he didn't know why, Tails gasped before whirling back around to face the ship. As he'd done thousands of times before to power his inventions in his workshop, Tails resting the palm of his left hand against the side of Shadow's crashed ship. He channeled electricity through his arm and hand, desperately trying to give the ship new life. Now, he was in a massive hurry, and in serious danger. And, somehow, he doubted this was going to end very well. _Knowing my luck, it won't…_

Just as a beam of deadly energy surged towards the hegdehog and fox from an enemy Shadow had failed to yet shoot, a white cat holding a blue hawk appeared in between it all and planted a sword they were holding in the ground, diverting the beam away from its intended targets. Tails whirled around to see the end of this, his eyes wide. Without a word, the cat joined in Shadow's efforts of taking down the enemy race. In a short amount of time, the opposing force had dwindled down and amounted to hardly being a threat. The remaining few fled wisely, which seemed to satisfy the cloaked cat to some degree. She had helped significantly, yes, and yet the glance that Shadow tossed her just then was _anything_ but grateful or trusting. And Tails… Tails just had no time to try to thank her.

Turning back around, Tails resumed working on getting the ship's engine running. Now that he was calmer to a degree and better able to focus, he was soon able to accomplish this goal. Seeing this, Shadow holstered his gun and walked over, clearly intent on getting the hell out of here. However, Tails _knew_ that Shadow wanted to retrieve Hannah, first. Despite not liking her father, a child was a child, and he was always protective of children. Before Shadow had much of a chance to do anything, though, the cat floated into the air. "You and your comrades… You're going after a Nocturnian ship, are you not?"

"Uh… yeah," Tails responded slowly. "But how did you…?"

She glanced to the ship. "Judging by the angle in which your ship landed, I assumed that your intention was to head in the direction of the ship I just escaped from before retrieving this young Babylonian child." With a weak smile, she added, "Am I correct in my assumption?"

"Yeah," Tails admitted after a moment. "That's… correct, actually."

"I see…" Her gaze fell on Shadow for a moment. "You wanted to take the child with you, correct?"

Shadow's response was stiff and curt. "She belongs with her family, not with you."

This made her frown softly. "I did _not_ intend to keep her, if that is what you imply. My goal was to bring her to the Watcher's Observatory and see if I could find her family there to reunite them."

"Why not let us, then?" Tails asked her. "We _know_ her, and her family. Her dad is my teacher and one of my closest friends. We can get her back just fine."

"Are you not heading off into a warzone once more to rejoin your friends?"

"We can easily take her back, first," Shadow countered, arms crossing. He was getting more and more suspicious.

"As you wish, but I have one minor favor to ask of you if this is what you will be doing." This made Shadow frown even more than normal, but he didn't reply. Without waiting much longer, the cat landed gently on the ground and handed Hannah over to Tails before pulling back the left side of her cloak. Her once white fur was stained crimson from blood and she had several open wounds, just barely scabbed over. "Will you please escort me to receive medical aid?"

Tais hefted Hannah up into his arms to get her into the ship (no easy task, given that he was a bit small himself) and said to Shadow, "She helped Hannah get this close to Jet, the least we can do for her is get her some help. Maybe your mom or Amy-"

"No," Shadow cut him off. "We will not take an armed stranger into the last true fortress our allies have left."

"Shadow, we can't just _leave_ her!"

"The hell we _can't_."

At this, Tails firmed his tone and turned fully toward the dark hedgehog. "Look, I am _not_ leaving someone behind to die!" This seemed to make Shadow hold his tongue for a second. "We've seen too many people die already, and it isn't like she's proven herself to be an enemy!"

"I hate to interrupt you both, but whatever your decision is… please make haste. Nocturnians approach."

Crimson and blue eyes both glanced up into the sky, then Tails rushed to get Hannah into one of the seats in the ship. She made no comment nor any attempt to resist, looking dazed and still in shock. Tails's stomach churned with worry for the normally sweet and cheery child, even as he turned away to look back at Shadow. "Come on, let's just go," he pleaded. "Sonic and the others can help decide whether or not to let this lady _stay_ after she's healed, but for now she _does_ need help."

Shadow audibly ground his teeth, yet another behavior he had picked up from Kaden, then very reluctantly responded with a simple, "Fine. Let's move." He walked toward the ship, then cut her a sharp glance. "But you will not ride in my ship." He'd already seen that she could fly, so he expected her to do just that.

With a nod, the cat returned to floating above the ground. "I will also stay as far away as you wish for me to."

Tone bitter, Shadow gave her the only warning he felt she deserved. "Stay out of shooting range." Without another word, he jumped into his ship and, as soon as Tails was also in, shut the cockpit. Soon, they were flying back off into the darkness of space. She flew off after them, staying a fair distance away and obviously heeding Shadow's warning. Shadow himself, meanwhile, glanced back to Tails. "Is it safe to warp?"

Though Tails looked a touch wary, he soon nodded. "... _Yeah_ … if you're careful." Nodding, Shadow kicked the ship into gear, so to speak, and warped them straight back to the observatory. After a shaky landing not even a minute later, the cockpit opened and he and Tails climbed back out. Soon, Tails had Hannah out as well and was hurriedly carrying her inside the Blue Typhoon. Shadow waited, impatient, and got back into his ship the moment the fox returned. Tails was quick to direct Astra to the Typhoon, then climbed back into his seat. Without another word, he and Shadow took back off again. It was time to rejoin their allies and save Rouge.

 **~台風の目~**

In those few minutes between wake and sleep, Cream had yet another vision. This time he heard someone, possibly the author of these strangely dark excerpts, reading the words on the page aloud as she looked at the same book as before.

 _Yet another excerpt… this one smaller than the first but no less concerning._

 _"They have begun a new message. They often repeat their old phrases, but now and then they say something new, something that catches the attention and forces the mind to ponder._

 _Now they say, 'You made them strong. Follow my trail and you will lead them into Eternity. You love them, and love is war. Love is of Death as Death is Love. Love is Life, and Death is Life. Life is Love and Death. If truly you feel these things, then follow me._

 _I am the breaker of wills, yet I have not broken you. Your existence, as all are destined to be, is and always will be war, too. I will give you nothing to aid you… Nothing but my Truths and this mark that not all deserve to bear._

 _What is at war is healthy. What is at peace is forever ill. As you learn more Secrets, your power grows, and as your power grows you learn more secrets. One such Secret is that the only meaningful relationship there can be is the attempt to destroy. The only true right is existence while the only true wrong is nonexistence._

 _You wonder often what will become of you when you truly die. It suits you to consider such matters. You may not yet see it, but in all you have done in your life you have become a great ally of Death. Continue on your current path, slaughtering all who believe and act opposite of you, and you may yet become synonymous with Death itself._

 _You yourself have died many times, but these deaths were only temporary. Your echoes, the echoes of your past Deaths, haunt you, and rightfully so. For each Death is a failure, and failure deserves only punishment and Death. These are my rules, and yet you turn your head to me. You listen, fascinated, to each word I deign to speak. When you call upon my power, should you ever choose to, you gamble with your own soul. It is why you hesitate and never reach back to me, why you still remain as weak as you were._

 _Your mind alone is an unfathomable weapon. When you think, worlds break. The slightest inflection of will may shatter realities in their entireties. Secrets, though none mine, peel apart for you like the skins on a fruit. But you are a rare thing, for there have always been too few of your kind. Your kind lost their way immediately after the departure of the Faein. Your kin were weakened, lost, wielding powers they knew so little about. Yet, in doing all that you have done, you have surpassed all that came between you and those first four. But you can be so much more than this._

 _Walk with me._

 _Transcend.'"_

And as that vision faded, in that last lingering moment where her mind hovered between sleep and full wakefulness, Cream experienced a moment of suddenly clarity and understanding, perhaps borne solely of her visions. Or maybe it was another sort of prophecy. _The future is never fully written... but these things will come to be. It says to "Transcend"... and somehow, someday... he does. _Slowly, her eyes opened. A vision from years ago reentered her mind, the memory as vivid as it had ever been. _And some day... we'll all die._

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,462 words this time. I'm _so_ sorry that this is late. I've... had a really bad couple of weeks (or however the heck long it's been). Sorry, guys. But, as always, I do hope you enjoyed. And thanks as always to Blazing Winds for his assistance. Posted (at about 3:40 p.m.) 12-10-17.**


	73. So The End Begins

**~台風の目~**

 **"So The End Begins"**

 **~台風の目~**

Marthal smelled them long before even Kaden sensed them. The area around them where they sat, outside the observatory on some sort of ledge, previously smelled only of ships, Babylonians, people Marthal knew, electricity from tech, and so on. Now a new scent joined the others, making the space reek of Nocturnians. So rarely did it take him this long to learn a scent, but certainly he knew this scent now. And once he learned one, he never forgot it. It remained in his subconsciousness, if not his _full_ consciousness, always.

"Oi, Kaden, we've got company fast approaching." His deep blue eyes looked at Kaden, silently assessing. There was no denying that Kaden was upset, no escaping the knowledge of _why_ , and he knew that this oncoming threat would further worsen Kaden's mood. Mere stress had earlier given way to the kind deep negativity that Kaden, as a creature of Darkness, was so inherently wired to feel and experience. No longer was it just feelings of guilt, of anger, of fear. Now it was energy. Power. _Darkness_. He was keeping it under control now, but… _What about later?_

Dutifully ignoring all other scents for a moment, Marthal studied Kaden's instead. He'd known for a while now that Kaden had been stricken with some sort of an illness. It had been so minor as to be utterly lacking in symptoms up until this point, but as of very recently Kaden had begun to have serious coughing fits. He'd even spiked a sudden temperature earlier so high that it was borderline lethal… for the strange two minutes that it lasted. And then his body temperature had plummeted and he'd very nearly frozen somehow. But, once again, it had only lasted very briefly. In the aftermath, Kaden had been fine by all appearances. Amy had been completely confused. Analia had been utterly silent. And Marthal… Marthal _knew_ that this wasn't natural, whatever it was.

His mind flashed back to the spiders.

Before the group had set off for space, even before Kaden and the others had somehow wound up teleported into the Badlands of New Babylon, a swarm of spiders (no doubt conjured up via the Nocturnian brand of Black Magic) had overwhelmed the group for a brief span of time. Kaden had never mentioned being bitten, but… Marthal was beginning to fear now that he had been. _If he's been bitten, then this illness is coming from exposure to Black Magic directly into his bloodstream… which could also help explain why Blaze reported that he seemed to be struggling to control his Darkness well before they ever found Locke. If I'm right… then just how long will he be able to keep his power under control? And… how long until this starts to kill him?_

Kaden's sudden movement drew Marthal back out of his thoughts. The somewhat older man, after yet another coughing fit, stood up as Marthal idly (by outward appearances) watched. A single ship had appeared by now and was brazenly flying toward them at high speeds. For such a daring venture, these Nocturnians had to either be stronger than the usual fodder that had been sent after Marthal and his friends so far, or they had to be exceptionally self-assured. _Maybe both,_ he conceded after a moment. "Yo, you gonna need some help with these guys?"

"No." It was a simple response, and Marthal accepted it as easily as Kaden had said it. He didn't doubt for a single second that Kaden needed a way to vent his emotions and release some of his negativity and, for better or for worse, fighting had always been his best method of doing so. In that sense, it was probably best to let him go it alone. Of course, Marthal would remain on standby just in case regardless of whether or not Kaden wanted him to, though.

From the ship emerged a measly three soldiers (likely an appropriate number of people, given the ship's diminutive size), and the ship it self was left hurtling toward the observatory at full speed. At this proximity, it was easy to sense that these enemies were, in fact, stronger than their lesser comrades… but they were also careless. _And not strong enough._ With what seemed to be literally zero effort at all, some Babylonian from inside the observatory encased the ship in a sunshine-yellow aura and crushed it so completely that it imploded in under a second. Kaden, meanwhile… Kaden took his time on these enemies, working out as much of the anger and whatnot as he could, helped along by the fact that these guys were strong enough to take plenty of hits without dying. That fact alone was a bit troubling, if only because it proved that they had yet to see the truth strength of this army, but it also worked in their favor for now. _The longer Kaden can maintain his control, the better. And if that means frequent small skirmishes, then so be it. That's a tiny price to pay to avoid him going Dark._

When Kaden returned after finally ending the fight, noticeably a bit more relaxed that earlier, Marthal saw a small chance to lighten the mood. Standing, he put his arm over Kaden's shoulders in a friendly manner with one of his usual easy smiles. "Dude, that was hella badass. Well done."

When Kaden gave in and rolled his eyes, Marthal knew that operation _"Cheer Up Mr. Grumpy"_ was a success.

 **~台風の目~**

In light of all of his concerns, both old and new, Sonic found himself still restlessly roaming around outside of the Blue Typhoon. Walking around helped to ease some of his stress-levels, but it didn't quite do enough to help. His mind continued to wander anxiously… right up until he was distracted by the sight of some white cat woman he was quite certain he had never seen before. _Wait, who the hell…? ...Aren't we supposed to be the only Mobians here?_

Feeling the blue hedgehog's gaze, Astra cast a glance over out of vague curiosity. After a moment's hesitation, she walked over quietly. "Is this the Watcher's Observatory?"

Now really confused, Sonic frowned but nevertheless provided an honest reply. For better or for worse. "Yeah, it is." _But how does she know that?_

At this, she gave a gentle sigh of relief. "Thank you. It seems the information I gathered was correct."

"Information?" Sonic echoed, cautious.

She blinked for a moment, then seemed to realize that she needed to explain what she meant. "I was captured and taken by Nocturnians, kept on one of their ships. After I escaped, I saw various things on a nearby screen that informed me of this place."

A slow nod served as Sonic's answer initially, then he said, "Why are you _here_ , though? Here, specifically."

"I came here to both seek refuge from their forces, but to bring back a babylonian child as well. We were both escorted by a young yellow fox and black hedgehog."

 _Yellow fox and black- Wait, Tails and Shadow?_

The woman tilted her head softly at him, blinking once. "Does the description sound familiar?"

Another slow nod. "...Yeah. Those were my brothers." _In all but blood for one, but still._ It felt sort of foolish to admit such things to a stranger, but the words were out now and it was too late to take them back.

"You have a fox brother?" Her eyebrows furrowed a little, confusion more than apparent.

"Not _biologically_ ," Sonic huffed. "We're just so close that we may as _well_ be family. He doesn't have his own family anymore, anyway, so everyone here took him in."

"I see…" This concept confused her, but she hid this fact from Sonic. "I was told by the young fox to seek the aid of… some people by the names of Analia and Amy." Her eyes moved as if she was searching her memories to check her own facts.

It was only then that Sonic noted her rather serious wounds. "...Only one of them is here right now, and she'd be inside. Come on." He started to turn to go inside, only to pause when he saw Jet striding out at a brisk pace. His blue eyes immediately glanced to the newcomer, filled to the brim with (for once) open distrust. "Oh, hey, Jet."

The woman's gaze turned to the hawk and she became withdrawn. "Maybe I shouldn't be here…" She murmured to Sonic.

Of course, Sonic and Jet both heard that. "No, you shouldn't be," Jet told her sharply before Sonic could say a damn thing.

Truthfully, Sonic almost facepalmed at his friend's temper. " _Why_ must you be like this?" he sighed, too tired and stressed out to be patient with his old friend like he normally would have been. "She's just here to get help."

Jet, unfortunately, had no words at this time to explain his distrust for this woman, nor his sudden spike in temper. Something about her just felt severely _off_ to him, and it frustrated him to no end that Sonic didn't seem to see it. Looking away briefly, he muttered a small comment in Babylonian. And, of course, that was apparently one of the only phrases in Babylonian that Sonic actually remembered how to _translate_.

"Dude, ease off," Sonic frowned. Really, he was utterly failing at being understanding at the moment. But he also wasn't quite in the mood to care. "Like I said, she's _just_ here for some healing."

"She shouldn't _be_ here," Jet reiterated, beyond irritated simply by being near her. Still, though, he lacked the words he needed to tell Sonic _why_ , and he knew that that was far from helping his cause.

"W-wait, just a moment, please!" the woman straightened her posture, eyes looking in Jet's direction but never reaching his face. "I-I came here to bring back a hawk child. I wanted to do that, even more so than I wanted my wounds healed…" That seemed to give Jet some slight pause, but none of the distrust in his eyes, nor any of the rigidity in his posture, faded. And that pause lasted mere seconds before he was apparently over it.

"Wait, you brought back-" Sonic started to ask before stopping with a dismissive shake of his head. _That's enough with the obvious questions,_ he mentally chided himself. Turning back to Jet, he stated (perhaps a bit too testily), "Look, I've seen this woman before. I didn't recognize her at first, but I do now. When Amy and I were back on Mobius, we found the ruins of Vanilla's village, and this woman went out of her way to repair everything, down to the last little garden. _And_ she apparently rescued a kid, presumably one of yours. So what the hell is your problem, exactly?"

As Sonic had expected, Jet didn't take kindly to this. He'd never been one to enjoy confrontation, but he certainly never tended to back down from one, either. As such, he was quick to shoot back with, "This isn't right. _She_ isn't right! Something's off about her, and _two_ good deeds aren't enough to change that!"

"There's nothing wrong with her! If there was, everyone here would have sensed it by now!"

"That's a _lie_ , Sonic, and you know it! You yourself guard your mind and aura and mask your intentions from others all the time! Why the hell should our enemies behave any differently?"

"Why are you so quick to call everyone your enemy, huh? Why do you _treat_ everyone like an enemy, even those of us who have always been everything _but_?"

Now openly upset, more so than before, Jet shot back at Sonic with an angry, "You're _completely_ missing the goddamn point!"

"Am I, really?" Sonic challenged, getting equally pissed. It wasn't often that he and Jet had ever genuinely fought, but their arguments were always brief and truly angry, even when little overall was said. The fact that this was their first true argument since the start of this whole war was simply a matter of chance. Or maybe it wasn't. Part of him felt like they had been building up to this point for some time, and this poor woman had simply become an unwilling catalyst for this event. Either way, though, it didn't even matter.

Refusing to say anything else to either of them, Jet spun around on his heel and all but stalked back outside. It occurred to Sonic belatedly that Jet might have actually been coming out for a reason wholly unrelated to this woman, only to become distracted once he'd noticed her. But it was a little late to try to figure out what that reason might have been. Jet disappeared inside, presumably to return to tending to his children and whatnot, and Sonic got the distinct feeling that the hawk likely wasn't going to speak to him for a while. It was just as well, anyway. Sonic didn't much feel like talking now, either.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Sonic returned his focus to the cat woman. "Come on. The healer you're looking for are inside." Without another word he, too, went inside.

She nodded shakily, body tense as she followed the hedgehog. _That worked… better than anticipated. Now, I must hope that those two cats used the teleporter device I left for them. All that's left is to get close to these people… et cetera. Shouldn't be too difficult, if Sonic and Tails are any indication._ Astra smirked to herself for a moment, idly fixing one of her gloves. _So begins the end._

 **~台風の目~**

It was with tension and concern that Sonic watched two ships return to the observatory, carrying Analia, Knuckles, Tails, Shadow, and hopefully Rouge. His hopes were soon validated when the ship his mother was in opened up and Knuckles hurriedly exited with his wife in tow. She was obviously worse for wear, but had just as obviously undergone plenty of healing. It seemed that rest was mostly all that she still needed, a train of thought that Knuckles seemed to follow. The echidna led her inside without a word to anyone else, and Sonic turned his attention to the others. Tails and Shadow were already hurrying over to him while Analia teleported the two smaller ships into the Typhoon's hangar area.

Almost as soon as the young fox was close enough, Tails debriefed Sonic on the events that had taken place during Rouge's rescue. Soon, he relayed the fact that Rouge had apparently been taken captive at the same time as Espio and Kanari… but neither chameleon had been found anywhere on the ship. Even more importantly, however, was the fact that Rouge had apparently personally seen Suri in the custody of a Nocturnian woman she'd come to learn was named Shade. It was the same woman that had confronted Sonic and the others with Ix once before, Sonic was sure of it. But in her exhausted state, Rouge had told them nothing more. Sonic had no information… only the knowledge that anyone and everyone currently in Nocturnian custody was in more danger than he probably really understood.

Right now, there was a choice to be made. Silver, Vector, Vanilla, Espio, Kanari, Suri, Kath, Azerel, and Storm were all missing or otherwise not with the rest of the group. Hannah was traumatized so severely by something that she was practically catatonic most of the time. Locke and Lucas were in severe condition in the Typhoon's medical ward. There was a new edition to the group that was in no real shape to leave again just yet. Kaden was by no means in the best state mentally and emotionally right now and, to top it off, Sonic and Jet really weren't seeing eye-to-eye. But… Sonic knew that they had rested as long as they could, spent as much time _searching_ as they could. It hurt _so much_ to force his attention elsewhere, but he knew that they were existing on borrowed time right now. And that wasn't good enough. _This_ wasn't good enough, and he was sure that at least on this matter he and Jet would agree fully. They had to get going… and just hope to whatever higher power there might be that they would find their missing friends and loved ones along the way. It was all they could do.

Once Sonic gave the word, everyone hurriedly boarded the Typhoon again. As they prepared to take off, it was through Tails that they learned of another reason for a sudden rush to depart. Jet, as it turned out, had just received word that the Nocturnians were heading toward Therius. Remembering Kath's warning before, Sonic had immediately understood the threat of these actions - and why Jet was so tense when he mentioned how little time they had to try to intercept the Nocturnian fleet. Surely this was a fool's errand… but Sonic was nothing if not a dreamer of impossible dreams.

Though it was with a heavy heart and a sharp pang of emotional agony that Sonic abandoned the search for his son and all the others, he gave the word that was needed, and the Typhoon took off into the depths of space. They were a touch closer to Therius right now than the Nocturnians were but, leaving nothing to chance, they flew at top speeds toward their destination with Jet's own fleet in hot pursuit… just in case the Therians decided that their old wars with the Babylonians needed to be re-lived. At least this way Sonic and his allies would, for once, be properly prepared for such an assault, but Sonic couldn't help but wonder… _What if even this isn't good enough?_

 _What happens if we fail?_

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,050 words this time. Not the best chapter ever in the series, but hey. At least I'm getting it up in decent time for once. Can't do that much, these days. Hope you all enjoyed, and as always thanks to Blazing Winds for his contributions with Astra.  
**

 **Two quick notes before I fully end this chapter:**

 **1\. In the scene with Kaden and Marthal, I used an old vision from Hero, though it changed from then to how it was used now. Remember, as Cream's prophecy from a while ago stated… no future is written, and what Cream sees in her visions can all-too-easily change. Anyway, here is the original vision: _She saw Marthal, who was walking back to a camp in the woods with Kaden. He put his arm over Kaden's shoulders in a friendly way as he said, "Dude, that was hella badass. You're epic. Well done."_**

 _ **Kaden rolled his eyes.**_

 **2\. The argument between Sonic and Jet was inspired by this old vision from Hero (though it does have other, more important uses than just to fulfill a vision): _There were no voices. Instead, she saw Sonic and Jet. They appeared to be arguing._**

 **Anyway, posted (at about 5:45 p.m.) 12-14-17.**


	74. Enlightenment

**~台風の目~**

 **"Enlightenment"**

 **~台風の目~**

Cream staggered down the hall, left hand trailing across the smooth walls in order to help her maintain her balance and orientation. The fingers of her other hand were pressed into her temple, as though the pressure alone would alleviate her horrible headache. She barely dared to open her eyes. When she did do it, she would barely squint for a second in order to get her bearings before closing her eyes again. Each time, her head would throb anew, pulling a whimper from her lips. A voice filtered through the pain as she slowly made her way through the ship's long corridors, smooth and emotionless. It was unidentifiable, genderless, and yet... familiar. She knew it well by now, but this time she was a little less than welcoming to it. Though, she was still polite, or at least as much as she could be. _Please leave me alone, Voice. My head hurts._

 _"Yet it was you who requested answers to your questions earlier."_

 _I didn't think you heard me.  
_

 _"I heard you, child. I merely had other matters to attend to before speaking with you."_

 _Like what?_

 _"I am afraid that I cannot disclose such things to you."_

With a sigh, Cream wearily dragged her feet around a corner. _But you can answer my questions?_ she pressed, hopeful.

 _"I can answer some things. Not all."_

 _Will you?_

 _"Yes. You need only ask."_

Given the nature of her questions, Cream took a moment to consider what to ask first before she actually replied. _Can you tell me about that vision I had a while back, the one containing some sort of... some sort of a prophecy?_

 _"That is one matter I cannot divulge any information on."_

 _What about my other visions, then, the ones involving Mister Jet? I learn things about him in every one of them, and I've seen him once or twice as well. He doesn't seem the same in those visions as he does now._

 _"That is so."_

 _So that means those visions are from in the future, right?_

 _"Indeed."_

 _How far in the future are they, then?_

 _"The times vary greatly from mere thousands of years to many millions."_

Stunned, Cream froze in place. _Wait, what?_

 _"You must remember, child,"_ the Voice told her, _"that he is Immortal. While the Immortals sense the passage of time just the same as mortals, it flows by without ever touching them. Time is as sure a killer as any to mortals, but not to them. In that sense, it is rendered meaningless."_

 _...For them, at least,_ Cream responded after a moment.

 _"Indeed."_

 _Speaking of the Immortals..._ Cream resumed walking. _In one of my visions, I saw a structure. Well, more of an ancient building, I guess. Or at least it looked like a building, to me, initially. But then it was like I was seeing it through the eyes of someone else. Someone who... could see more, I guess. Looking through their eyes, I got the sense that this place contained knowledge that only the Immortals could comprehend. Everything was just... energy, but through my own eyes it was just an abandoned stone structure in space. What was that place?_

 _"It has no true name, but many refer to it as the Library of the Immortals,"_ the Voice answered, being surprisingly forthcoming. _"You are correct in that mortals cannot see it as it truly is. They see stone walls, empty doorways, abandonment. But the Immortals see the energies that truly comprise that place. There are no books or scrolls or the like, as there would be if this were a mortal's collection of knowledge. But it is the creation of Immortals. The energy is where their knowledge is stored, and there is no way for mortals to try to understand it. Those energies are simply embedded with what they know."_ In the wake of this explanation, Cream was very silent. Eventually, the Voice gave her a mental nudge to speak again. _"You had more questions. Ask."  
_

 _Sorry._ Cream slowly turned a corner. _In another vision, I saw Mister Jet after some sort of a fight. His... his whole right arm was gone. Then, immediately afterward, I saw another snippet of a vision where he had some sort of a robotic arm there instead. Does... does that really happen?_

 _"Yes."_ That word held no comfort, no reassurances. Merely cold certainty.

Swallowing hard, Cream continued. _What about that realm that I saw? It... I don't know what it was, just that it was dark. So dark that it... made me feel sick._ She worried her lower lip between her teeth. _It still does every time I think about it._

 _"It is real,"_ the Voice answered. _"That realm is known as the Twilight Cage."_ The mysterious entity said nothing else about it, but Cream opted not to press the matter just yet.

She swallowed hard again. _I used to read books in Mister Kaden's libraries,_ she said slowly. _I don't think he meant for me to read some of the things I did, but I found books on things like demons. I learned that there are six broad levels of power, and that you can tell what level a demon falls into by looking at their eyes. The six eyes show you. That's correct, right?_

 _"It is."_

 _But in the only book I ever found that had pictures of the eyes, the sixth one wasn't depicted. This is supposed to be the strongest one, according to another book, but I didn't see a picture of it. But then, in one of my visions, I saw the most malevolent, demonic eyes... eyes I've never seen before._

It seemed the Voice knew where she was going with this. _"Those are the sixth eyes,"_ it confirmed, _"the ones missing from the book."_

 _Why would I be shown those?_ Cream asked. She feared the answer more than anything, but she wasn't sure why.

 _"Because, one day, those eyes will play a role in the lives of people you care for..."_ the Voice responded slowly, _"a_ _role far larger than you can imagine."_

Shivering, Cream dared to ask, _Who's eyes were they?_ For reasons unknown to her, the Voice deigned to answer this question as well. The name it gave her made her sink to the floor, trembling too hard to stand any longer. Headache forgotten somehow, she stared at the ground with wide eyes. _Then... then that vision I saw... the one with all those countless legions of demons, and these horrific pits of fire with people suffering forever in them, and that ruined mortal city, and that dark citadel... Those... those are all because of him...?_ By now, she was fighting back tears.

Once more, there was no sympathy to be found in the Voice's reply. And yet... it offered her one vague reassurance. _"Yes... but not at all because of the reasons you are thinking. Things are never so simple, child."_

In desperation to change the subject from this dark matter to one far less horrible, Cream wiped at her misty eyes and asked, _Who was that other Babylonian that I saw Mister Jet fighting in one of my other visions?_

 _"His name, when he is eventually born, will be Tein,"_ the Voice answered. _"He, too, will change the lives of some of your friends forever in the future."_

 _But I thought that Mister Jet is the only one left out of all of us by then,_ Cream protested in confusion. This remark earned no reply, however. After a moment, she started to get up. _Can you at least answer this? I heard Mister Jet talking to someone in one of my visions. He spoke of how he "used to want to defend existence", but then at the end of the vision, he said that now he fights "for nothing". Why would he say that?_

 _"That has no simple answer, child,"_ the Voice eventually murmured. _"One reason for it is a war that will eventually take place. Wars change people... especially when said wars put the weight of millions on your shoulders. And this war will be no ordinary war."_

 _Then those excerpts I kept seeing in most of my visions..._ Cream frowned a bit, thinking. _In quite a few of those, they seemed to be vaguely referencing some kind of a war or something. Is that the same war you're talking about?_

She could practically _feel_ this entity nodding as it confirmed, _"Yes. It is."_

 _Does it have anything to do with "Mobius's private apocalypse"?_ Cream asked as she finally started walking again. _The one that was mentioned in one of my other visions?_

 _"No, child,"_ was the soft response. _"That was a separate incident entirely, one that took place long before the war we were discussing."_

 _Oh..._ Silence stretched for a moment as Cream thought, but eventually she continued. _Before that mention of Mobius, I did see another one in another excerpt. It said that Mister Jet was sitting in front of some graves on this world, but that he eventually got up and said he wouldn't visit anymore._

Though she hadn't specifically asked, the Voice apparently understood what she wanted to know. _"The graves were of you all. Nearly everyone on this ship, their children, their grandchildren, and so on. When he said he would no longer visit, he was not speaking of the graves specifically. Rather, he was speaking of Mobius as a whole."_

 _But why? _There was no answer. So, with a sigh, Cream let the matter go. She had more pressing questions, anyway. _In a different excerpt, Mister Jet was apparently talking to someone about something they called "The Night". The other person claimed it wasn't natural, but he disagreed. He said that it was, and that he couldn't kill it. But what were they even talking about?_

 _"'The Night' is a nickname, of sorts, for a force you know nothing about,"_ the Voice told her. _"Its true name is Malevolence, so named because of it's status as the most evil being in existence. It seeks to eradicate all Light, destroying the balance of existence and plunging everything into Darkness. And Jet's words were not incorrect."_

 _I saw that name, Malevolence, mentioned in a different vision,_ Cream realized with wide eyes. _The same one that mentioned a lot of other names I didn't recognize. Zenith, Zyr, Eona, Eras, and the Black Gate._

 _"You wish to know what they are as well?"_ the Voice inquired, though undoubtedly it already knew the answer to that. It didn't wait for a reply. _"Zenith and Eona are individuals that your dear friends Kaden and Analia have mentioned before. Zenith was the first being of Darkness to exist, so long ago that you cannot comprehend it. Kaden is his direct ancestor. Eona, likewise, was the first being of Light, and came to be at the same instant as Zenith. Analia is descended from her. The places where they came to be became gardens of power that connected their realms forever with our own, existing as they do simultaneously in this realm and their own. Zyr is the Garden of Darkness, Eras the Garden of Light._

 _Birthed of these energies, these two possessed incredible power. They created together the Tokarian race, a species of hedgehog that has existed far longer than the Mobian hedgehogs. The white Tokarians represented Light, though they are just as capable of evil as any. The black ones represented their opposites. The blue Tokarians, meanwhile, represented the neutrality that can arise within both energies in the right circumstances. These colors do not exist in Mobian hedgehogs unless there are individuals of mixed species, such as in the case of your friend Silver. It was pure chance that he took on his Mobian mother's colors."_

 _Wait, if that's true, then..._ Cream paused, then continued, _If that's true, then these... Tokarian... are - or were - all over Mobius. Why?_

 _"That is a question to answer another time, child,"_ was the Voice's reply. _"As for the Black Gate you spoke of... it is an evil place, a physical manifestation of energies that mark the very first place where Malevolence ever entered your realm. It is on your world, on the icy continent of Artika."_ Cream paled, but the Voice was not done. _"The gate is a portal connecting this realm to The Night's, but one of Analia herself sealed it in ancient times, mere weeks after the beast returned to this realm and slaughtered the world's last king and queen, leaving their missing son behind. It was sealed for eons."_

Chilled, Cream stopped walking. _Was_ _?_ she demanded, terrified. But there was no response. _Is this monster that thing that Mister Jet kept mentioning in my visions, this thing that 'transcends' Light, Darkness, and even Chaos?_ The prospect of this being true terrified her further, to the point where she couldn't even keep walking.

 _"No, child..."_ the Voice replied slowly. _"What he spoke of was not Malevolence. He spoke of the Void..."_

 **~台風の目~**

About an hour after the Typhoon and Jet's fleet all took off, Analia was in the medical ward. She was alone in the currently dimly-lit space, save for her three patients. Lucas and Locke remained unconscious, unfortunately, but at least poor Hannah was just asleep. It was about time, too. She had fought it, even with medicine in her system, from the moment her father had brought her in here. But, thankfully, Jet had returned not long ago and held her until she'd fallen asleep, leaving only after they were both sure she was asleep. Now Analia merely had to keep an eye on them.

Some time after Jet had left, Astra walked into the medical ward quietly, attention on Analia. "Oh, hello," she said softly as she moved over to the blue hedgehog.

Analia glanced up at Astra as she worked on changing some of Lucas's bandages. Upon seeing the newest member of their group, she blinked and responded politely with a, "Hello," of her own.

The white cat took a seat on an unoccupied bed not all too far away, watching Analia quietly. "Am I correct in assuming that you are Analia?"

This question earned a small nod. "Yes," Analia confirmed. "I am."

Astra smiled gently at this. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Astra."

Since she was busy, all Analia did was give a nod for the moment. She was too focused to speak again just yet. Astra waited quietly for her to be finished, seeming fairly interested in what was occurring for whatever reason. When Analia finally did speak, it was only after her task was complete and she had disposed of the soiled bandages. "You are injured, yes? Will you allow me to heal you?"

"Of course," Astra responded as she pulled her cloak off gently in an attempt to not agitate her wounds. "That was part of my purpose in coming here."

Going quiet again, Analia walked over and examined the wounds. After a small moment of contemplation, she gathered her energy around her hands and began to heal this newcomer. Her highly trained eyes watched as the skin slowly knit itself back together and fur returned where it had been lost. When this was complete, she even did the other woman a small favor by using magic to clean up the blood. "There," she murmured, stepping back. "I am done."

She took a moment to look over the area where she'd been injured and blinked. "Wow… your skills in healing are very impressive." Her gloved fingers traced over the fur for a moment, almost as if she didn't believe it.

As always, Analia was too modest a person to accept such words, so she merely said, "I appreciate what you say, but there are nearly always those in the universe better than ourselves in areas where we are skilled."

"I can understand that thought." Astra cast her gaze up for a moment, looking at Analia for a long moment. "You are… unusual. What is it about you?" The cat's head canted a little out of pure curiosity.

Analia sat on the opposite bed. "Perhaps if you elaborate, I can better answer you question," she suggested.

Astra thought for a moment. "There is… a sort of calming aura about you." She frowned, then added, "And the way you heal is quite different, in a way, than other methods I have seen."

"Those can all be attributed to the Light I wield," Analia answered benignly, "but you must understand that it is not _me_. I am merely a vessel for the energy. I can manipulate it, such as when I heal people, but that is all."

This seemed beyond Astra for a long moment, but eventually she seemed to come to some sort of an understanding. "So… you are merely the one who wields the energy?"

"As I said," Analia acknowledged with a nod. "Light is not like fire or water or, indeed, almost any other power. It comes not from me, but from a place few can ever hope to visit. A realm known simply as the 'Realm of Light'. Such is the case with its opposite energy as well… at least to a certain point."

"With the opposite being Darkness, I assume?" Astra then quickly added, "It only makes logical sense for it to be called that, seeing as that's how it is referred to in relation to Light in many literary works." Analia nodded. The cat nodded, then posed another question. "So… you are a being of Light?"

Analia inclined her head, her long hair shifting as she moved. "That is so."

Astra thought for a long moment, then frowned softly. "You are not the only being of Light. Is that correct?"

"It is," Analia answered. "There always have been far fewer of us than there are beings of Darkness, but there are still many of us out there."

"It would make sense for there to be more beings of Light than just you, but why would there be a larger number of beings of Darkness?"

"Think about it this way," Analia began, shifting a bit in her seat. "A source of light can more easily eradicate shadows than shadows can suffocate a source of light. The same is true of Light and Darkness. Few beings of Darkness are so powerful that they can just as easily defeat us as we can them. My husband is one of the few, true exceptions, and there are very few others. Because many beings of Darkness are not exceptionally powerful, there can be far more of them without disrupting the balance than there can be of my kind. This is, for example, why evil creatures such as demons can exist in such vast numbers, whereas Light Sprites are few and far between in existence."

"I see… So, the strength of the individuals influences how many of them can exist without disrupting the careful balance of the universe?"

"It is not merely the _universe_ ," Analia corrected gravely. "Balance affects all things. All realms, all planets, all animals, everything. Balance is tied to all of existence itself. Disrupt the balance, and the risk of destroying existence itself becomes all too real."

Astra nodded in response to this, taking the information in. "Interesting. One final question and I'll leave you be. What else are beings of Light capable of besides healing?"

In response to this question, Analia's bright green eyes gained a distinct twinkle of amusement. "Far too much to possibly tell you in one sitting. As is the case with beings of Darkness, whom one must study as well in order to better understand the Light."

The corners of Astra's lips lifted in a similar display of amusement. "I see. Is there a possibility that you may find time to explain more one day?" Her eyes gained a hopeful shine.

"Perhaps, but I do not make promises on things that I cannot be certain of."

The cat gave a gentle smile in response, standing up and putting on her cloak. "I look forward to the chance, Analia. It was nice speaking with you, and I thank you for healing me of my injuries."

As she stood up to return to her duties, Analia responded in kind, then murmured a small, "Farewell for now, then."

"The same goes to you." Astra replied as she exited the medical ward. The moment she was away from the hedgehog, she sighed. _Did she have to become careful right then? It would have been nice to know what my family is capable of._

 **~台風の目~**

Late that afternoon, everyone was gathered together in the control room of the Blue Typhoon. Tails was seated in his usual place, keeping half an eye on all his screens as he and Amy chatted about something or other. Cream, Cheese, and Charmy stood nearby with Lia and little Kimmy while Blaze and Shadow kept an eye on the lot of them. Soren stood next to Shadow, and the pair occasionally traded small words. Sitting against the wall nearby where Kaden, Analia, and their two young children. Analia was playing some sort of a hand game with them while Kaden contented himself with just watching. Not too far away, Knuckles and Rouge sat together in some chairs, just holding each other and trying to relax. Their son leaned heavily against Rouge, nearly asleep.

Across the room, Wave sat in a chair of her own, fiddling with some device she had built while, mere feet to her left, Jet stood with Hannah in his arms, cradling the girl as she dozed in and out. Sonic stood at a window a short ways away, just gazing out at the stars. The group's guest was nowhere to be seen at the moment, as were Arthr, Tammy, Marthal, Keiri, and Ten. Marthal, Keiri, and Ten were known to be in their rooms, sleeping, whereas the two Babylonians were in their own ships with the rest of the portion of the Babylonian fleet that was trailing the Typhoon.

Overall, things were getting quiet, but those who were paying attention knew that this didn't mean that things were _okay_. Jet and Analia in particular had much of their attention focused on Kaden, watching as he choked back coughs now and then, taking note of that slight feverish look to his eyes, watching as he occasionally fought to focus... Frowning, Jet eventually shifted his hold on his daughter (who had been outright refusing to be put down since she'd woken up earlier) and walked over to Analia. The twins had gone to hang out with the other kids by now, and Analia was talking to Kaden. She had a hand on his forehead, and the two were having one of their rare disagreements. "It is getting worse, Kaden," Analia was saying, frowning just slightly. "You _know_ it is." She was speaking of Kaden's illness, no doubt, which by now all of them knew of. Marthal had even shared a possible reason behind the illness, which Analia had actually confirmed.

"I'm _fine_ ," Kaden insisted, voice quiet as ever. He seemed a touch irritated, which Jet could understand. Neither liked being worried over.

"You are not, and I do not appreciate being lied to." This reprimand, gentle though it was, made Kaden's ears lower and he stopped talking. Sighing, Analia turned to Jet just as he reached them. Obviously understanding why he had come over, she murmured to him, "He needs a safe place to rest, Jet. I know of a place, but..." She turned her head away with a sigh. "It is back on Mobius. On Yueisha."

This earned a small blink. "My troops have been taking back land steadily, Analia, but they can only have done so much in so little time. Of all the continents, Yueisha is the least safe."

"I am aware," Analia responded softly, "but this place... it is the safest place I can possibly take him to."

Jet took a moment to contemplate this before speaking again. "If you can move quickly... you may be able to get to your destination without much trouble. They have not reclaimed large amounts of land, but the soldiers _are_ all over Mobius. They can cover you." He paused, thinking, then added, "And I can position some troops around your location once you arrive." Apparently, he had said the right thing. The relief in her aura at his offer of help washed over him with gentle force, the emotion powerful enough to make him rock back on his heels subtly. He didn't... fault her for feeling the way she did, and it certainly didn't upset him, but... sensing so much emotion all at once was always a bit much for him. But he forced himself to focus on her words, instead, as she expressed her thanks and told him specifically where she intended to go.

He committed the location to memory while she stood to collect her children. Of course, the conversation wasn't any sort of a secret, and others had overheard. Tails voiced some question about if others could go, too, and Analia had readily agreed. And, needless to say, everyone agreed that it was a good idea. So Sonic turned away from the window and asked the group at large, "Who else wants to go, then?"

Across the room from the hedgehog, Jet observed Shadow glance to Lia, then to Soren, where his gaze lingered. No one had said much of anything about the teen over all, but word _had_ spread around about him, from Lia of course. His origins and lineage were common knowledge now, and it seemed to be something Shadow was taking seriously. For Lia's sake, and almost certainly for Soren's as well (if, perhaps, to a somewhat lesser degree), Shadow spoke up. "We're going."

Blaze scooped up her little kitten. "We are, too." It didn't take any sort of a stroke of genius to guess why she came to this decision.

All the talking finally stirred Rouge, who had been resting since her rescue from Nocturnian clutches so recently. She shifted to talk to her husband, eyes still closed, while one of her hands gently combed through their son's red hair. It seemed as though she managed to convince him to let them go, too, for he eventually (and slowly) released his protective hold on her so that she could stand. Before she did, though, she shifted again, this time to whisper in his ear. His eyes went wide, and he began to stutter. She apparently made more sense of his words than anyone else probably did, for she said, "I don't know when. I just found out a few days ago." With that, she gave him a tired peck on his cheek, gathered up their child, rose to her feet, and walked over to Analia, leaving her stunned husband behind. Analia used her magic to rapidly gather all their things with her magic, then teleported away with everyone.

Never one to pass up the chance to lightly pick on his old friend, Sonic walked over to Knuckles and gave him a nudge on the shoulder, "Oi, what's up with you?" he asked, clearly amused. "You look like a deer in the headlights. Something wrong?" Slowly, the echidna shook his head.

Amy took over before Sonic had the chance to try to tick Knuckles off. "What's going on, then?" The question was innocent enough, but when it was answered... no one was quite prepared for it.

"We're... apparently... expecting another baby."

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,653 words this time, and this one is up in decent time! Yay! Thanks as always to Blazing Winds for his contributions with Astra. Lots and lots and lots of hints to the future of this series in this chapter, guys. Hope you enjoyed. Below are some reminders on how to pronounce some things.  
**

 **"Zyr" = "Zeer"**

 **"Eona" = "Ae-oh-nuh" (And for the record, yes, Kaden and Analia mentioned Zenith and Eona once. It was back in Hero during the Sonic X arc.)**

 **"Eras" = "Eh-rah-ss"**

 **Posted (at about 12:24 p.m.) 12-18-17.**


	75. Bereavement

**Disclaimer:** I hearby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this standoff... especially for the one who hums.

 **Note 1:** Firstly, I quite possibly should have been doing disclaimers from the get-go... but the _way_ I've decided to do it is a direct nod to my favorite author: forthright. If you enjoy Inuyasha, I recommend reading her exceptional works. And, yes, these disclaimers shall now be a regular thing. Every part that comes after the "especially for" bit will be different for every chapter, though.

 **Note 2:** Goodness, where to begin here... well, plain and simple, updates have been slow because I've been immensely busy and, honestly, when I'm not working I'm usually too tired to write even a paragraph. Watching TV or playing a video game seemed manageable, but serious writing? Not so much. But I'll be doing my best to remedy that, even if it means facing my own personal nightmare and writing on my phone in every spare second I have (like I wound up doing with nearly all of this). Hopefully updates will pick up again real soon.

 **~台風の目~**

 **Review Replies:**

 _ **(Plain bold means a reply from me. A reply that is bold with italics is from Blazing Winds.)**_

 **Hello, thatguy4643! Actually, no. They are of no relation. First of all, remember, she's purely a cat, whereas Analia is purely a hedgehog. And, as Analia explained in that chapter, there _are_ other beings of Light. ;) So, no, no family ties here. But, yes, Astra is a bit crazy in her own way. XD**

 _ **To thatguy4546: They are related… but… not in the way of family. That's all I'm saying. And yes. She is crazy.**_

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Bereavement"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _"Tell me, little heroes..." the woman sneered, "how does it feel to lose a someone so dear to something so vastly evil once again?"_

 _Sonic's pain manifested itself in the form of anger this time. He had cried enough. Baring his teeth, he took a menacing step forward, but an arm raised calmly and barred his way. Jet stood by his side calm as ever, and yet his eyes blazed with a glacial intensity that betrayed the truth. He wasn't calm. He was just as furious as Sonic, as as Amy, as Tails, as everyone else here. And yet... his voice was soft. "You speak of loss..." he murmured, "and yet you are incapable of understanding the __depth_ _of meaning behind that word."_

 _Suddenly, the woman became enraged. "I don't know the meaning of it?" she demanded. With just a few quick steps, she closed the distance between herself and the two old friends, practically snarling in their faces. "I lost everything to creatures like you!" An accusing finger pointed right at Sonic. "Creatures like those miserable children of yours, and your wretched father! It's only fitting that your eldest is now showing his true colors, revealing himself to be the monster he is!"_

 _"What do you know about what happened to my son?!" Sonic snapped back at her, so furious he almost couldn't get the words out without snarling so much that they were rendered incomprehensible. "What the hell did you do to him?!" No matter what this dark woman claimed, Sonic knew the truth. Many beings of Darkness were evil, yes, and most more so than mortals could comprehend. And yes, it was true that he himself had inherited copious amounts of Darkness from his father, as had his siblings and all their children. But he also knew that not all beings of Darkness were evil. Especially not ones that also had Light in them, not ones that were as joyous and carefree and friendly as Silver... So why? Why was he suddenly... suddenly..._

 _The woman scoffed at him, then spat in the dirt. The disgusting glob barely missed the toe of his shoe. "I only helped bring upon him the fate he deserved. Your kind utterly destroyed everything I loved... and now I stand prepared to do the same. Starting with him." She turned back to Jet. "You speak to me of loss,"_ she _muttered darkly, throwing his words back in his face, "but it is you and all of your friends who will now lose everything... All by the hands of your own sons. And this time, dare I say it... I don't think you'll have the guts to do what you have to in order to stop it." Her dark look turned into an equal parts wicked and victorious smile. "Have fun with that." Sonic snarled, but the sound went ignored. "You speak to me of loss?" she repeated softly. "Tell me, now... how long ago did you two count your friends' pretty heads? You may want to do so soon. Some are going to lose them soon."_

 _Before any reply could be made, a cyan sickle shot through the air and cut her clean through. The illusion of the threat vanished... and a new one hovered in its place._

 **~台風の目~**

"Sonic, will you _quit_ it? You're driving me crazy!"

Startled, Sonic turned his head away from the window to look at his wife. "Huh?"

With a little huff, Amy set down the box of gauze she had been holding and walked over. With a quick poke, she indicated to him his lower lip. "You keep biting your lip, and you're starting to draw blood. How many times have I already reminded you today not to do that?"

Recognizing now the metallic taste on the very tip of his tongue, Sonic's ears lowered in what was at first merely an unspoken apology. Looking down and away, he mumbled, "Sorry, Ames. I just..." He heaved a heavy sigh and glanced across the room to where Locke and Lucas both still rested in their hospital beds. The medical ward was quiet at this hour, what with almost everyone else being in the kitchen for lunch. "I'm worried about them," he finally admitted.

The mild annoyance in those green eyes softened with understanding. Amy took a seat beside him, a hand now resting on his arm. "But they're not the only ones worrying you," she murmured. "We all know you're scared about Silver, too."

An all-too-familiar lurch of unfounded dread made Sonic almost queasy, but somehow he managed to swallow it back. It took everything he had in him to admit, "I'm not just _worried_ , Amy..."

Something in her voice sounded so gentle... and so strong. "I know, Sonic." That hand gave his arm a small, reassuring squeeze. "But I also know something else." When he looked at her, eyes alight with all his unspoken fears, she gave him a small smile. It wasn't much by itself, but the gesture still eased some of his feelings a tad. "I know that he's strong, Sonic. And he's smart, and he's brave, and creative... I don't think he's in any serious danger right now, wherever he is, but even if he _is_... he'll know what to do. You and your parents trained him well, Sonic. He'll be alright."

Realistically, Sonic knew that she was probably right. _So why am I feeling this way?_

Apparently, in this moment, his mind was not private. _"Because you're a parent. Parents worry."_

Sonic almost tossed Amy a slight glare for invading his thoughts, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it. She was just trying to help, anyway. " _Mine_ don't worry like this," he sighed, draping an arm over her shoulders. "...Usually."

"Come on, you know that isn't true. They love you with all their hearts and more, Sonic."

"Sure, but they aren't the worrying type."

"Your mother worries about you all the _time_ , Sonic. She's just a bit subtle about it."

On this point, Sonic had to concede that Amy was right. "Okay, okay, so she worries, but-"

Amy cut him off. "Trust me, your dad worries, too. Maybe even more than Analia does." When Sonic fixed her with a disbelieving look, Amy actually giggled at him. "Just trust me, Sonic. When it comes to you and your siblings, they're both worrywarts. It's just a parent thing. It's not fun, but worrying about your kids, even when they're all grown up, is just... well, normal."

Finally, Sonic gave in and allowed her good mood to start to rub off on him. "Except there's nothing especially _normal_ about my family," he snorted in amusement.

"And we wouldn't want it any other way, now would we?" Amy responded with a kiss to his cheek.

There was a small lull in conversation before Sonic spoke again. "Speaking of kids..." He let the sentence hang, but he knew she would know where he was going with this.

Those bright green eyes lit up. "Oh, I know! Knuckles and Rouge are having another little one! Isn't that wonderful?"

 _If a bit... dangerous, given the circumstances._ Choosing not to share that thought aloud, Sonic instead gave a nod. After a moment, he slowly smirked. "How do you think ol' 'Knuckie' will react if they get a daughter this time?"

This made Amy laugh. "Oh, I don't know. It would be fun to watch, though."

Chuckling softly, Sonic again turned his head to look back at his wife's two patients. They weren't the only ones over there right now. Knuckles was there, too, having dozed off in a chair beside his father's bed a short while ago. The stress of everything had clearly been wearing the echidna down, and it never seemed like the man could get enough sleep anymore. All teasing remarks aside, Sonic did worry for his old friend. _At least his wife and son are safe now, but..._ He let his gaze drift to Locke's heavily bandaged head. _What happens if Locke doesn't wake up... if he doesn't recover from this? How much will it break Knuckles to lose his dad again...? _He wanted so, so badly to believe that Locke would wake up, that he would be fine, that _everything_ would be fine, but... he was no fool. And this was no fairytale. If there was a happy ending waiting for them all somewhere, it would come at a price. _Loss._ Turning his head again, he looked at Lucas. _Some of us have lost so much already... how much more can any of us really stand to lose?_

Suddenly, a deafening impact sent the ship reeling. Temporarily robbed of sight and sound, Sonic stumbled to his feet. Searing heat crashed over him in a terrible wave, and he realized that there had been a massive explosion. As sound returned, his ringing ears managed to pick up the distinct sounds of weapons fire coming from somewhere outside. More impacts wracked the vessel just when he began to process this. Staggering from the concussive blasts, Sonic made his way out into the hall with Knuckles and Amy right behind him. Second later, they came upon a scene he swore was straight out of one of his worst nightmares these days.

In one of the halls, a whole huge section of the Blue Typhoon sat in a state of disrepair, having sustained critical damage from the explosions. The only things preventing everything from falling apart entirely were Jet, Ten, Hannah, and Tails. They had all apparently been walking in the hall when this had happened, and caught the debris when the damage had been sustained. Three distinct auras and one pair of young arms struggled to hold everything up and in place. By the time Knuckles ran over to relieve Tails of his load so that the fox could rush back into the control room, more blasts were hitting the ship. Knuckles bodily shoved Tails out of the way and took his place. "Get us out of here, Tails!" he barked. But by then, Tails was already up and running. Soon, he was out of sight amidst all the smoke.

"You two get away from here and take shelter somewhere!" Sonic yelled at Hannah and Ten, both of whom looked rightfully terrified. "We've got this handled!" Wasting no time, Sonic ran over to assist in holding everything up while Amy took the kids and ran off.

"No, Sonic!" Knuckles yelled over the roar of the flames. " _We've_ got this! _You_ get out there and kick some ass!"

"Fine!" Sonic released his hold on some debris that Jet wasn't able to grab in his aura, and the hawk immediately took over forcibly holding the huge sheet of metal up with his back. Sonic noticed, thanks to his sensitive ears, that the hawk's heart was pounding. He knew his old friend startled easily at times, but wasn't so sure that that was the reason for this. Somehow, he doubted it was exertion, either. But he also didn't have the time to try to sort this out. "You guys hang tight and do what you can, I'll be back!" Without another word, he teleported away.

Cursing under his breath, Knuckles craned his neck to look out of what remained of a nearby window. "Holy _hell_ , I think that's the same ship Rouge described being trapped on!" In the reflection on the glass, Knuckles caught sight of Jet quickly looking outside as well. But then the nearby flames caught onto something flammable on the floor and roared right up to their feet, and seemingly on reflex Jet jumped and pressed himself further against the wall. An involuntary gasp accompanied the sudden movement, and in the reflection of the flames in those eyes... Knuckles suddenly recognized the terror he was witnessing. Straining, Knuckles shifted the weight of his burden onto one arm and shoulder, then used the opposite arm to quickly wipe out those fires before they could come closer. Moving back to his earlier position, the echidna then demanded, "Are you alright?"

The fear barely ebbed from Jet's eyes, but somehow his voice never wavered. And yet... Knuckles noticed the hawk was shaking. "Yes." A new aura of sorts, one Knuckles soon recognized as the clear aura indicative of Jet's gravity manipulation powers, encased most of the rest of the debris to help hold everything together. Meanwhile, much to Knuckles's astonishment, Jet's aura powers then began to somehow mend... well, everything.

Knuckles huffed. "Guessing you can't do _this_ very often." A single shake of the head was the only response he received. "Well then hurry it up so you can go out there and help drive those bastards off before they break this ship _more_." An explosion punctuated his command, further pressing the need for Jet to hurry. This time, there was no response. But, just this once, Knuckles decided that was alright. Silence or no silence, he suspected that they were both grateful for the distraction.

 **~台風の目~**

Outside, everything was chaos. He hadn't realized before coming out here just how bad things really were but now, standing out here on the roof, Sonic could see just how huge this threat actually was. What he's thought was an attack by one ship turned out to actually be an organized assault by an entire _fleet_ of Nocturnian vessels. Jet's own fleet was already engaging them in combat and Tails had started firing into the mass of ships by now, but... _How will this ever be enough? _It baffled him how the Nocturnians had this many ships already and how there were so many Nocturnians themselves to man them. And with numbers... well, with numbers came an advantage all it's own. _For them._

Swallowing hard, Sonic's mind raced for some sort of an idea. They needed a strategy, a plan, _something._ But even then he doubted it would be enough. _Too many of us had to return to Mobius... there aren't enough of us here. _Those who did remain, he feared, wouldn't be enough. They had, what? Eleven or twelve people? But two were unconscious and four or five were just _kids_... It was really hard not to feel screwed, given that knowledge. Still, he did know that they had one thing going for them here: the robots he had taken from Tails's workshop what felt like a lifetime ago. Before coming outside, he had prepped the combat bots for war as best as he could. With a simple command typed in from his communicator, Tails's creations were released upon the Nocturnians, brandishing guns and swords and mechanized bows and arrows and lasers and Tails-only-knew what else.

Armed with a couple guns he had also snagged from the workshop, Sonic finally leapt into the fray. _Sorry, Dad, but I don't think even your swords are gonna cut it in a fight like this._ For that reason, he kept Caliburn sheathed this fight... but it stayed in its place on his back nevertheless. Just in case. As he propelled himself with careful blasts of fire across what was rapidly becoming a monstrous battlefield, psionic blasts further rattled the former silence of the area. Amy and Cream worked from the ship to defend their friends just as surely as Sonic was prepared to do so from out here, and he silently thanks them for their efforts. _There's no use denying it... I'll need all the help I can get. It's just like mom once told me... even strong leaders know when to admit that they're outmatched. That's where friends and allies become even more invaluable than ever._

Suddenly, new fire joined his own, illuminating the area with lethal orange light. It connected solidly with the hull of the ship that had so suddenly attacked their own, closely followed by a flash of white-ish "lesser" magic. _Marthal and Keiri._ Risking a quick glance over his shoulder, Sonic spied the two cats nimbly leaping from one chunk of space rock to the next, dodging all kinds of weapons fire while hurling back their own attacks with all the grace of their kind. More blasts of magic followed, these from within the ship, and Sonic immediately recognized the magic for what it was. That of a Chao's. _Even Cheese is lending a hand..._ Yet more explosions, and he realized that even as the ship was turning to flee, Tails was boldly opening fire upon their enemies. Missiles streaked, screaming, across the relative blackness, never missing their mark. Beyond it all, Sonic could see more ships coming... but he knew for certain that this did not immediately spell their doom.

Jet's fleet had long since moved in to face this background threat, brazenly making their presence known without a trace of fear. It reminded him of something Locke had once told Sonic about his friend's race, long ago. _The thing to remember about Babylonians is... well-_ Locke had laughed, then continued, _The thing to remember about them is that they're an exceedingly proud bunch. Proud of their strength, proud of their knowledge, proud of their accomplishments... That pride leads to a strong sense of honor and, in a way, an even fiercer brand of protectiveness than you've ever seen._ Thinking of his own parents, Sonic had thought that notion a touch exaggerated... until he'd remembered the trio of Babylonians he'd grown so close to - and realized it wasn't so outlandish after all.

 _If there's one thing I know I learned about those people from the war, Sonic,_ Locke had continued, _it's that they will defend to the death anything they care for. _A smile had graced the older man's features, a touch at odds with the almost fiery expression in his eyes. _When you're under a Babylonian's protection, few would dare try to harm you to begin with._ To this day, Sonic knew not what the man had been recalling in his own mind... but his last words to the hedgehog had made an impression all their own. _If even just one Babylonian has claimed you, be it as a friend or whatever else, you can rest assured that you're in safe hands._

Taking heart, Sonic raised his own weapons and, with the last traces of his reserve fading, finally began to fight.

 **~台風の目~**

 _All this trouble over some goddamn stones, _Jet swore to himself. Though logically he knew that the Chaos Emeralds were no mere _stones_ any longer, he still remained irritable over it. Fear had long since ebbed into a wave of perhaps irrational anger, as it so often did, while he busied himself with attempting to fix the ship. Knuckles had pressed him not two minutes on whether or not he actually _could_ do such a thing and, while Jet had admitted to nothing, he _had_ made a promise. He'd said he'd do what he could, and so he was. He'd already successfully restored enough of the hole to relieve Knuckles of his own burden, but the whole thing was painfully slow-going. He hated it, really, and wished for some help... but all those who could help him with this were busy battling. _Better they lend their arms to that cause than to this one._

While he worked, Knuckles lingered nearby, arms crossed in the very picture of impatience... and yet he waited. Outright refused to leave, in fact. _He does not seem to think I need protection, and yet he stays... Hnn... It would seem his motives for his dealings with me are complex as ever._ Putting that matter aside briefly, Jet cut the echidna a glance. He had given up trying to force the man to leave several minutes ago. Concentrating on his task was hard enough without having an ongoing argument at the same time, and ultimately he had to admit that his own stubbornness had been outmatched. _For now, at any rate._

A crack overhead drew both his attention and that of his silent companion. And, suddenly, said companion was silent no more. "Aw, hell," he groused, "did something hit us _again_?"

Giving the echidna a sidelong glance, Jet confirmed with a vague hum. "Hnn."

Suddenly, something in Knuckles's head clicked, judging by the shift of emotion in his aura. An accusing finger was suddenly pointing at Jet. The action was less demanding than it was surprised... but barely. "Hey, wait a goddamn _minute_ , since when have _you_ -?" A slight frown graced Jet's features, slowly making itself seen past his usually infallible mask. "'Hnn'," Knuckles mocked (rather dramatically, in Jet's opinion) before saying, "That's basically the same sound _Kaden_ constantly makes!" A second later, Knuckles made a light mockery again, this time of Kaden's slightly shorter version of the sound. "'Hn'. It's the _same sound_ , and I never realized before somehow!" Strong red arms crossed again, and Knuckles's demeanor calmed as surprise ebbed a tad. "I know you constantly hum in response to crap, but I never noticed it was the _same_ hum he does."

Truth be told, Jet had never noticed, either. And he hardly saw why it was such a big deal, either. So, for once, he decided to give in to his (this time annoyed) curiosity and ask, "Does it _matter_?"

"In the grand scheme of things, hell no," was Knuckles's ready admission. "It's just nice to see that, in a way, some of us stuck with you for all that time, after all."

Struck by this comment, Jet was momentarily silent. _Stuck_ _with-_ His mind whirled in a brief frenzy of thoughts before settling on certain select memories, some so vague he wasn't even sure they counted. Cream's compassion toward all, Sonic's protectiveness over all he cared for, Analia's love for her children, Kaden's fearsome presence on a battlefield, Locke's timeless wisdom, Rouge's subtlety in both theft and her dealings with people, Wave's boldness in the face of a challenge, Silver's perceptiveness in any and every situation, Tails's sharp wit and sharper leaps of understanding and judgement, Blaze's cunning and artful way of manipulating to get what she desired when need be, Knuckles's directness toward all and _about_ all... looking back, it was plain to see how each (and more) had touched him in their own way. Each had left their marks somehow... and it had taken the sudden shouting of a surprised echidna to get him to notice. _...Hnn. Perhaps he has a point._

Just as he was making this silent concession, the ship shook, but this time gently. As he and Knuckles watched, more and more auras gently took hold of the battered vessel, aiding Jet in his difficult task. Mending physical matter with one's aura was such an advanced technique that he had only just begun to learn the ability from Kath mere decades ago. It sounded like a long time to many, but Babylonians, like some others, led exceptionally long lives, and he was an Immortal besides. Time meant next to nothing to him anymore... and yet, he found that it still managed to mean _everything_ at the same time. Gradually, he was relieved of his burden, and his eyes sought the remains of the hole in the wall in order to peer outside. _An instant is time enough for tragedy._ This much he knew to be true. And yet... there was another, larger truth that had recently come to haunt him. _Even if tragedy fails to strike now... it will come. With time, it will come. And one day..._ He glanced to Knuckles and found the echnidna watching him with calmness in his aura... and an unnerving sense of _understanding_. Like he knew. Because he did know. In the back's of their minds, they _all_ knew. _I will outlive everyone here..._ _And one day, I will lose them all, all over again._

Determination surged through him then, striking sure as any bolt of lightning. _But it will not happen today, and certainly not here. Not by Nocturnian hands. _Sweeping away from the wreckage with his scarf flowing behind him, Jet quickly strode off to ensure the safety of the remaining passengers. Knuckles followed him. "Finally started to give giving a damn another shot, huh?" the echidna remarked almost neutrally.

Jet couldn't quite decide if this comment constituted an insult... or something else. "Hnn," he allowed vaguely, if a touch moodily.

A smirk quirked the corner of Knuckles's mouth up, visible to Jet in the metallic reflections of the walls. "Good." Jet glanced at him, but Knuckles seemed prepared to drop the matter entirely. Instead, he asked with a now fully-visible smirk, "So, at any point, do you plan on actually _attacking_ these bastards today?"

Dark certainly swirled within Jet as he muttered a firm, "Yes." Then, a slight, wicked smile that would have castrated some of his generals graced his features. Knuckles's eyes widened a degree as the hawk added a cold, "They will come to regret ever making our acquaintance."

 **~台風の目~**

It had been two hours.

Amy sat in a window in the medical ward, looking out and observing the fight that was raging in the distance. Tails had long since maneuvered the ship safely out of range of further attack and, while the ship _had_ somehow been repaired eventually due to some not-so-subtle Babylonian interference, it certainly had looked like a scrap heap when they'd gotten into this sheltered niche between asteroids. The ships had suffered numerous blows even after Jet and Knuckles had checked up on her and those in her care. After they'd left to join the fight, one such attack had taken out a sizable chunk of the medical ward, injuring both her and Charmy. The young bee's wounds had amounted to little more than scrapes and bruises, though, so he had been healed easily enough. Amy's own wounds, however, were more concerning. Gentle fingers skimmed across her right leg. _I think it's broken._

Teeth working their way into her lower lip, Amy glanced over those in her charge. Hannah sat, subdued, with both of her brothers. Ten was in the chair beside her, Lucas in his bed. They seemed so small and scared... save for Ten, whose amber eyes were aglow from within from the kind of determination she knew well from her own husband in his family. _He wants to fight... but he wants just as badly to be here for his sister. He can't do both, so he made a choice._ Looking into Hannah's ashen face, she felt her own eyes soften. _And I'd wager it was the right one._ Nearby, Charmy lay curled on a previously unoccupied bed, asleep under thin sheets. It had surprised her at first that he even _could_ sleep during such chaos... until she'd decided it hadn't. _He's used to sleeping through Vector's booming shouts and heavy, stomping movements... and fear is exhausting, besides._ Sympathy further filled her being.

Only Cream and Cheese were neither grim nor inactive. Outside, Amy could distantly see the evidence of their work: mingling explosions of pink and sky blue, psychic energy and Chao magic. Their eyes were closed, expressions one of fierce concentration, drive, and even... _confidence_. They, like Ten, wished to help. They knew what they could do to accomplish that end, and they were doing it. It made Amy proud in a sisterly sort of way... until pride gave way to further concern as her gaze drifted to the sleeping man in red closest to the door. _You would have wanted to help, too... wouldn't you?_ Suddenly, tears stung her eyes as she thought of her father-in-law, and her teeth sunk deeper. Knowing what she'd so recently learned, it was a wonder her heart didn't break for him and Analia both. _What am I supposed to do...? What can I ever say to either of them that will ever make any of this better? _Her eyes squeezed shut. _And what about Knuckles and Rouge and Jason? They're expecting another baby! They would want him to be there! He would want to be there! How can... _Gentle fingers slowly closed around one of Amy's wrists, and her eyes were startled open. Peering into eyes so icy and blue they seemed to embody water itself, she suddenly realized that she had actually begun to cry.

With all the solemnity of her father, Hannah softly inquired, "Are you alright?"

Hardly trusting herself to speak, Amy just shook her head. _I could never place the burden of knowledge like this on a child... She's lost too much of her innocence as it is... It's died because of the very same people who hurt both Locke and her brother..._ Reaching up a shaky hand, Amy swiped at her eyes... and in spite of herself, a sob escaped her lips. _I just don't want more of us to die...!_

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,937 words this time. I very much hope you all enjoyed this solemn edition to the series. I left some very direct hints toward the future of this series in here once again. Did you see them? ;) Though he did not directly write with me this time, many thanks as always to Blazing Winds, especially for giving opinions on scenes before they're posted. Posted (at about 4:57 p.m.) 01-06-18.**


	76. Stalemate

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this bout of desperate combat... especially for the one who can't guarantee anything.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Desperation** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

With a single explosion, the fighting outside resumed. The cacophony of noises were practically deafening, even from within the ship, but Cream had long since tuned everything out. Seated in a corner beside one of the hospital beds, she pressed fingers into into her temple with her eyes squeezed shut, rocking slightly in response to her internal agony. And yet, in spite of the pain, she kept her mental connection with the Voice open. _"_ _Ythene"… you said that's your name, right?_

 _"It is."_

She took in a shuddering breath. _Ythene, can you show me again? That vision I just saw…_ Ythene gave her no verbal reply, but soon images without sound were playing through her mind's eye again. This time, everything went a bit slower, slow enough for her to understand exactly what she was being shown. The moment it was over her eyes shot open and she bolted out the door. Amy's startled voice followed her out into the hall, but the child didn't heed it. She skidded down a hall and sprinted straight into the control room. "Tails! _Tails_!"

Apparently startled, Tails spun around in his seat, one hand still tightly clutching at some of his controls. "Wh- Cream?" There a very slight pause, then he exclaimed, "What are you _doing_ in here? It isn't safe!"

"I have to tell you something!" Cream yelled back. Something in her tone must have gotten through to him, for he closed his mouth instead of continuing to speak. "I saw things, Tails. A lot of things, and all recently. I've seen wars and demons and kids that should have even _been_ kids when I saw them and- and- and I'm not _supposed_ to tell you about most of these things, Ythene says I can't, but-"

"Wait, Cream, slow down!" Casting a wary glance out of the huge windows of the room, Tails jumped out of his seat and jogged over to her. "Who's Ythene?"

"She said I can warn you!" Cream told him desperately.

"Warn me about _what_?" Tails demanded. Something in his deep blue eyes was full of fear… and desperation of his own.

"Above all else, Tails, what I saw in my visions - what I _keep_ seeing - is _loss_ ," Cream answered, voice suddenly lowering to a near-whisper.

"Loss?" Tails asked. His voice was nearly as quiet as hers when he spoke. Now kneeling down in front of her, the twin-tailed genius who was among her many heroes asked, "Cream, what are you talking about?"

"We stand prepared to lose _everything_ , Tails," Cream responded earnestly. " _Everything_! We've _already_ lost far too much! Bokkun and Omega _died_ ," she choked out, "and Espio-san and Silver and Suri are missing, and…" By now, she was sobbing, and Tails's eyes had filled with worry. "But there's so much _more_ that we haven't yet lost, things that we still _can_ lose, Tails… But I don't _want_ to lose anything more!"

"Is this what you wanted to warn me about?" Tails asked her, alarmed. "Is something going to happen?!"

" _Yes_! I don't know when or how it happens, but something _does_ and-!"

Suddenly, a surprisingly strong arms wrapped around her. On reflex, she buried her fingers into soft fur and closed her eyes. As she cried, she heard Tails murmur to her, "It'll be okay, Cream. It'll be okay. We aren't going to lose anyone else. We _won't_."

The conviction in his words was strong. She wanted so, _so_ badly to believe that his words were true. But she couldn't. The only truth she could believe in this moment was simple. _Even you can't promise the impossible, Tails… not even you…!_

Another tear slid down her cheek and vanished into yellow fur.

 **~台風の目~**

The room Astra had been given for now was dark and quiet. Through the closed window, faint lights and flashes managed to filter through the curtains. Besides Astra, no one else was occupying the entire hall right now. It was mostly quiet, a perfect atmosphere for some people to do plenty of thinking. _I cannot let them sense me… If I'm found here, everything will be ruined…_ Her fists clenched a bit. _I'd kill them all, but… Damn it! Why did they have to come here?!_ In a fit of short-lived anger, she hit her fist on the wall, only to whimper at the snapping sound that emanated from her hand. _O...Ow…_ Very briefly, she ran her other hand over the broken bones and temporarily mended them, biting her lip.

 _What was I doing… I'm not even sure…_ She pulled a book out from her cloak and flipped open to a page marker she'd left, reading over all of it. She grinned wickedly. _Gain their trust… that step is pretty much done. Watch them… And take the future Creator for myself._ The cat resisted the urge to begin laughing and doubled over, her eyes wide with malice. "I _will_ win. And when I do, I'll prove them all so… so wrong."

 **~台風の目~**

Pain seared through Sonic's arm as a laser beam whizzed past far too close for comfort. He shouldered his way through some floating debris, kicking a particularly sharp one the shooter the second he was close enough. T _hat makes five… Five injuries is five too many._ Shooting a glance far to his left, he picked out Knuckles in a small crowd of enemies. So far as he could tell, the echidna had no new enemies to speak of so far. _Still two… good. Nothing new. Or worse._ His head swiveled, trying to spot Jet somewhere in this mess of combat, but the hawk was nowhere to be seen. _For fuck's sake, where'd he go?_

Suddenly, a voice sounded out from near the biggest cluster of Babylonian ships well beyond where even Knuckles was. "Get out of the way! _Get out of the way, move_!"

Spinning around, Sonic finally caught sight of his briefly-missing friend. _There!_ As he watched, the ships began to veer off in different directions, speeding off and away from their former positions with much haste. Ears straining, eyes squinting, he tried to make out what had riled his friend up so much that he was forcing his ships to scatter without warning like this. _What's…?_

A black, menacing ship meandered into view near the center of the rapidly dissipating crowd of Babylonian vessels. Soon, two more followed, then a few others, then the front end of an entire fleet. With wide eyes, Sonic turned on the stray space rock he'd been standing on and began using debris from various ships and whatnot to run toward the ship Jet was currently crouched on top of. Somehow, Sonic managed to get to the ship and jump on top of it. "The hell's going on?!" he demanded as he skidded to stop.

"Therians," Jet answered. He was panting, causing Sonic's ears to perk. "King must be pissed - we're in his territory."

Though alarmed by this news, and certainly prepared to keep a wary eye on the dark ships that were now firing furiously at the Nocturnians, Sonic's focus at the moment was Jet. More specifically, he was focused on that deep stab wound to his friend's left thigh. _Damn… it's bled a lot._ Edging nearer, Sonic examined the wound. _He probably won't let me cauterize it… though it might need to be. ...Right, I need a cloth or some shit._ Thinking fast, Sonic vanished, reappeared in his bedroom on the Blue Typhoon, then teleported back a moment later with an old shirt in tow. Wasting no time, he began shredding it into strips. "Jet, I'm going to wrap up that wound, alright? Will you let me do that?" It might have seemed silly to anyone else for him to ask, but he knew it was necessary. Past experiences going back all the way to their teenage years had proved that much to him. _If I try to just do it without permission, he'll fight me every step of the way. At least this way he'll usually let me tend to his wounds. ...Hopefully that hasn't changed._

After a long moment, Jet gave a single, distracted nod. Relieved that he wasn't going to have to argue with the hawk about this, Sonic got Jet to shift and set about wrapping the wound. _He can't like this. He hates being touched._ Hoping to distract him, Sonic pried for logical information. "You said those are the Therians?" Jet gave another eyes, eyes locked on those ships. His gaze never wavered from them. "And these are their territories?" Another nod. Sonic huffed, half-annoyed and half-afraid. "So why the hell didn't you say something?"

"When would it have come _up_?" Jet retorted. He was being surprisingly talkative all of a sudden… for him, at least. It was… sort of weird.

Sonic his head. "Fine… whatever. Listen, the Therians hate _you_ , don't they?"

"Babylonians in general," was the simple response.

"So why are they fighting _them_?" Sonic demanded, jerking his head in the rough direction of the Nocturnian's ships. Jet shrugged in response to that, but Sonic didn't buy it for a second. "No, _no_ , don't give me that shit. You have _some_ idea, don't you?"

It seemed that Jet smothered a sigh before answering. "He must be damned pissed," he said again, still being surprisingly forthcoming. "I-" he cut himself off for just a second with a wince when Sonic tightened one of the makeshift wraps, "-heard a rumor. Whispers that the Nocturnians want to be like the Therians. ...Want to take them over and surpass them, really."

Sonic frowned slowly. _That sounds like what Kath was telling me._

"And, on top of that, they entered Therian territory," Jet continued.

Honestly, Sonic was beginning to think that Jet was possibly exhausted and that maybe that was the reason for his sudden… chatty-ness. Such a response to tiredness was rare for him, though, but it had happened before. Sonic recognized the signs of it, few though there were. _He's damned tired… gotta remember to try to make him sleep later._ "Guess that's a good reason to be pissed," he mused, "but there's something I don't get still. See, we entered their territory, too, didn't we?"

"Yes… but K'nuch'k is no fool."

"Who?"

"The Head of War." Jet's eyes narrowed subtly on a few Therian ships in particular. "He knows his king is trying to avoid war, at least for now, with my people."

"Because he doesn't want to fight?" Sonic ventured.

"No." When Sonic frowned, Jet murmured slowly, dangerously, "It's because he remembers that I threatened to kill him."

"Guessing _that_ had to do with a war," Sonic sighed while tightening the last of the strips of cloth.

"No," Jet drawled, tone still dangerous. "He kidnapped Lucas when he was little… and I made certain that my enemies would fear further repercussions than they already saw."

Wincing from sheer concern, Sonic removed his hands from the freshly bandaged wound. "You gonna start a war over it?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm not stupid, either, Sonic," Jet answered simply as he moved to stand up. "And while I'd _love_ to kill that bastard for a myriad of reasons… now is not the time or place."

"Good. ...You know, you worry the shit out of me sometimes."

"Hnn. And you can be rather irritating. Your point?"

Somehow, Sonic managed a weak chuckle. "Asshole." For just a second, Sonic thought Jet might have smirked… but then both the expression and he were gone, no doubt going to rejoin the fight. Taking heed, Sonic quickly got up and took off again as well. While he once more engaged the Nocturnians who weren't in ships, the Therian ships worked tensely alongside him and his allies - even the Babylonians. Jet had his fleet resume fighting, and the combined forces soon began to make a real difference in the fight. The much smaller Nocturnian fleet began to buckle under the assaults, and Sonic had just begun to think that maybe they'd be able to take the fleet out entirely, but then the first ship warped away… and the rest soon began to follow. The Nocturnians were fleeing. Ears going back, Sonic's gaze quickly sought out Jet to gauge his reaction… only to see his friend grab his sword at his hip, rip it out of its sheath, and teleport after the fleeing ships. He was gone long before Sonic could stop him.

 **~台風の目~**

With a bright flash of aura energy, Jet vanished and reappeared onboard the ship that Knuckles had pointed out to him. As he'd told Sonic mere minutes ago, he was no fool. He _knew_ his daughter was on this ship, could sense her easily. He _knew_ that if he didn't get her back now, the chances of her survival would plummet more than they already had. He couldn't let these monsters get away with his daughter again, and he _knew_ it. That meant that he needed to get their attention and make sure they knew that _they_ couldn't flee… and it was for that reason that he made no attempt to mask that brief flash of aura light, nor his presence in general.

Shade saw him before he saw her, but he'd been aware of her from the moment he'd appeared here. A quick slash was all it took to fell the Nocturnian barring his view. By the time that Nocturnian hit the ground, he was clashing blades with the woman. As their first true confrontation went underway, she made some taunting remarks regarding the fact that he was holding back his attacks, but he was hardly listening. Suri was there, right _there_ , in Shade's free arm. She was asleep, but not because she was _actually_ asleep. He could sense the Darkness in her aura, the black magic that surrounded her and kept her in this state. How neither of these things had killed her already was beyond him, and he wasn't about to cause her death himself by being careless in this fight.

That did _not_ , however, mean that he was prepared to go easy on Shade or her allies.

A blast emanated from the point of contact between their swords and ripped a huge hole in the huge ship. He considered it due comeuppance for the damage that had been done to the Typhoon. She considered it sheer insolence and stupidity. But, while he cared not for what she _thought_ , he did care what she'd _do_. She shifted his daughter in her arm, almost looking like she was prepared to throw the child, then lunged forward with her sword poised to strike at the wound Sonic had only just wrapped up. A quick dodge saved him, and he swung his own sword around. However, she was quite fast as well, and his strike also missed.

Though they both tried several more times to inflict injury upon one another, neither managed to do any damage until another stray attack hit the ship itself. With a thunderous crash, a rather large section of ceiling crashed down to the floor, knocking out the floor and sending all three of the plummeting into the bowels of the ship. Both Jet and Shade managed to catch themselves on opposite sides of the hole, but she had dropped the baby. Neither wasted even a second trying to decide what to do. Both lunged for the child… but it wasn't Jet or Shade who _caught_ her.

The destruction, apparently, had drawn the attention of Ix. He certainly hadn't been on board this ship before (Jet didn't know _where_ he'd been), but it would seem that he had been keeping a close eye on things in some way or another. No sooner than he had appeared, he swung his staff and a crackle of dark magic hurled itself straight at Jet's chest. Shade's own corrupted magic joined the attack in the blink of an eye, and Jet internally cursed his own exhaustion as he tried to haul himself up before he could be hit. _Can't teleport… Shit._ Coming here alone had been a foolish idea. He knew it was. No, he wasn't stupid, but he was _damn_ desperate. But that didn't make his decision to do this any less stupid… a truth further proven to him when he was struck. The impact threw him the rest of the way out of the hole and sent him skidding across the metal floor. A small cough did escape him, but any other expressions of pain were masked by the time his attackers joined him once more.

Ix's dark eyes were narrowed. "That struck your _heart_ , boy. You should be dead."

With an internal groan, Jet rolled over and pushed himself up. "You really don't know shit about Babylonians… do you?"

Shade scowled and took a step forward. "Explain!" she demanded.

" _God_ , you're blind." Grabbing his sword again, Jet stood up. "Babylonian's don't have _hearts_ , idiots." The brief shock that entered their auras was sort of amusing, in its own way. _Who needs a physical heart when aura energy can sustain you?_ It was the result of evolution that had taken place on their homeworld many millions of years ago, and genuinely was true of all Babylonians - even those who couldn't _manipulate_ auras. It was this alone that had saved him from yet another death just a moment ago. _Coming here alone was reckless and stupid…_ His gaze locked again on Suri. _But I don't care._

By sheer stroke of luck, Jet managed to force himself to use an aura attack he probably didn't really have the energy for. It unleashed a blinding light just long enough for him to grab Suri and wrench her free of Ix's grip. Then, once more digging into energy reserves that he just didn't have right now, he utilized another aura technique (one he barely knew how to do) to free Suri from the dark magic around her. He was only able to do this enough to let her wake up, but that was enough. It did not - and could not - purify her, but for now it was enough.

The second the light attack ended, Ix answered with a bright attack of his own. Though Jet wasn't sure in that moment _exactly_ what had happened, he knew enough to tell that he'd just been seriously wounded… and probably thrown through a wall or something. He'd known going into this fight that something of this nature would happen, but- _Damn… this is… worse than anticipated._ Tense with both pain and effort, Jet somehow managed to teleport with Suri off the ship and to safety. However, he'd misjudged where they'd end up. Apparently, the ship had already finished warping well away from Sonic and the others, meaning he was now too far from the Typhoon to teleport to it. That, in turn, meant that he had merely gone in the _direction_ of the ship while never actually managing to _get_ to it. He and Suri wound up instead on an isolated world miles from the damaged Nocturnian fleet with no medical supplies, no nearby comrades, and no means of getting back. Yes, Suri was finally _physically_ safe now, but… for how long?

As he all but collapsed against a half-petrified tree trunk and sank to the ground in a semi-upright position, too weak from blood loss to stand any longer, she cried and wailed, desperately trying to make it known how scared she truly was. Well aware of her more than justified fears, he held her close and did his very best to comfort her even as his own worries crept to the forefront of his mind. He was unable to stand, and she was unable to be calmed. Both were in sorry states, and their day could only get worse from here, he was sure. With a heavy sigh, he once more mentally berated himself for his foolishness… even as he half-drowned in relief.

 _Note to self… never pull a Kath and storm an enemy fleet alone… ever again._

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,465 words this time. Erm... sorry this is so late. Things have been going on and... yeah. But, anyway, thanks as always to Blazing Winds for his contributions to this story and, more specifically, to this chapter. Also, gonna try to get the next chapter up in decent time, but no promises. Sorry. Posted (at about 6:40 p.m.) 01-15-18.**


	77. Desperation

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this bout of desperate combat... especially for the one who can't guarantee anything.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Desperation** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

With a single explosion, the fighting outside resumed. The cacophony of noises were practically deafening, even from within the ship, but Cream had long since tuned everything out. Seated in a corner beside one of the hospital beds, she pressed fingers into into her temple with her eyes squeezed shut, rocking slightly in response to her internal agony. And yet, in spite of the pain, she kept her mental connection with the Voice open. _"_ _Ythene"… you said that's your name, right?_

 _"It is."_

She took in a shuddering breath. _Ythene, can you show me again? That vision I just saw…_ Ythene gave her no verbal reply, but soon images without sound were playing through her mind's eye again. This time, everything went a bit slower, slow enough for her to understand exactly what she was being shown. The moment it was over her eyes shot open and she bolted out the door. Amy's startled voice followed her out into the hall, but the child didn't heed it. She skidded down a hall and sprinted straight into the control room. "Tails! _Tails_!"

Apparently startled, Tails spun around in his seat, one hand still tightly clutching at some of his controls. "Wh- Cream?" There a very slight pause, then he exclaimed, "What are you _doing_ in here? It isn't safe!"

"I have to tell you something!" Cream yelled back. Something in her tone must have gotten through to him, for he closed his mouth instead of continuing to speak. "I saw things, Tails. A lot of things, and all recently. I've seen wars and demons and kids that should have even _been_ kids when I saw them and- and- and I'm not _supposed_ to tell you about most of these things, Ythene says I can't, but-"

"Wait, Cream, slow down!" Casting a wary glance out of the huge windows of the room, Tails jumped out of his seat and jogged over to her. "Who's Ythene?"

"She said I can warn you!" Cream told him desperately.

"Warn me about _what_?" Tails demanded. Something in his deep blue eyes was full of fear… and desperation of his own.

"Above all else, Tails, what I saw in my visions - what I _keep_ seeing - is _loss_ ," Cream answered, voice suddenly lowering to a near-whisper.

"Loss?" Tails asked. His voice was nearly as quiet as hers when he spoke. Now kneeling down in front of her, the twin-tailed genius who was among her many heroes asked, "Cream, what are you talking about?"

"We stand prepared to lose _everything_ , Tails," Cream responded earnestly. " _Everything_! We've _already_ lost far too much! Bokkun and Omega _died_ ," she choked out, "and Espio-san and Silver and Suri are missing, and…" By now, she was sobbing, and Tails's eyes had filled with worry. "But there's so much _more_ that we haven't yet lost, things that we still _can_ lose, Tails… But I don't _want_ to lose anything more!"

"Is this what you wanted to warn me about?" Tails asked her, alarmed. "Is something going to happen?!"

" _Yes_! I don't know when or how it happens, but something _does_ and-!"

Suddenly, a surprisingly strong arms wrapped around her. On reflex, she buried her fingers into soft fur and closed her eyes. As she cried, she heard Tails murmur to her, "It'll be okay, Cream. It'll be okay. We aren't going to lose anyone else. We _won't_."

The conviction in his words was strong. She wanted so, _so_ badly to believe that his words were true. But she couldn't. The only truth she could believe in this moment was simple. _Even you can't promise the impossible, Tails… not even you…!_

Another tear slid down her cheek and vanished into yellow fur.

 **~台風の目~**

The room Astra had been given for now was dark and quiet. Through the closed window, faint lights and flashes managed to filter through the curtains. Besides Astra, no one else was occupying the entire hall right now. It was mostly quiet, a perfect atmosphere for some people to do plenty of thinking. _I cannot let them sense me… If I'm found here, everything will be ruined…_ Her fists clenched a bit. _I'd kill them all, but… Damn it! Why did they have to come here?!_ In a fit of short-lived anger, she hit her fist on the wall, only to whimper at the snapping sound that emanated from her hand. _O...Ow…_ Very briefly, she ran her other hand over the broken bones and temporarily mended them, biting her lip.

 _What was I doing… I'm not even sure…_ She pulled a book out from her cloak and flipped open to a page marker she'd left, reading over all of it. She grinned wickedly. _Gain their trust… that step is pretty much done. Watch them… And take the future Creator for myself._ The cat resisted the urge to begin laughing and doubled over, her eyes wide with malice. "I _will_ win. And when I do, I'll prove them all so… so wrong."

 **~台風の目~**

Pain seared through Sonic's arm as a laser beam whizzed past far too close for comfort. He shouldered his way through some floating debris, kicking a particularly sharp one the shooter the second he was close enough. T _hat makes five… Five injuries is five too many._ Shooting a glance far to his left, he picked out Knuckles in a small crowd of enemies. So far as he could tell, the echidna had no new enemies to speak of so far. _Still two… good. Nothing new. Or worse._ His head swiveled, trying to spot Jet somewhere in this mess of combat, but the hawk was nowhere to be seen. _For fuck's sake, where'd he go?_

Suddenly, a voice sounded out from near the biggest cluster of Babylonian ships well beyond where even Knuckles was. "Get out of the way! _Get out of the way, move_!"

Spinning around, Sonic finally caught sight of his briefly-missing friend. _There!_ As he watched, the ships began to veer off in different directions, speeding off and away from their former positions with much haste. Ears straining, eyes squinting, he tried to make out what had riled his friend up so much that he was forcing his ships to scatter without warning like this. _What's…?_

A black, menacing ship meandered into view near the center of the rapidly dissipating crowd of Babylonian vessels. Soon, two more followed, then a few others, then the front end of an entire fleet. With wide eyes, Sonic turned on the stray space rock he'd been standing on and began using debris from various ships and whatnot to run toward the ship Jet was currently crouched on top of. Somehow, Sonic managed to get to the ship and jump on top of it. "The hell's going on?!" he demanded as he skidded to stop.

"Therians," Jet answered. He was panting, causing Sonic's ears to perk. "King must be pissed - we're in his territory."

Though alarmed by this news, and certainly prepared to keep a wary eye on the dark ships that were now firing furiously at the Nocturnians, Sonic's focus at the moment was Jet. More specifically, he was focused on that deep stab wound to his friend's left thigh. _Damn… it's bled a lot._ Edging nearer, Sonic examined the wound. _He probably won't let me cauterize it… though it might need to be. ...Right, I need a cloth or some shit._ Thinking fast, Sonic vanished, reappeared in his bedroom on the Blue Typhoon, then teleported back a moment later with an old shirt in tow. Wasting no time, he began shredding it into strips. "Jet, I'm going to wrap up that wound, alright? Will you let me do that?" It might have seemed silly to anyone else for him to ask, but he knew it was necessary. Past experiences going back all the way to their teenage years had proved that much to him. _If I try to just do it without permission, he'll fight me every step of the way. At least this way he'll usually let me tend to his wounds. ...Hopefully that hasn't changed._

After a long moment, Jet gave a single, distracted nod. Relieved that he wasn't going to have to argue with the hawk about this, Sonic got Jet to shift and set about wrapping the wound. _He can't like this. He hates being touched._ Hoping to distract him, Sonic pried for logical information. "You said those are the Therians?" Jet gave another eyes, eyes locked on those ships. His gaze never wavered from them. "And these are their territories?" Another nod. Sonic huffed, half-annoyed and half-afraid. "So why the hell didn't you say something?"

"When would it have come _up_?" Jet retorted. He was being surprisingly talkative all of a sudden… for him, at least. It was… sort of weird.

Sonic his head. "Fine… whatever. Listen, the Therians hate _you_ , don't they?"

"Babylonians in general," was the simple response.

"So why are they fighting _them_?" Sonic demanded, jerking his head in the rough direction of the Nocturnian's ships. Jet shrugged in response to that, but Sonic didn't buy it for a second. "No, _no_ , don't give me that shit. You have _some_ idea, don't you?"

It seemed that Jet smothered a sigh before answering. "He must be damned pissed," he said again, still being surprisingly forthcoming. "I-" he cut himself off for just a second with a wince when Sonic tightened one of the makeshift wraps, "-heard a rumor. Whispers that the Nocturnians want to be like the Therians. ...Want to take them over and surpass them, really."

Sonic frowned slowly. _That sounds like what Kath was telling me._

"And, on top of that, they entered Therian territory," Jet continued.

Honestly, Sonic was beginning to think that Jet was possibly exhausted and that maybe that was the reason for his sudden… chatty-ness. Such a response to tiredness was rare for him, though, but it had happened before. Sonic recognized the signs of it, few though there were. _He's damned tired… gotta remember to try to make him sleep later._ "Guess that's a good reason to be pissed," he mused, "but there's something I don't get still. See, we entered their territory, too, didn't we?"

"Yes… but K'nuch'k is no fool."

"Who?"

"The Head of War." Jet's eyes narrowed subtly on a few Therian ships in particular. "He knows his king is trying to avoid war, at least for now, with my people."

"Because he doesn't want to fight?" Sonic ventured.

"No." When Sonic frowned, Jet murmured slowly, dangerously, "It's because he remembers that I threatened to kill him."

"Guessing _that_ had to do with a war," Sonic sighed while tightening the last of the strips of cloth.

"No," Jet drawled, tone still dangerous. "He kidnapped Lucas when he was little… and I made certain that my enemies would fear further repercussions than they already saw."

Wincing from sheer concern, Sonic removed his hands from the freshly bandaged wound. "You gonna start a war over it?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm not stupid, either, Sonic," Jet answered simply as he moved to stand up. "And while I'd _love_ to kill that bastard for a myriad of reasons… now is not the time or place."

"Good. ...You know, you worry the shit out of me sometimes."

"Hnn. And you can be rather irritating. Your point?"

Somehow, Sonic managed a weak chuckle. "Asshole." For just a second, Sonic thought Jet might have smirked… but then both the expression and he were gone, no doubt going to rejoin the fight. Taking heed, Sonic quickly got up and took off again as well. While he once more engaged the Nocturnians who weren't in ships, the Therian ships worked tensely alongside him and his allies - even the Babylonians. Jet had his fleet resume fighting, and the combined forces soon began to make a real difference in the fight. The much smaller Nocturnian fleet began to buckle under the assaults, and Sonic had just begun to think that maybe they'd be able to take the fleet out entirely, but then the first ship warped away… and the rest soon began to follow. The Nocturnians were fleeing. Ears going back, Sonic's gaze quickly sought out Jet to gauge his reaction… only to see his friend grab his sword at his hip, rip it out of its sheath, and teleport after the fleeing ships. He was gone long before Sonic could stop him.

 **~台風の目~**

With a bright flash of aura energy, Jet vanished and reappeared onboard the ship that Knuckles had pointed out to him. As he'd told Sonic mere minutes ago, he was no fool. He _knew_ his daughter was on this ship, could sense her easily. He _knew_ that if he didn't get her back now, the chances of her survival would plummet more than they already had. He couldn't let these monsters get away with his daughter again, and he _knew_ it. That meant that he needed to get their attention and make sure they knew that _they_ couldn't flee… and it was for that reason that he made no attempt to mask that brief flash of aura light, nor his presence in general.

Shade saw him before he saw her, but he'd been aware of her from the moment he'd appeared here. A quick slash was all it took to fell the Nocturnian barring his view. By the time that Nocturnian hit the ground, he was clashing blades with the woman. As their first true confrontation went underway, she made some taunting remarks regarding the fact that he was holding back his attacks, but he was hardly listening. Suri was there, right _there_ , in Shade's free arm. She was asleep, but not because she was _actually_ asleep. He could sense the Darkness in her aura, the black magic that surrounded her and kept her in this state. How neither of these things had killed her already was beyond him, and he wasn't about to cause her death himself by being careless in this fight.

That did _not_ , however, mean that he was prepared to go easy on Shade or her allies.

A blast emanated from the point of contact between their swords and ripped a huge hole in the huge ship. He considered it due comeuppance for the damage that had been done to the Typhoon. She considered it sheer insolence and stupidity. But, while he cared not for what she _thought_ , he did care what she'd _do_. She shifted his daughter in her arm, almost looking like she was prepared to throw the child, then lunged forward with her sword poised to strike at the wound Sonic had only just wrapped up. A quick dodge saved him, and he swung his own sword around. However, she was quite fast as well, and his strike also missed.

Though they both tried several more times to inflict injury upon one another, neither managed to do any damage until another stray attack hit the ship itself. With a thunderous crash, a rather large section of ceiling crashed down to the floor, knocking out the floor and sending all three of the plummeting into the bowels of the ship. Both Jet and Shade managed to catch themselves on opposite sides of the hole, but she had dropped the baby. Neither wasted even a second trying to decide what to do. Both lunged for the child… but it wasn't Jet or Shade who _caught_ her.

The destruction, apparently, had drawn the attention of Ix. He certainly hadn't been on board this ship before (Jet didn't know _where_ he'd been), but it would seem that he had been keeping a close eye on things in some way or another. No sooner than he had appeared, he swung his staff and a crackle of dark magic hurled itself straight at Jet's chest. Shade's own corrupted magic joined the attack in the blink of an eye, and Jet internally cursed his own exhaustion as he tried to haul himself up before he could be hit. _Can't teleport… Shit._ Coming here alone had been a foolish idea. He knew it was. No, he wasn't stupid, but he was _damn_ desperate. But that didn't make his decision to do this any less stupid… a truth further proven to him when he was struck. The impact threw him the rest of the way out of the hole and sent him skidding across the metal floor. A small cough did escape him, but any other expressions of pain were masked by the time his attackers joined him once more.

Ix's dark eyes were narrowed. "That struck your _heart_ , boy. You should be dead."

With an internal groan, Jet rolled over and pushed himself up. "You really don't know shit about Babylonians… do you?"

Shadow scowled and took a step forward. "Explain!" she demanded.

" _God_ , you're blind." Grabbing his sword again, Jet stood up. "Babylonian's don't have _hearts_ , idiots." The brief shock that entered their auras was sort of amusing, in its own way. _Who needs a physical heart when aura energy can sustain you?_ It was the result of evolution that had taken place on their homeworld many millions of years ago, and genuinely was true of all Babylonians - even those who couldn't _manipulate_ auras. It was this alone that had saved him from yet another death just a moment ago. _Coming here alone was reckless and stupid…_ His gaze locked again on Suri. _But I don't care._

By sheer stroke of luck, Jet managed to force himself to use an aura attack he probably didn't really have the energy for. It unleashed a blinding light just long enough for him to grab Suri and wrench her free of Ix's grip. Then, once more digging into energy reserves that he just didn't have right now, he utilized another aura technique (one he barely knew how to do) to free Suri from the dark magic around her. He was only able to do this enough to let her wake up, but that was enough. It did not - and could not - purify her, but for now it was enough.

The second the light attack ended, Ix answered with a bright attack of his own. Though Jet wasn't sure in that moment _exactly_ what had happened, he knew enough to tell that he'd just been seriously wounded… and probably thrown through a wall or something. He'd known going into this fight that something of this nature would happen, but- _Damn… this is… worse than anticipated._ Tense with both pain and effort, Jet somehow managed to teleport with Suri off the ship and to safety. However, he'd misjudged where they'd end up. Apparently, the ship had already finished warping well away from Sonic and the others, meaning he was now too far from the Typhoon to teleport to it. That, in turn, meant that he had merely gone in the _direction_ of the ship while never actually managing to _get_ to it. He and Suri wound up instead on an isolated world miles from the damaged Nocturnian fleet with no medical supplies, no nearby comrades, and no means of getting back. Yes, Suri was finally _physically_ safe now, but… for how long?

As he all but collapsed against a half-petrified tree trunk and sank to the ground in a semi-upright position, too weak from blood loss to stand any longer, she cried and wailed, desperately trying to make it known how scared she truly was. Well aware of her more than justified fears, he held her close and did his very best to comfort her even as his own worries crept to the forefront of his mind. He was unable to stand, and she was unable to be calmed. Both were in sorry states, and their day could only get worse from here, he was sure. With a heavy sigh, he once more mentally berated himself for his foolishness… even as he half-drowned in relief.

 _Note to self… never pull a Kath and storm an enemy fleet alone… ever again._

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,465 words this time. Erm... sorry this is so late. Things have been going on and... yeah. But, anyway, thanks as always to Blazing Winds for his contributions to this story and, more specifically, to this chapter. Also, gonna try to get the next chapter up in decent time, but no promises. Sorry. Posted (at about 6:40 p.m.) 01-15-18.**


	78. Stepping In

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in the aftermath of that struggle... especially for the one who can't stay idle.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Stepping In** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

The castle was very, very quiet.

Ever since its abandonment more than one and a half thousand years ago, the Mobian castle of the former king and queen of the hedgehogs (and very nearly the entire world) had been eerily silent. Once a bustling fortress, the ancient building was now little more than an empty shell of its former self. Only lingering magic had kept the castle from turning into the crumbling ruins it would normally have been. _Magic from his mother… and his father._

Analia and those in her care had arrived safely some time ago, despite the intense magical barriers that kept it completely hidden and protected from most. As promised, Jet had positioned troops outside the barriers, allowing those inside to rest just a little easier. Most everyone was trying to get some sleep right now, but Analia was wide awake. It had been due to her children at first, for they had refused to sleep, but they had finally given in to their need for rest eventually. Now their mother stayed in a chair beside her husband, mind wandering as she waited and worried. _He has never been here before… I do not even know if he is aware that this place still exists._ Reaching forward, she adjusted a cool wet cloth on Kaden's forehead. His illness had continued to progress almost too rapidly to keep up with, and he was now very, very ill. He'd lost consciousness before they'd even made it to the barrier.

 _His condition continues to deteriorate… If he gets too much worse, my magic may no longer be enough to keep him from slipping into a coma._ Eyes clouded with unspoken fears, Analia looked Kaden over again. He was laying in an ancient bed (it, along with everything else in the castle, was also sustained by old magic), technically resting but really not. The room he was in was random, but large. The bed was as well, and had plenty of blankets to keep him warm. He laid on his side under them, breathing heavily and frequently coughing. His fever was high enough to be frightening. _If I cannot get this down soon…_ She swallowed hard, then silently commanded him, _Do not die, Kaden. Do not die._

A creak sounded from a short distance behind her, signaling the slow opening of the ancient wooden door. Turning, she spotted Shadow stepping in. Before she could ask, he murmured to her, "I'm heading out."

She blinked. "Where?"

"To find the emeralds, if I can," Shadow answered, shutting the door slightly behind himself.

"Doing nothing is… vexing."

Truthfully, Analia understood. She felt the same… though not just about this. Eyes once more on Kaden, she asked softly, "You are aware of the dangers lingering outside the barrier?"

"I am aware, Mother."

"And Lia?"

"She is asleep."

"Alright." Analia flicked a glance to the hall behind her adopted son just as his sensitive ears pricked. He turned while she asked, "Soren? Did you need something?" The teen cast an almost wary glance at Shadow, prompting Analia to tilt her head. _His heritage is no secret now, and Shadow has not rebuffed him in any way thus far… yet he still seems to fear rejection._

When Soren didn't answer, Shadow eventually spoke. "Soren?"

This simple word caused Soren to instantly look down and shift uncomfortably. "I… heard that you're leaving."

"He will be back," Analia murmured soothingly. "He is not leaving forever." Abandonment seemed to be something that he feared as well, but her words did nothing to help.

"I-I know, but…" Soren trailed off. One of Shadow's eyebrows raised.

"But what?" Analia prompted, keeping her tone gentle.

A long moment passed in silence. It seemed that Shadow had just about decided to just get going when determination suddenly flashed into his alternate-timeline son's eyes. He looked up, eyes focused on Analia instead of Shadow as though she would give him the desired response to whatever he was about to say. "I want to go, too."

 _Ah, so that is it, is it?_ Analia smiled faintly at the teen. _He seeks not only to avoid abandonment, but also to forge some measure of connection with the man he never before got to know?_ Her faint smile growing in spite of all her negative (albeit unrelated) emotions, she looked to her son. _How will you react, then, Shadow?_

Shadow's expression flitted through several subtle options before finally settling on a small frown not much deeper than his usual one. "Fine," he answered simply. He spun around on his heel and strode back out into the hall.

Surprise filled Soren's eyes, and Analia smiled. _Go on_ , she mouthed, nodding toward Shadow's retreating form. He gave no response, simply turned and ran after Shadow. Somehow, the scene the pair made as they disappeared from view managed to keep the smile on her face… even long after she turned all her attention back to her ill husband.

 **~台風の目~**

 _Idiocy._

She'd been an idiot. An absolute _idiot_. To think that she would fool herself into believing that this would never happen, that Jet would never try to do what he had in order to retrieve his misbegotten child… To think that she had been so _foolish_ as to think that she would never fail, let alone as severely as she had…

 _Infuriating._

Rage was a useful emotion. It emboldened the cowardly, empowered the weak, and brought focus to the distracted. It also helped paved the way for revenge, which she enjoyed more often than not. However… trying to take out revenge directly on the source of her ire would be a fool's errand right now. And she knew she had to be wary of it as well.

 _From the Immortal… from Ix..._

Both had reason to wish her harm right now. One certainly wanted her more than dead. The other… well, so long as she could continue to prove her usefulness from this point onward, at least _he_ wouldn't kill her. She had lost their vessel, yes, but so long as Jet remained incapable of purifying his child's aura their hope for a dark future remained.

 _And so long as the vessels remains ours, even when not with us, my life is safe._

Still seething, Shade stepped into the room where her remaining prisoners were now being kept. The bat was gone, her cage all but destroyed, but the chameleons remained. As Ix had recently stated, these two served little purpose overall. They were more of a liability than they were worth. In other words… their lives were forefeight. Perfect victims for her to take out her fury on. She had no reason not to kill them… so she clenched her fists and approached, eyes locked on the unconscious woman.

 _Weak. Worthless._

The woman was no fighter. She wasn't any sort of an intellectual. She wasn't a sorceress or a craftswoman or sensei or anything even remotely useful in a proper society. She certainly wasn't _strong_. To kill her would be so easy… it would take no effort. A beam from Shade's index finger aimed at her head was all it would - all it  did \- take. The man (she recalled that he'd said his name was Espio) went rigid, no doubt shocked.

 _Defiant. Silent, but self-assured. Insolent._

He had stoked her anger as well, ever since he'd first woken up in this place. Despite what she'd done to him, he'd stubbornly refused to die, to submit, to _break_. Through it all, he had remained calm, almost aloof, and oddly confident for reasons she couldn't fathom. It wasn't that he was confident that he would rescued - no, his look was something different. Maybe he simply believed that he would survive, no matter what was done to him? Well, she was prepared to prove to him his own foolishness.

 _Pain shall be his final companion._

Given the state he was in, he was incapable of fighting back or defending himself. It was all too easy to bring him closer and closer to the brink of death with each passing second, all the while keeping him conscious. She reveled in the torture she inflicted, only feeling a shadow of disappointment when he finally went limp and collapsed on the floor.

 _Fine, then. Death it is._

Raising a hand, Shade prepared for the final strike, but then…

 _Interference... Always interference._

A flash of grey accompanied the entrance of a being Shade had grown to loathe. That _damned_ smirk was all she needed for her anger to spike. Then, the words came. "I sensed your failure."

Furious anew, Shade scowled darkly. "You yourself have failed, _witch_. Ix wanted you to slay them all, and you have done _nothing_ but board their damned ship."

With an almost innocent pout, Astra stared into Shade's eyes. "I'm just not stupid like you. I infiltrated the Watcher's Observatory. If I had dared attack…" Astra sighed, regaining her smirk. "Well, that wouldn't be too bright, now would it? And thank you for calling me a witch."

"You do not need _intelligence_ to strike those bastards down," Shade hissed. She ignored that last comment. "Even the _stupidest_ of our warriors possessed enough raw power to destroy the lot of them with ease, even those damned _Watchers_ , but _you_ were the one tasked with doing so! _You_ are the one who has not done what little was required of you!"

The cat shrugged softly. "Your point is? I'm kind of losing you the longer you drone on about how I failed when you've put the entire plan on the line with your failure." Astra turned, then thought to add, "Who out of us dare fight the Immortal while with his comrades, alone, and surrounded by even more allies of theirs?"

 _The failure was my own - and yet it was not just so. Ix failed as well to stop him._ That, however, was not a fact she dared point out aloud. The walls had ears, after all. Everyone was always being watched. Always. "And you continuously jeopardize everything with your stupid games!" she snarled. "Refusing to kill those you were instructed to kill on site, stopping an execution Ix himself desires to see completed - You will suffer and die for your insolence, girl!"

Shade wasn't met with much of a reaction other than the cat biting on the tip of her finger and frowning in thought. After nearing the edge of the line, the sorceress spoke. "I hardly remember being tasked with killing them…" Her frown morphed into confusion, then a slight smirk. "Besides… who of you could _truly_ kill me?"

In response to that, Shade merely demanded, "What game are you playing at?! What the _hell_ do you expect to accomplish through this?!"

"More than you could even comprehend!" Astra laughed, doubling over. "You can't even _imagine_ how easy this will make it to use him!" She lifted her head, an absolutely mental look on her face as her purple eyes glowed. " _He_ will bend to _my_ will!"

"What are you talking about?!" Shadow shouted in a mixture of anger and confusion, her usual composure falling to the wayside in light of everything that had happened today.

Astra stood straight, grinning and growling. She walked forward, dangerously close to Shade. "Blessed are the ignorant, for they know not the darkness of the future."

This one, single comment made Shade's confusion grow to the point where it completely (albeit momentarily) drowned out her anger. _What?_

"Have you come to realize that you cannot comprehend it, or have I confused you beyond repair, causing your ignorance to have overtaken your mental state?"

Shade's fists clenched into balls of rage. " _Leave_ ," she snarled, "before I send the Dark One to obliterate you."

"I _dare_ you." Astra growled a little. "I'm gonna finish my business here. Pissing you off was… merely an added bonus." Shade snarled again, but didn't immediately comment. "Now, if you could disappear like the pest you are, I will be leaving."

Her fists clenched tighter. "I am going _nowhere_ ," Shade muttered darkly.

The sorceress sighed. "I see how it is…" She snapped her fingers, staring at Shade silently. "Then, you won't mind if I finish this with you standing here, correct?"

"Finish _what_?!"

In response, Astra smiled a little. "Alright. Don't say I didn't try to stop this." She tilted her head, sticking her tongue out.

"Stop _what_?!" Shade demanded to know, fury building again. "Talk _sense_ , girl!"

"I speak perfect sense for those who have the knowledge to understand." She dropped to the floor, a flash of grey covering her. The moment it faded, a large white wolf with a long, pitch black mane and tail took her place. Shade wasted no time in blasting it. The wolf disappeared, then she realized her mistake.

 _She- What?!_

Astra appeared near the Observatory, back in her Mobian cat form, holding Espio in her arms. _I could have been more subtle… but it is all too fun to see her angry._ She thought to herself, flying to the massive structure in space. Espio lay limply in her grasp, too deeply unconscious to react to anything. The cat landed softly, carrying him to where the Typhoon had been before seeking aid for the chameleon. Obviously, there were some medical facilities in the giant structure, all tended to by Babylonians and their allied races (such as a strange race well-known for their knowledge of weapons). She headed in that direction and Espio was quickly taken off her hands to be cared for. _Their services are better than many I've seen._ She remarked before heading off. _Once he comes to, I'll speak with him. Until then… my wait lies in the hedgehog and hawk returning._

 **~台風の目~**

"There's no telling _where_ he's gone to now, Sonic."

Sonic, who stood in a hall in the Blue Typhoon with Knuckles and Tails, bit his lower lip. _Tails has a point, but…_ "Wherever the Nocturnians went, he went. And we _can't_ just leave him wherever that is."

"But we don't _know_ where they went, and thus where _he_ is," Knuckles pointed out tensely. "We can't go find him if we don't have the necessary information."

"We also don't know if he's hurt, if he actually got Suri back, or anything!" Sonic responded in earnest. "He may need help!"

"Yeah, and _we're_ gonna need some serious help if we don't get outta here!" Knuckles shot back. "We need to get going before those other ships decide to attack _us_ next!"

"No! I am _not_ leaving without Jet!"

"You're gonna get us all _killed_ , Sonic!"

"Guys!" Tails cut in loudly. "I'll take care of it, alright?!" Emerald and violet eyes swung around to look at him. Now that they were quiet, Tails was able to lower his own voice. "I can use the Typhoon's systems to track the rough location that the Nocturnians warped to," he reasoned, "and from there take the X-Tornado to actually go find Sensei."

"...Alright, alright fine," Sonic caved, running a hand through his long hair briefly. "Just… do what you can." Tails nodded and hurried off to the control room. As he did what he'd been told, he also steered the ship away from the remnants of the battlefield, taking them away from the lingering Therian danger. The Babylonian ships were close behind, from what Sonic could see from out one of the windows. _Wave was on one of those… right? ...Yeah, yeah she was._ As he now recalled, Jet had allowed her onto one one of the larger ships in his fleet in order to let her satisfy her boundless curiosity. _I should check in on her later, make sure she's okay._

Soon, the Typhoon was headed back toward the Observatory, and Sonic and Knuckles walked into the kitchen together to find some much-needed food… well after they checked on everyone, of course. Sonic had begun poking around the kitchen to find some food he _didn't_ have to try to cook, while Knuckles raided the fridge. Both paused, however, when Sonic's communicator began to buzz loudly on his wrist. The fridge closed loudly. "What's going on?" Knuckles frowned. He popped open a soda can.

"I don't know, hold on." Sonic closed the cupboard he'd been looking into and turned on his communicator screen. "It's an alert," he muttered, unlocking the screen.

"About what?" No immediate answer came as Sonic read the alert. Slowly, his ears went back, and Knuckles's frown grew. "What?" he demanded.

"Kath was…" Sonic trailed off, then tried again, "Kath just died."

Knuckles's hard tone softened. "What?"

"He just died," Sonic said again, voice barely a whisper. "Some of Jet's troops saw it, and they told Tammy, and Tammy told Wave, and…" He trailed off again, then continued. "He was… He was slain in an asteroid belt in New Babylon's solar system." His gaze lifted nad found Knuckles's. "He was killed… by a Nocturnian known as…"

 _Kethro the Dark._

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,916 words this time. Thanks to Blazing Winds as always for his help! Posted (at about 7:37 p.m.) 01-17-18.**


	79. Terra

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of uncertainty... especially for the one who is stronger than she appears.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Terra** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

"Come on guys, I don't _wanna_ play tag anymore!"

Sarai stopped running and turned to face Jason with a hand on her hip. "Oh, _well_ ," she responded, tongue sticking out.

"I'm a bit tired of it, too," Sen admitted. He sat down in the grass with crossed legs and placed his chin in his hand. They had been playing outside in one of the castle's courtyards for hours now, practically from the moment breakfast had finished.

With a pout, Lia plopped herself into the grass beside him. "What do we do, then?"

A moment of silence passed before Jason proposed, "Hide and seek?"

"Boring," Sen sighed. "And we play it too often."

"Truth?" Lia tried.

"I don't even know what to ask anymore," Jason sighed, also sitting down. "I feel like we've asked each other _everything_."

"What about Blind Man's Bluff?" Sarai suggested. She took a seat on her brother's free side.

"No way!" Jason argued hotly. "You guys can hear… like… _everything_! I'd never win!"

"What about Simon Says, then?"

"That's a little kid's game."

Lia raised her hand. "...I'm a little kid."

Jason snorted. "So?"

"Fine, what about Red Rover?" Sarai cut in. "Mother says it's fun."

"Or I Spy?" Lia asked hopefully. "Daddy plays that with me a lot."

"We could play Kagome Kagome," Sen added. "Dad taught us how to play it, remember?"

Jason's mouth opened, quite possibly to cut down all of these suggestions, but his voice was never heard. Something slammed into the near-invisible barriers that surrounded the castle and its courtyards. Though the barrier kept the castle hidden and protected, everyone inside could see and hear everything _outside_. The impact caused ripples to shoot across the sky where the barrier was. All four kids looked up in unison just in time to see the second impact. It was Lia who whispered, "It's one of their monsters."

"...Think they know we're here?" Sarai muttered. "Or what's even in here?"

"Considering how long ago they lived, well after this castle was built…" Sen trailed off, then shrugged. "I'd say they have a pretty good idea." At this point, not even Jason questioned how Sen would even know this. His words were just accepted for now as fact.

"But they can't get _in_ here, right?" Jason, who was more freaked out than he let on, asked. "That's why your mom chose this place, right?"

"I think so."

"You ' _think_ ' so?!"

A third impact cut off any further dialogue. A fourth made Lia scream, for the barrier (as far as they could tell) bulged inward from the pressure. A fifth blow made Sarai jump to her feet and run inside to get her mother. Lia sprinted after the older girl, too frightened to stay outside, and Sen stood as though to follow. The sixth blow to the barrier made the barrier buckle just enough (though, admittedly, not very far at all) that Jason started to freak out.

The loose pebbles and dirt shifted.

When the creature behind these assaults let out a piercing sound somewhere behind a scream and a roar, the ground in a small area sort of… _jumped_. Then the sound repeated and the creature began beating on the barrier again, and the ground began to harden significantly. Overhead, giant oily black claws tried to penetrate the barriers, forcing their way through with so much force that it seemed _certain_ they would tear through. Another screaming roar, and a small dome of nigh-unbreakable rock suddenly shot up out of the ground to utterly surround Jason.

There he huddled, curled up and too frightened to move. Outside, he could hear footsteps running toward the dome. His mother called his name once, twice, but he didn't answer. _If I speak, won't it hear me?_ Gritting his teeth together, Jason listened to his mother in an attempt to take comfort from her voice. She tried to talk to him, tried to get him to try to find a way out, but he still didn't move. Shifting sounds outside signaled to him that she was moving around. Then, suddenly, something slammed into the dome. He was convinced, at first, that it had to be the creature. _It must have broken it. It must be trying to get to me so it can eat me._ But then the sounds continued, and he recognized a sort of rhythm to the impacts. They were like kicks… like the kicks his mother often landed on the training dummies she and his dad sometimes used with his grandfather.

Seemingly using a great deal of her strength, Rouge broke off chunks of stone which she then pried away with her hands. Eventually, the hole she created was large enough that she was able to reach in and pull him out. When he started to panic again about the creature, she was quick to quiet him down. Pointing outside, she said, "Look. The soldiers drove it away already. It's gone."

Whimpering softly, Jason allowed himself to then be pulled more fully into his mother's arms. There he stayed for several minutes, until his fear-clouded mind calmed enough that he thought to ask, "How… did the rocks do that?"

His mother took her time to answer. "For some people… powers are awakened through emotions. For others, they are awoken due to emotions that arise in certain specific types of situations." She shifted to look down into his upraised face. "Did you know that the power of earth manipulation runs in this family? Your dad and grandfather don't have it, but Locke's mother wasn't named 'Terra' for no reason…"

As this information sank in, Jason's eyes widened. _I… have a new power…?_

 **~台風の目~**

After Blaze, Rouge, and Analia were finished calming the children and ensuring that the creature really was gone, Analia returned inside. Walking the same way as he granddaughter-in-law for a time, she allowed herself a brief spell of amusement. _Kimmy is most certainly like her father, to have slept through so much of that…_ She glanced surreptitiously into Blaze's face. _But it is probably that thought, or one similar to it, that has reawakened your concerns for him._ Inwardly, she sighed as she looked ahead again. _Indeed, it would seem we both have cause for new fear regarding our partners as of late._

Before too long, the two women turned down separate halls, Blaze heading toward hers and Kimmy's room and Ana _lia heading to the room where Kaden still lay. Though normally she would have been quiet in order to let him sleep, she knew that this was no 'normal' scenario. Being unconscious is not the same as being asleep. And given the cause of his current state, Hell itself could descend upon us all and he would d be unlikely to respond to it in any way._ In an effort to ease the anxiety creeping into her normally boundlessly hopeful soul, Analia took a seat in the padded chair she had earlier moved beside the bed and moved to check on her partner, hoping for any sign of improvement.

Heart heavy with concern, she gently laid a hand on Kaden's forehead. He was still burning with fever, and he just couldn't seem to catch his breath. Reaching down, she pulled the simple cloth she had been using earlier out of a wooden bucket that was still full of cold water. After wringing it out, she folded it neatly and laid it upon her ill partner's forehead. He made a small noise and shifted, seeming distressed by the water as he always would have been. Though the sound and movement surprised her, she was quick to try to attempts to soothe him. "Kaden, senatal," she whispered. "Heikari telda no hen."

Kaden shifted again and his eyes struggled open. The fever made his gaze wavering and bleary, and his eyes weren't quite able to fully focus on her. He was clearly barely conscious right now. "Analia...?"

"Shh..." Analia soothed, moving her hand to lightly rub behind his right ear. As always, this action quickly made him relax. His eyes slowly shut. It seemed like he had drifted off again. Sighing softly out of sheer worry, Analia continued rubbing his ear to try to _keep_ him relaxed. She silently prayed that he didn't become afflicted by any fever-induced nightmares. Now more than ever, he needed to rest well. _And those nightmares he, Blaze, and Jet were having before… Who is to say that they cannot kill when they are severe enough…?_

A couple minutes later, Kaden stirred again. His eyes didn't manage to open this time, but she could tell he was awake. After a long period of relative silence, he was able to focus enough to speak. He said her name again. "Analia...?"

Analia didn't try to shush him this time. The fact that he was speaking again must have meant that he had something to say. He wasn't one to waste words, after all. So, instead, she continued to rub his ear as she asked gently, "Yes?"

It seemed that Kaden didn't exactly hear her. At least, not at first. As such, it took him a long time to reply. When he spoke next, his voice was very quiet, not that it wasn't that way normally. In actuality, his voice was quieter than usual. "Don't leave..." Though he'd worded it fairly poorly, she knew full well that this sentence was actually a request, one brought on by fears awakened by the fever... fears he kept buried deep within his heart... fears brought by his sufferings in the past. He had never seemed so vulnerable... not even immediately following his escape from the place where he'd been tortured all those years ago.

A sad smile made itself known on her face. "Oh, honey..." she whispered very softly, sympathy lacing her tone. "I would never leave you..."

 **~台風の目~**

Shadow gazed around the somewhat barren hilltop with a slight measure of disdain. The sight, he'd been told before, was of great historical significance, but he had no care for history. History never did anything for him besides dredge up old pains. It was something he strove to ignore. But, more than once, Old Hill had found a way to bring him here, anyway. First, during his wanderings after the end of the war against Ivo and the Metarex, and now… _Through him._ Crimson eyes slanted toward the stormy-eyed youth at his side. "Why here?" he demanded. Indeed, he could sense nothing here that hinted to him that a dormant emerald was hiding nearby, but… that didn't mean it _wasn't_.

Shifting a touch uncomfortably, Soren started to mumble a reply, cleared his throat, and tried again. "Because, in _my_ world, it _was_ here."

Curious in spite of himself, Shadow asked, "Was?"

A nod. "Yeah. I found it and dug it up. I mean, with my hands, you know. Nocturnians took control of basically all the metal. No tools." Shadow waited impatiently for the rambling to stop. When it didn't, he took a turn clearing his throat. It was enough to get the boy back on track. "A-Anyway, I took it with me after I found it. It was stolen a while later, though."

That fact was irrelevant to this world, so Shadow chose to ignore it. "Why do you think it will be _here_ simply because it was _there_?" he challenged. He'd seen a streak of logic and intelligence in the boy - it was just a matter of getting him to actively _show_ it.

However, Soren merely shrugged and responded unhelpfully, "A hunch?"

Huffing, Shadow looked around. Without him ever being consciously aware of it, more than one of the numerous chips and whatnot implanted in his brain set to work, scanning the surroundings and picking out any abnormalities in the ground in seconds. When he finally spotted a sort of half-buried lump in the loose dirt a ways away, he strode over to it, knelt down, and started digging with his fingers as Soren had once done before. Soon, he pulled the red emerald from it's dusty confines. _Hn. Impressive hunch._ Straightening, he glanced to Soren and gestured with his head. "Let's move."

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,103 words this time. Okay, I know my updates are still lagging and this chapter was pretty lackluster, but I'm working on it, guys. A lot's been going on lately that I don't wanna talk about, is all, and it's been greatly contributing to my barely wanting to do anything besides play video games and maybe eat some chips once in a while. ^-^" But, like I said, I am working on it. Hopefully this will be over with soon and updates will finally return to normal. Also, little fun fact here, that middle scene basically wrote itself. See, the outline for it was an old vision of Cream's from "Hero", and it turned out that I basically had to change nothing. Haha. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 10:45 a.m.) 01-20-18.**


	80. Devastation

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this fearful time... especially for the one who isn't out of the woods yet.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Devastation** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _Focus on what you can do._

 _Focus on what you can do._

 _But what can I do?_

 _Until we get back to the observatory… what can I do?_

Sighing softly, Sonic stepped into the medical ward on the Blue Typhoon. Amy wasn't in there now, but only because he'd finally convinced her to go lay down and try to sleep. Wave was in there, sitting beside Lucas's bed because, as she'd put it, "Jet can't be here to sit with him, so someone else should". She seemed lost in thought, so Sonic opted to leave her be.

Looking across the room, he spied Knuckles, who was sleeping in one of the beds. Amy had healed his wounds, along with Sonic's, but Knuckles had refused to sleep in his own room. _He's worried about Locke… and who can blame him?_ Sonic's emerald eyes shifted to Locke, whose bed he now stood by. _Amy said he showed signs of possibly waking up earlier, but he still hasn't and she can't do anything more for his wounds. He would be so much better of with mom, but we still can't risk moving him…_ Sitting heavily in a chair, Sonic closed his eyes. _It feels like no matter which choice we make here, it'll be the wrong one. None of these options are as beneficial to him as we need them to be._

With another sigh, Sonic settled back in the chair and leaned his head against the wall. _Maybe I need rest, too. I'm worrying too much again - at least Amy would say so._ A third sigh, and he finally let his mind just begin to wander elsewhere. He thought about his parents, his son, his wife. He contemplated the fates of Espio, Kanari, Vector, and Vanilla. He pondered over Knuckles and Rouge's former child, the locations of the missing emeralds, the well-being of those who had returned to Mobius for shelter. Thinking of shelter triggered a memory of home, of his nice bed, his and Amy's quiet bedroom, and somehow he began to doze off.

As luck would have it, movement made his ears perk soon afterward. The sound startled him enough to make him jerk and snap his eyes open. Said eyes then widened when he saw the source of the movement. _Locke!_ As Sonic watched, Locke shifted again and tossed his head to the side. Sonic sat forward, heart swelling with hope again. "Locke?" There was no reply at first, but after a moment Locke sort of half-mumbled something that Sonic didn't - couldn't - answer. His speech was too slurred, his words too jumbled together. _He's still really out of it._ Regardless, Sonic tried talking to him again, hoping to get at least one coherent reply. "Locke, can you hear me? Does anything still hurt?"

Though Locke shifted again, turning his head to the other side and (probably unintentionally) sliding the blanket part-way off, he showed no other signs of response. He made no other attempts at speech, never once even tried to open his eyes, nothing. Hope bled away into new, not all that unfounded fears. _His surface injuries are healing well enough, but… how much internal damage has he suffered?_ Teeth sinking into his lip as they so often did these days, Sonic looked at the bandages still wrapped around Locke's head. _Mom never told me much about Locke's condition after she and Amy worked on healing him, but dad… she told him something. She must have. He was hiding it most of the time, but I've never seen him so… devastated before._ His fangs started to draw blood. His hands, which now gripped the bed rail, tightened their grip until they shook. _Mom… how much were you actually able to heal him… and why didn't you say anything?_

Under Sonic's watchful gaze, Locke slowly drifted off again, as though he had never awakened to begin with.

 **~台風の目~**

 **686 words this time. Another short and sort of lackluster chapter, I know, but it's still important as you could probably guess. Hope you guys enjoyed. Posted (at about 11:30 a.m.) 01-22-18.**


	81. Escape

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this escape scene... especially for the one who is not to be trifled with.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Escape** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

Truth be told, Jet had no idea how many hours it had been since he and Suri had wound up on this unknown planet… or if even had, indeed, been hours at all. All he knew was that, for however long he'd been here with his daughter, things had been strangely quiet and - dare he think it - _peaceful_. Suri had fallen asleep, truly fallen asleep, in his arms some time ago and Jet had rested as much as he could since then while simultaneously preventing himself from falling asleep.

Cracking his eyes open, Jet lifted his head from where it had been resting against the trunk of a tree and looked down at his daughter. Since the blanket he usually kept her wrapped up in was gone or ruined somewhere, he had used his scarf to keep her warm. She slept soundly in his arms, but his eyes lingered on the cuts and bruises she had sustained during the mess earlier. His heart lurched a little. _I'm so sorry, kiddo._ He'd probably thought it a thousand times by now, but it still hardly felt like enough.

It took a time for Jet to move any further, partly because he was wary of waking his daughter and partly just because he knew it was going to _hurt_. Wincing, Jet shifted himself into a more upright position. Curiously, it hurt less than he'd anticipated, leading him to wonder if he had died earlier without realizing it when he'd been drifting in and out. It was the only explanation he could think of, since when Immortals experienced a death any and all wounds that directly contributed to said death would heal. A quick glance over himself proved that some of his wounds were, in fact, gone. _Dammit… I was trying to avoid dying again during this war…_

A commotion far above drew his attention, and for a moment he tensed. _Nocturnians? ...No… the Tornado?_ Squinting, he was able to Jet make out the ship as it was entering the atmosphere and beginning its descent to the surface. He couldn't fully see it, of course, but the aura of the pilot told him all he needed to know. _Tails… Hnn. Leave it to him to find a way to track someone even when they warp to unknown locations. Though…_ he glanced to his communicator. _Turning the tracker on for once may have helped._

By the time, Jet managed to get to his feet, on which he sort of swayed a little, Tails had flown fairly within sight. It didn't take too much longer for Tail to reach him and land the ship. When Tails stepped out, Jet shook his head. "How did you managed to warp this far?"

"Huh? Oh." Tails hopped down onto the left wing, then onto the ground. "Well, I told Arthr and Tammy where I was going and asked if they could help me, and Tammy helped install a _much_ better warp-drive into the Tornado. The kind your ships normally use, I'm guessing."

"Hnn," Jet allowed vaguely before asking, "There were no Nocturnians barring your way?"

"Not exactly, but they _are_ coming," Tails answered. A sense of urgency seeped into his tone. "There's no way they _didn't_ see me come here."

 _Therefore, my hiding place is no longer so hidden._

"You've been keeping your aura hidden, I imagine?"

"Yes."

"Then they might not have realized yet that _you're_ here, so we might still have a minute." Tails gestured for his old teacher to come along. "Still, we'd better hurry."

Nodding his assent once, Jet walked over, hoping that by some chance Tammy had also given Tails the baby seat Jet normally used in his own ship. Upon seeing that she had, he allowed himself a slight sigh and moved to strap Suri in. This woke her up, of course, but for the moment she seemed content to just sit and play with his scarf, which was fine. He strapped her in securely and then hovered off the wing just as Tails was climbing back into the cockpit.

"Sensei, obviously you can still hover, but can you actually fly right now?" Tails asked him in concern. "If not, there's two other seats…"

"I can fly," Jet assured him simply. He glanced up. "Get ready. They're coming." Sure enough, a few lasers soon streaked by, effectively lighting a fire under Tails's rear and getting him moving faster than words could. The X-Tornado lifted into the air and took off, Jet not far behind. Already, he could sense one of Tails's powers leaking leaking from him. _Radiation… for the sake of all those around him, he seldom uses it. Why take the risk now?_ In his continually fatigued state, Jet couldn't think of any adequate answer to that question. That is, until Tails opened the cockpit, activated the ship's intercom, and yelled at him.

"Sensei!"

Recognizing the warning held in that one word, Jet whipped around, then sort of "air-jumped" out of the way so fast that he became little than an emerald-colored blur. As soon as his teacher was out of the way, Tails unleashed his attack. A wave of electrically-charged radiation shot forward in a deadly rush, wiping out enemies as it went. Once the enemies on that side were gone, Tails turned and redirected his attack at the crowd of enemies that had been approaching from behind him. They were all wiped out with incredible ease as well.

Once they were defeated, Tails cut off the attack entirely and, without even bothering to shut the cockpit yet, shot off across the sky again. The cockpit barely shut in time for him to put on a real burst of speed. Jet flew after him of his own power, keeping up with ease for the time being. Seeing that they were safe for now, Tails allowed himself to sigh with relief that was fully audible over the intercom system. It shut off with a click, and in the ensuing quiet Jet took the time to contemplate just how much of a threat his former student really was… and how foolish those who underestimated him truly were.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,060 words this time. For those of you who don't remember, yes, Tails has had this power for a while. It was mentioned waaaay back during the Ruined Future Arc of Hero. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed. And don't worry Astra will be back soon. ;) Posted (at about 6:15 p.m.) 01-23-18.**


	82. Bloody Roses

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this moment of peace and quiet… especially for the one who grieves.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Bloody Roses** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _Penn Village… Father spoke of this place. The Penn Hills and Penn Valley as well._ Slowing his pace from a run to a walk, Shadow looked around what remained of the ancient settlement. From what Kaden had mentioned to him, the village had been very old already by the time Kaden had first laid eyes on it in his early teens, back on South Island. It, like Chun-nan and plenty of other ruins in the world today, had survived the fall of the island purely because the destruction had been caused by Chaos. Analia and Sonic had spoken about it with each other, Kaden, and Locke. The current best guess was that the reason for the destruction was Gerald Robotnik's will for the death of everything affecting the emerald, and the reason for the salvation of everything from ancient hills to ruined cities to individual people was _Sonic's_ will to save everything. _Conflicting influences… conflicting results._

Pausing, Shadow glanced over what remained of the homes, the shops, the pathways, everything. As he had never seen Chun-nan himself, this was his first glimpse of ancient architecture. _It must be over four thousand years old by now… as a low estimate._ For just a moment, he could almost picture life as his parents, Locke, and Marthal would have once known it… but then Soren entered his peripheral vision and the image was lost. It hardly mattered, anyway. _Now is far from the ideal time for this… we need that emerald._ In their search, Shadow and Soren had traveled quite far. While Analia and the others remained safely tucked away in the hidden castle in the far east near Kingdom Valley, the pair had run out west. They were miles away, and no closer to finding any emeralds.

 _We should recover the Master Emerald as well. That, at least, I know where to find. ...Unless the Nocturne Clan has… no, Locke would know it. Knuckles, as well. And Sonic, for that matter. None of them would have kept quiet about it if the Clan had tried to touch that emerald._ Turning his head, Shadow noted Soren's location with a quick glance. The boy hadn't wandered far, thankfully, and he appeared to be searching for an emerald. Shadow supposed he may as well let Soren keep at it for the moment, though he believed it to be futile, if only because it gave him time to make a call.

A soft sigh escaped the dark hedgehog as he leaned back against a crumbling wall. It appeared to have once been part of a sort of crude watchtower, but that was a detail he only vaguely noted. With deft movements of his fingers, Shadow turned on his communicator screen, pulled up a specific contact, and hit call. _The call may not even go through._ His mind wandered to the practically impossible technology he had glimpsed at the "observatory" that Jet had taken them all to before. _If they are close to enough to that, however… perhaps the call will go through._ It would only make sense, in his mind, for the tech there to be more than adequate enough to allow for very long-distance calls like this one. _In theory, at least. Sonic doles out nothing but praise for Babylonian technology when he speaks of it… If it is as good as he believes, than this will work._

Sure enough, his half-brother's voice soon spoke to him through the communicator. _"Shadow? Is something wrong?"_ The question was almost ridiculous, in Shadow's opinion, but given both Sonic's nature and the fact that Shadow normally never _called_ anyone… well, he could hardly fault the other hedgehog for asking such a thing.

"No," Shadow responded with a small, delicate snort.

 _"Then why-?"_

Though Shadow hated, _detested_ even, needing to ever ask for help, he refused to waste their time by hesitating or being vague about it. So he cut Sonic off. "We need the emeralds, Sonic. The red one was located, but you are the only one who can sense them."

 _"Not true,"_ Sonic argued, tone thoughtful. _"They've called out to dad before, for some reason. He's been able to sense them a few times, like during that Dark Gaia mess. He found at least one emerald that way. Up in Chun-nan, I think. And, yeah, I know that that doesn't help a damn thing right now. I'm just saying."_

Shadow closed his eyes. "Hn," he murmured, already bored from listening to that.

 _"I'm gonna go ahead and spare you having to say it outright and just assume you called for help,"_ Sonic continued somewhat mercifully. _"Rouge and Knuckles are probably our best bets for that, given their occupations."_

 _Treasure hunters and, in her case, also a thief._ Honestly, Shadow agreed with Sonic on this choice overall. Having Sonic himself and/or Jet look would have been best had either been able to come here, given both of their skills and the obvious fact that Sonic could sense the emeralds, but right now Knuckles and Rouge would more than suffice. _If Locke was capable of joining the hunt, we would have those emeralds in no time flat._ Shadow was no treasure hunter himself, and he certainly had little appreciation for so-called "treasure" overall, but even he could admit that the man's skills in his field were beyond impressive. _Much like most things about him are… even his temper._

Apparently, Sonic had been talking away from the microphone while Shadow had been thinking, for he soon said, _"Knuckles agreed to go. I'm pretty sure there's a long-range teleporter here on the ship that I can use to get him back to Mobius."_

This made Shadow frown in thought. "It will never reach here."

 _"I know, I know, I'll think of something,"_ Sonic answered distractedly. No doubt he was already working. _"Infuse a tiny bit of Chaos into it or - something."_

One of Shadow's eyebrows raised. "You are capable of that?" he questioned.

 _"...Poss...ibly?"_

That response was far from reassuring. Stifling a sigh, Shadow simply said, "Fine," and hung up. _The people I happen to be related to…_ This time, a sigh did escape him, and he pushed off the wall. Walking over to Soren, the fleeting thought that his family actually wasn't _so_ irritating registered, but he put it out of mind. Catching the teen's eye, he jerked his head. "Let's go." Crimson eyes briefly glanced to flowers Soren had apparently been eyeing. _White roses… the same sort that also catch Father's eye. ...Though he most certainly does not like flowers, to hear him tell it._ "You may take one, if you wish. Leave the rest to grow in peace." It was a simple offer, but it made Soren's eyes brighten a touch.

As he turned away to leave the ruined village, he heard the distinct sound of a stem breaking.

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic's sensitive ears perked straight up when he heard the return of the X-Tornado. He had only just sent Knuckles away back to Mobius mere moments ago. _Interesting timing._ Turning away from the newly modified teleporter, he jogged through the ship to where he knew the Tornado would be coming in and landing. He arrived just as Tails did, and his emerald eyes quickly picked out (with no hidden amount of relief) Jet flying in just behind the fox and the ship. Everything closed up and Tails landed the ship. Jet landed lightly beside it, not even a foot from Sonic. "That was damned risky," Sonic told him in a low tone. He hadn't spoke terribly much to Jet, and vice versa, since their argument over Astra and this was possibly not the best thing to say to him now, but what was done was done.

A delicate snort served as Jet's initial response to that, then he muttered, "Had it been Silver, would you have done anything different?"

Though Sonic didn't answer that, it hardly mattered. The question had been rather rhetorical. They both knew that Sonic didn't need to answer, because they both knew what his answer was. _Of course not. Of course I would have done the same, risking life and limb and not giving a damn about the repercussions so long as I could save him. Of course._ Sonic's eyes closed briefly. He released a sigh, then looked at his old friend. For Jet's sake, he chose to drop the matter. Instead, he asked quietly, "Does it hurt much?" Jet glanced briefly at one of his wounds, then shrugged. Sonic had to suppress a mildly amused huff. _The fact that anyone can be so oblivious to pain, even just some of the time, is astounding._ "Look, do me a favor and see Amy about those, okay?" He glanced at the Tornado. Tails was just opening the cockpit. "...After you take care of Suri."

Amazingly, Jet didn't argue in any way. He just gave a curt nod of agreement and went to retrieve his daughter. The hawk wasn't always deathly stubborn, Sonic had to remind himself, and at times was actually quite agreeable. It helped that the young king seemed too tired to bother with an argument. "Oi, get some sleep at some point, too!" Sonic called after Jet as the hawk walked out of sight. But by the time he'd spoke, Jet had already gone.

With a huff, Sonic turned back to Tails. He blinked mutely when he observed that Tails was grabbing a toolbox. It seemed that Tails had noted his attention. "I'm just going to work on some repairs, is all," he explained simply. "Maybe try to improve the weapons and whatnot, if I have time."

Though Sonic knew he had other things he could be doing, he found himself offering, "I can help, if you want."

"The Typhoon?" Tails asked in response, though the answer to his oblique question was likely obvious to him.

"On autopilot, heading back to the observatory or whatever that place was called," Sonic answered. He walked over to the toolbox. "I've been keeping an eye on it on my communicator. Everything is fine for now."

"Alright." Tails's voice was so calm, so mellow, and Sonic couldn't help but wonder what was on the teen's mind. Now, however, wasn't the time to ask. While Tails would hardly have bitten his head off for it, interrupting the fox's train of thought still wasn't something Sonic was keen on doing.

So, instead of talking anymore, he grabbed a tool and set to work.

 **~台風の目~**

It took nearly an hour to get Suri back to sleep, but the moment she was safely in bed Jet headed toward the medical ward. He felt strangely bare and exposed without his scarf on (Suri had refused to give it up, so he'd let her keep it for the time being), and he rubbed at his neck briefly. The action felt self-conscious, though, so he soon forced himself to stop. Not for the first time, he contemplated the idea of investing in one or two other scarves just for situations like these. _Maybe after this damned war ends… whenever it ends._ He tried not to think about the possibility that it might end with their enemies as the victors.

Stepping into the medical ward, Jet's mind registered a flicker of surprise when he saw Wave. She was sitting, of all places, right beside Lucas's bed. He wasn't sure what to think about that, so he opted to think of something else instead. _She looks exhausted._ Stepping over to the bed, he murmured, "You should sleep."

Wave jumped, visibly startled, and her deep blue eyes swung around to face him. He offered no apologies for her little fright, merely raising an eyebrow vaguely in her direction. Soon, she huffed at him. However… she didn't look away. "You're one to talk," she told him frankly. "You look ready to pass out."

"Hardly," Jet responded, voice soft. Yes, he was exhausted, but he wasn't that far gone. At least not yet.

His reply earned an eye-roll, but nothing more. She seemed prepared to drop the matter. He chose to let her. Silence fell and festered, right up until she stood and joined him where he stood at the foot of his son's bed. "You should sit. I've sat long enough." Jet's internal debate over the matter lasted only a few seconds. He accepted her offer and sat in the chair, the only one by this bed. Then she surprised him again by walked back over and coming to stand right beside him. "Amy just examined him again about ten minutes ago," she told him in a quiet voice. The hedgehog wasn't in the room now, telling Jet that she was probably sleeping somewhere. "She said he's getting better, little bits at a time. She still doesn't know when he'll wake up, but she seems confident that he _will_ when he's ready."

Some of the stress and fear Jet had been suffering lifted just enough that it felt like he could almost breath again, if just a bit. _So long as he lives… so long as he lives… that will be more than enough._ A hand came to rest on his arm, and this time he was the one who jumped. Cursing himself for his lapse of control, he looked up at Wave. The emotions he felt in her aura then… surprised him further.

"Jet… have you had a chance to talk to Tammy and Arthr yet?"

He frowned slightly. Her concern had him concerned and, on reflex, almost defensive. "No." The concern in her aura was now mingling with traces of sorrow and guilt and pity and other things, and Jet felt a twinge of dread. He had felt this in the auras of others before, had himself experienced it in the past, always in the same circumstances. _Always when someone…_ Wave bent so that they were more eye-level, so that he wasn't having to look up and she wasn't having to look down. He couldn't bring himself to look at people's eyes almost ever, so he gazed at her cheek instead. She, however, was looking deeply into his own eyes. He could just feel it, and he shifted. _Why is she hesitating? Who…?_

A soft sigh escaped his former teammate then, the breath lightly tickling his face. "It's… Have you heard of a Nocturnian named Kethro?"

A chill ran through Jet, but not one of fear or even dread this time. It was fury as he remembered his first and only encounter with the Nocturnian, it was lingering and unwitting exhilaration, it was hatred… but he strove to bury those things before Wave could notice them. "We met," he allowed vaguely, arms crossing. His blood chilled with negativity, he became aware of just how warm she was… how much her her lingering touch on his arm burned. It reminded him of just how different they had both grown from one another in the past years. She remained caring toward others, while he had had to teach himself not to (or at least to not let on to it). She was warm and smooth like a sun-warmed stone, he was cold and jagged like a chunk of ice in a frozen lake. They were so different… and yet he missed how they had once made do despite that, making friends out of one another with relative ease.

Could they ever get back to that?

And right now, did it even matter?

"He was spotted not terribly far from a quadrant of space that, apparently, some of your allies were patrolling," Wave continued, forcing him to focus again. "I think Tammy said they're called the 'da Asani'." Jet gave no answer to that. She continued, almost seeming to hesitate but also appearing to want to just get out with it already. "The witnesses… they…" She trailed of and closed her eyes with a heavy sigh. "They saw Kethro fighting with someone, but they only witnessed the last minute or so of the confrontation. When it was over and Kethro left, they went to check on his opponent, and… they found out that it was Kath."

Jet stilled. _Kath?_

Finally, Wave averted her eyes. "He was dead, Jet," she whispered. "His body was sent back to New Babylon already, and his identity confirmed. Arthr was told first, and he told the medical examiners not to contact you about it. He wanted someone to be able to tell you in person. While I was on the ship with him and Tammy… I said I'd do it if I saw you first."

Anxiety, an emotion Jet had relatively secretly suffered from for most of his life, spiked within him. Though he fought to choke it back, he knew she'd sensed it. She was one of the only people (Sonic and Storm being two of the others) who knew about his difficulties with this emotion, and it didn't surprise him that she had spotted it in him so quickly. After all, she had years of practice… but that hardly helped him now. He was left reeling from this news, drowning in shock and being stabbed with guilt and disbelief and who even knew what else. _Kath is… gone?_

Always, Kath had been one of the few that Jet could always count on to _survive_. Even when most everyone else around Jet was lost, he'd always been able to have faith in the survival of a few. Kath had been the main one, first and foremost. He had been Jet's teacher, his commander, his friend, practically his family… Losing him now, and so suddenly, and without even having the chance to talk to the man one last time… The pain that those things brought him were almost crippling.

Dimly, he was aware of Wave cautiously shifting her hand to his shoulder, offering a gentle squeeze. The pressure was enough to ground him, and though one of the very last things he wanted now was to be touched he didn't pull away. His eyes had closed at some point, squeezed shut very tightly in fact, and more emotion than he usually gave away was written plainly all over his face. That grief, however, that sorrow and that guilt over having not killed Kethro during that first fight, faded abruptly. In their place, hatred and fury again bled into existence within him. His hands gripped his knees so forcefully he would be sporting bruises later. _I'll kill him._ The hand on his shoulder tightened its grip. Warning him. Restraining him. He ignored it. _If I ever see him again…_ His eyes snapped open, lightning storming through the intense blue of his eyes.

 _I'll kill him!_

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,210 words this time. This one was a little delayed, I know, but I hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 11:10 a.m.) 01-29-18.**


	83. Burn It Down

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of fear… especially for the one who longs for peace.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Burn It Down** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _Jet stood in darkness. A citadel's walls rose up around him, tall and ominous and deathly silent. Everything was still, drowned in shadows and oozing with malice. Then began the laughter, the manic cackling of at first one and then many voices that he didn't recognize. Though he turned and squinted and even dared to move forward several steps, he could see and sense nothing. No one. By all appearances, he was alone… and yet, somehow, he knew he was surrounded by demons._

 _A spark lit up the blackness like a beacon, at first bringing with it a measure of relief and then inciting terror when it exploded outward into a hellish red inferno. A gasp was ripped from him unbidden and he jerked back on reflex. However, he hadn't realized that the fire was directly behind him as well, and he stepped right into it. Though he managed to choke back a cry of severe pain, he was unable to stop himself from beginning to tremble even as he jumped clear of those flames and landed in a clear space. Panic left him immediately trembling and unable to think straight. Surrounded as he was by fire, there was no way he was going to be able to calm down. Especially not when he was already burned, not when he was suffering such horrific flashbacks from a time he still couldn't even think about without feeling lightheaded and sick._

 _He had just about descended into a state of pure anxiety and panic when a sudden scream of pain jerked him back to full attentiveness. The scream was that of a young boy, a boy whose voice he didn't recognize, and that scream pierced his soul. Someone else was suffering here, too, someone young and almost certainly not deserving of this agony… Trembling, he turned to try to see whoever else was here. But all he could see was fire._

 _The flames surged toward him again, searing up his leg and licking agonizingly at his shoulder. Barely choking back a cry, Jet leapt away again. As he did, the boy he'd heard before let out another horrible scream. It sounded closer this time, more bone-chilling, and he told himself that he had to find the source of it… even if it meant going back into the fire. He edged closer one wall of the roaring inferno, trembling so bad that walking was actually a touch difficult. Of course, he hesitated, but only until the flames behind him surged forward again, forcing him to flee through the fires ahead to avoid the ones behind. Bursting through the flames in agony, he fell onto his knees in a patch of dirt that wasn't burning. Tears pricked at his eyes before he stubbornly blinked them back. Flashbacks sent him reeling, but he managed to ground himself when, for the third time, he heard that scream._

 _Somehow, Jet managed to stagger to his feet. Smoke was choking him, his body was in searing agony, but he limped forward. Ahead, a burning corpse caught his attention. A single burning feather lay away from the body, the body of a young boy, and for some reason he found himself staring at it. Too numb all of a sudden to think or feel, he just stared into that small flame. And, too late, he realized that he couldn't have looked away if he'd even wanted to. Feeling like he was falling into a sort of trance, he sank down onto his knees. The flames filled his vision utterly._

 _Then, a voice (a familiar voice he couldn't quite place) suddenly yelled at him, snarling and filled with hatred and fury. "Have you told the boy that everyone who walks with you dies, Jet?!"_

 _There was a flash, and he saw suddenly something he could only describe as a series of visions._

 _He saw a familiar person torn apart by the claws of an unknown beast. They were laying slumped against a tree on a quiet afternoon, gun resting limply in hand as sunbeams illuminated their bloody form. The eyes were open… but no longer could see._

 _Another familiar face struggled with the controls of a ship, fighting for any shred of control over the plummeting vessel. Amber eyes shone with fear as the person tried desperately to teleport, only to find that they couldn't. Just as they braced for impact, the ship slammed straight down into the ocean with destructive force. They never came back up._

 _The next person he saw was normally full of light and joy, but now their face was tight with agony as every last drop of literal Light was forcibly drawn from their body out in the blackness of space. Their barely stifled sounds of pain and resistance fell on deaf ears, and the attacker showed no signs of remorse or of stopping. The victim fought until the dying breath to escape… only to very slowly go limp. By the time the last trace of Light was gone, they had ceased to breathe._

 _Yet another familiar face lay in a hospital bed, pale and unmoving, already gone. The signs of illness were unmistakable on them, as was the pain they had been experiencing before the end. People stood around the bed. Some were in shock, some were crying, and the deceased, who had once worked in this very building, simply didn't move._

 _One right after the other, more familiar faces met their ends before his eyes. One was stabbed until they ceased to fight back, falling dead in an alleyway where their naturally smaller body wouldn't be found for some time. Another, seeking vengeance for the previous victim, was shot at. One bullet was somehow caught between powerful and crushing teeth out of anger, but all the others hit their mark. The victim hit the pavement. After that, the next victim was shown laying on a couch, motionless and surrounded by grieving relatives. Her father-in-law, who had just so recently lost his son, shakily covered her head with the blanket._

 _A village far in the mountains lay in ruins, as did the mountain itself. Next to nothing was left of either save for rubble, blood, broke stones, and plenty of corpses. One stood out due to its familiarity, and it was clear that they had died fighting. They were stabbed, sliced, beaten, crushed, burned, and who only knew what else._

 _In the ruins of a fallen city was where he saw the next two familiar faces. One lay crushed in the rubble of several fallen buildings, their fists having not been enough to save them. The other had been brutally torn apart just like the first victim of all of these had been, their wings reduced to nothing but bloody strips. The bodies of thousands of innocent civilians lay strewn about all around them._

 _Another familiar face was shown in a coffin during a funeral, face strangely peaceful compared to the others he had been shown. Then a different coffin carrying a different person at a different funeral was shown, face also peaceful Laying in the second coffin with the second person was said person's small lifelong companion, also dead._

 _Two inventors were shown next, both brutally murdered in an underground workshop. One was seated in a desk chair and slumped over the desk, eyes vacant and unseeing. The other was sprawled on the floor looking terrified, body positioned as though they had sprung up to flee from their killer._

 _The broad shoulders of a muscled body, one he recognized easily, were all that could be seen of the next victim who was half-submerged (and still sinking) in molten lava on a jungle island. A malevolent beast pranced through the lava behind them, clearly revelling in the gruesome death._

 _Once bright, wise eyes were now forever closed as this victim floated lifelessly through space, covered in too many wounds to even count. Their long hair floated weightlessly around their head, and on their face… a slight smile._

 _A hero lay in bed, far too tired to keep their eyes open anymore. As he lay alone, or perhaps not so alone, he struggled to draw in enough breath to whisper a farewell to someone, or perhaps to no one. A single sharp pain wracked the person's slime frame… and they ceased to breathe._

 _An explosion signaled the beginning of the end for the two more familiar people standing in a field. The explosion ripped through everything, stripping earth and rock from the ground, tearing trees from the earth, destroying every living thing caught in its path… It was over in mere seconds, and the couple collapsed. Deep blue eyes stared vacantly at the ground. White fur was forever stained with crimson._

 _Barely restraining a sound of desperation, yet another familiar person sprinted through their isolated home, grabbing a small child as everything caved in around them. Powerful but malevolent energies crushed anything they could reach but the person kept running, lab coat billowing behind them. Upon realizing that nothing could save them, they shed a wave of tears and moved to shield the baby with their own body just as the crushing energies fell upon them both._

 _"Have you told the boy that everyone who walks with you dies, Jet?!"_

With a sharp gasp, Jet jerked awake.

 **~台風の目~**

It was late now, and Sonic knew that he should have been asleep. They had arrived at the observatory some time ago and landed safely. The work on the Tornado was done for now. At least for the time being, things were quiet, peaceful. Safe. He really should have been taking advantage of it like everyone else was. He really should have been in bed. But this peace… he couldn't stand the idea of sleeping rather than standing out here, under the stars, savoring it. But savoring it alone was hardly appealing. He wrestled for a time with the idea of waking anyone before, eventually, he gave in and sent a message to his wife.

Inside, Amy groggily sat up and turned on her communicator screen. Once it was on, she blinked a few times as she read the message she'd just received. It took her about a full minute to wake up enough to make sense of what she was reading. It was a message from Sonic.

 _ **Sonic:**_

 _Hey, come outside. You have to see this._

Stifling a yawn, Amy closed the message and checked the time. It was nearly two a.m. Way too early any _sane_ person to be up, as far as she was concerned. And yet, she felt no annoyance. Perhaps she was too tired to. Yes, that sounded like a good excuse. Finally losing the battle, she yawned, then tossed the blankets aside and sat up. After toeing into her shoes, she exited the bedroom and walked down the silent corridors of the Blue Typhoon until she reached the main entrance. Pushing it open, she walked outside to find Sonic standing there, smiling up at the sky. Looking up, she saw... stars. Millions upon millions upon millions of them. In awe, she could only stare at them as Sonic turned his smile on her and said, "Sorry to wake you. I just had to share this with _someone_ , you know?"

Amy suddenly found herself smiling as well. "Well, I'm certainly glad you picked me and not someone else," she teased. This earned a smile that she managed to see when she looked down from the sky and into his beautiful emerald eyes. "I wouldn't want to miss this... no matter how tired I am."

Sonic's smile only grew in response to her words. "That's good." He slowly looked back up at the gorgeous starry sky. "I'm glad." A gentle tap to his shoulder caused him to jump sharply and he turned to see Astra standing there.

"Sorry for the intrusion of this moment… I… will talk to you shortly, if you wish."

Amy turned to look at her in surprise. "Astra?"

"How did you get back here?" Sonic asked before the cat could adequately respond. "You disappeared from the ship without a word. We thought something had happened."

"I left, but there are vastly more important things happening at this moment. I am led to believe you have a chameleon companion. Am I correct?"

Something in Amy's eyes shifted. "Do you know where he is?" she asked, tone earnest.

Astra nodded gently and pointed to the medical ward. "He is there, currently."

Without even so much as a thank you or a request for information, Amy turned and ran to the indicated ward. _Here?_ she wondered worriedly. _How? And how severe is "severe"?_ Sonic and Astra traded looks before the blue hedgehog followed directly after Amy, catching up just in time for them to both arrive. Amy had somehow successfully sensed Espio's mind amidst the thousands of others in this rough area, and she ran to where he was. However, upon actually seeing him, her momentum slowed until she stood motionless beside his bed. "Oh, no…" she whispered.

Espio lay in the bed covered in bandages. His left arm was in a heavy cast and sling and the eye on the same side was covered by a bloody bandage. Bandages wrapped all around his torso and his legs, giving him the appearance of being more of a mummy than a living person. Sonic stared for what seemed like an eternity before Amy's shocked gaze pulled his attention away. "I brought him as quickly as I could… I am sorry that I could not prevent this…" Astra murmured from behind them, a touch of sadness in her tone. Amy couldn't think of an adequate response. She wiped a small tear from her eye.

It took Sonic a moment to really come up with anything, a few mumbled words escaping him before he finally managed to speak. "Thank you… You… did what you could." He gave an appreciative look to her, and she returned it with a faint smile.

"Yes… thank you for finding him," Amy whispered, throat tight. Though she hated to think it, the next thought she had was, _At this way… if he doesn't make it… we can say proper goodbyes…_

Astra nodded to the both of them. "I will leave you two here. If I may be of service in the near future, come find me and I will do my best." She said gently. Sonic managed a small nod in response, most of his attention already shifted back over to the hardly recognizable form of Espio. Now openly crying, Amy moved to stand by her husband's side.

 _How many more people are we going to lose…?_

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,495 words this time. As always, thanks to Blazing Winds for his aid in the Astra scene. He did Sonic there, too. Hope you all enjoyed. Were you able to guess which characters were referenced where in that first scene? Morbid, I know, but such is the nature of nightmares sometimes. Anyway, until next time. Posted (at about 7:35 p.m.) 01-30-17.**


	84. Prower

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this bit of quiet… especially for the one whose family history is more mysterious than most realize.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Prower** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

"Honestly… why can our adventures never take us any place less filthy?" Rouge lamented with a sigh. Knuckles snorted at her in response, so she gave his nearest arm a light smack. "I'm serious. We always seem to end up in the jungle. It'd be nice to do some treasure hunting somewhere else, for once."

"Since when did you become Shadow?" Knuckles asked her, only half joking.

"The fact that I hate mud doesn't mean I'm the same as him, you know," Rouge huffed.

Knuckles shrugged. "This isn't even the jungle, anyway. Not exactly. We're pretty far in between Adabat, the actual jungle, and Green Forest, the somewhat jungle- _like_ flooded forest."

"Yes, yes, yes, I know. Honestly, I'm not a child. I know where we are."

"If you say so."

Rouge tossed him a glare. "I oughta smack you."

This made Knuckles smirk. "But you won't."

"Lucky for you," Rouge replied. After a moment, she smirked, too.

A moment of quiet passed, then Knuckles piped up with, "Aren't there ruins around here?"

"Most of what remains of the ancient Fox Clans, yes," Rouge nodded. "I don't know where they are, _exactly_ , only that they're _somewhere_ in this-"

A hard _thump_ and a sharp curse cut her off. Whipping her head around, Rouge saw Knuckles grab one foot, hopping around awkwardly in pain as he tried to balance. "Well, I _found_ some," he growled out after a small moment.

One hand gestured lightly to the ground, and there Rouge knelt. Moving some vines and grass aside, Rouge discovered that her husband was correct. _A section of a wall… The extreme precision with which these stones were cut certainly mark this as from being from a Fox Clan._ "We finally have a bit of good luck, but we don't even have time to look around."

"Don't be so sure," Knuckles grumbled. He gingerly lowered his foot. "Remember what Sonic told everyone in the past. The emeralds, for some reason, tend to gravitate toward ruins and ancient areas in general, like that massive mountain range that came down here from South Island, taking Chun-nan with it."

With a thoughtful hum, Rouge questioned, "You think there's a chance that an emerald could be here?"

Strong red arms crossed. "Probably a pretty small one, but yeah."

Mind made, Rouge stood. "Let's get on with the search, then. We'll just need to be quick."

"Yeah." Knuckles began walking. Rouge followed.

Before too long, their highly trained eyes began to pick out more structures that had long been all-but consumed by the surrounding landscape. Skeletal remains of buildings, crumbled sections of walls, a severely weakened tower that was somehow still halfway standing… There were artifacts, too. Ancient tools, some pottery, bits of ancient porcelain, pieces of crossbows and daggers (weapons many foxes had favored during a certain era), and even the remains of a heavy storage chest. But, unfortunately, there was no sign of an emerald. None. _Maybe this was a waste of time, after all,_ Rouge frowned. Her eyes scanned the ruins for any sign of one of those telltale glows, only to instead see something sort of… glittering.

Frowning a bit more, she changed directions and moved toward this new sight. When she reached it, all she saw at first was a bit of exposed gold under the dirt and grass. The glittering was caused by various sunbeams that were filtering down from the canopy above. Kneeling down, she used both hands to begin to dig. This caught Knuckles's attention. He walked over and began to help her. Soon, they had uncovered the object. Shaking loose the clinging dirt and bits of grass, they saw a white blade with beautiful gold embroideries covering it. Engraved into a portion of the hilt was a distinct symbol. It was the mark of a family of warriors. And beside the mark, also engraved into the finely crafted metal, was writing in the ancient language of these clans. Only through Locke's teachings from the past century were the couple able to understand this dead language and piece together what the writing said.

It was Tails's own last name.

"Prower".

Trading a look, the two stood up. Rouge brought the sword up with her, noting the lack of a sheath. "Do we… take this to him?"

Her husband was quiet for a time before he nodded. "Yeah. It's a piece of his heritage, however old it is. It belongs with him, not some museum."

"I'd hoped you'd see eye-to-eye with me on the matter," Rouge smiled. Knuckles snorted, half-amused and half-annoyed by her teasing. "So, got anything we can use to carry this with?"

That earned a shrug. "I'd say use some vines to tie it to your back or something, but that sword still looks sharp enough to cut them."

"Hm…" Rouge peered at some nearby vines, then at the sword. "...I think I'll take my chances with the vines. If I just tie them around the handle and wrap them around my waist, it wouldn't be very different than how Jet carries his sword." Knuckles eyed the sword thoughtfully, then grunted his agreement. With that decided, Rouge quickly executed her little plan. Once she was sure that the sword was as secured as it was going to get, the pair traded another look and then took off into the sky.

 **~台風の目~**

Blaze hadn't meant to doze off. She and Analia had been taking turns watching the kids and watching Kaden, and right now Blaze was supposed to be keeping an eye on her ill grandfather-in-law. It was very quiet in the room, as it likely would have been even if Kaden had been awake and well. Being as tired as she was from struggling to sleep as of late (both due to lingering fears regarding Kimmy's safety and her worries over her missing husband), she began to doze off not even ten minutes after she began her shift in the makeshift sickroom. It took no real time for her to fall completely asleep, half curled into the large armchair she had claimed near the bed. The moment she fell asleep one of those vivid, dangerous nightmares struck her again for the first time in a while.

 _The dream started off as peaceful as ever, but soon turned hellish. The simple, pleasant family scene she had been dreaming of turned into a horror when a flash flood struck the area out of nowhere. The house was obliterated, all the trees were ripped up, and Silver was swept away with a look of shock on his face just before he vanished under the torrent. As she herself fought to get her head above water, she struggled to find their daughter… only to see her somehow drown within seconds, right before her eyes._

 _In her horror, Blaze stopped struggling for just a moment. It was enough. It was too long. She was dragged under by a current so powerful that she was unable to break free. She was slammed into the trunk of a broken tree so hard that it knocked what little air she had left straight out of her lungs. While water poured in where only air should go, she felt her vision start to go ominously, rapidly black._

With a sharp gasp, Blaze jerked awake. She fell out of the chair in the process and very nearly scared herself half to death as a result. Lungs, throat, and eyes burning, she stood slowly on trembling legs. She was unable to stop herself from coughing and gasping, as though she really had just nearly drowned. But once she'd calmed enough to catch her breath again, she sank back into the chair. Shivering, she curled in on herself again and cried.

 **~台風の目~**

 _This makes five people now… five people who are injured._ Looking up from his knees, which his hands were tightly clutching, Sonic glanced over Espio's prone form. His eyes skimmed over the bandages. _Espio is obviously one of them, and so are Locke and Lucas… Jet's still injured, too. And Amy didn't fully heal herself before._ Shakily, he sighed.

A hand came to rest on his arm. "Are you okay?" Amy asked him, voice soft.

Another sigh, this one more slight. "No?" he responded as though it was a question. "I mean… God, I just- I can't stop thinking about how badly things are going, Amy. We've lost like, what, four people to this war now? Five? And that's just _us_ , Ames. That's not even counting all the civilians we couldn't save, all those innocent lives that were stolen… and then there's Locke and Lucas, who could die any day now and we can't do anything about it, and Espio… it's anybody's guess if _he'll_ make it. And dad's sick for some unexplained reason, and we have Suri back but she's still not _safe_ , and…" He put his face into his hands. " _God_ … How many more people are we going to lose, Amy? Do we even have a chance anymore? Did we _ever_ have a chance?"

"Sonic…" Amy started before trailing off. He didn't need to look to know that she was almost crying.

"I can't stop worrying about everything… about every _one_ ," he said softly. "Vector, Vanilla, and Silver are missing. You, Lucas, Jet, Locke, and Espio are all injured, and three of them are deeply unconscious. Suri is back, but she's still… _corrupted_ or whatever Jet said. Dad's horribly sick. Omega was destroyed. Kath's wolf, Azerel, is probably dead. Bokkun is _dead_. _Kath_ is dead. And any of us could be injured or die at any time, too."

"Sonic…" Amy started again. "I know things are dire… _very_ dire, but… you can't _think_ like that. If you think we can't do this, Sonic, then we can't. We need _hope_. Hope is a more powerful weapon than you think…"

A third sigh escaped his lips and Sonic shook his head. Though the words were insincere, he found himself murmuring, "...Yeah. I guess you're right. I just… I need to go to bed, I think." It was a lie. He didn't doubt that she could tell it was. He didn't really want to sleep, but instead to just leave here. He couldn't stand to look at their fallen comrade anymore. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he just needed to go.

Much to his surprise, Amy didn't say anything about his lie. "Okay."

Swallowing hard, Sonic stood, turned sharply, and walked outside.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,828 words this time. This is a bit less than stellar, but... meh. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 5:25 p.m.) 02-04-18.**


	85. Semi-Immortal

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of uncertainty... especially for the one who fears the worst.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Semi-Immortal** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

In the wake of his latest nightmare, Jet threw his blankets aside and got up. Pain from his injuries made him wince, but he did his best to ignore that. Kneeling beside his bed, he opened his backpack and rummaged around for his journal. However, it didn't actually seem to be in there. For the first time, it occured to him that it had been some time since he had actually laid eyes on the journal. He hadn't even thought about it recently, given everything that had been going on.

 _Did one of the kids snatch it again?_ He sat back on his heels. It seemed a touch unlikely that that had happened, he decided, so he began looking around. A mess was soon made, and it occurred to him vaguely that he was tearing his room apart (though not literally)... and he didn't care. Normally he would have, but right now he was very, very stressed out. And not because of his dream. He _needed_ his journal. Writing was one of the only coping mechanisms he had for dealing with many things, and to be without it… that was worrisome.

Apparently, he'd been making more noise than he'd thought, for the attention of someone else on the ship was caught. His door opened without warning and Sonic walked in, having not bothered to knock. Jet, who was kneeling in front of one of his bookshelves, twisted around to look at him. "Are you alright?" the hedgehog demanded with a frown. "Why are you trashing your room?"

Anxious but not wanting to show it, Jet looked away and bit the inside of his cheek (much like how Sonic, Kaden, and Analia tended to bite their lower lips when upset). After a small moment, he made a small admission, "...My journal. I can't find it."

Guilt swelled in Sonic's aura for some reason. His ears went back noticeably, but he didn't speak right away. Bending down, he picked some things up and moved them aside, then knelt beside Jet. "Listen… when Amy and I were stuck on Mobius, we found your journal with our stuff. She said she thought that Kimmy had snatched it again, but obviously we don't really know for sure. We held onto it for much of the time while we were there, but… But we were attacked eventually, and your journal went up in flames during the explosion." There was a very small moment of silence following this explanation, but Sonic broke it again before Jet had much of a chance to process what he'd been told. The hedgehog perked up, as though struck with an idea. "Wait here, okay? I'll be right back."

For just a couple minutes, Jet was left alone. _What is he…?_ It wasn't long before he just decided to just wait and see rather than waste energy wondering. Turning away from the door, he set about slowly picking up and putting away some of the things that had wound up on the floor. He had time enough to get just a few things put away, however, before Sonic returned. Before Jet knew exactly what was going on, a soft black book was being pushed into his hands.

"Here," Sonic told him, releasing his hold onto the book. "This was in dad's room, but it's blank. He doesn't do much journal writing anymore, so he probably won't mind if you take it."

Jet wasn't sure what to say to that, but thankfully Sonic didn't seem to be expecting a response to begin with. He left not long afterward and closed the door behind him, leaving Jet alone. It didn't take very long for the hawk to get up and grab a pen, then sit down on his bed. In the ensuing quiet, he began to write despite his minor misgivings as to whether or not Kaden would actually be okay with this.

 _ **1.** -I just learned that my original journal was destroyed… that's almost a century's worth of memories and experiences dead and gone. But I suppose that it's for the best. I've been trying really recently to let that shit go. Resume living in the here and now, more or less. Not convinced that I'm succeeding yet._

 _Sonic gave me this one from Kaden's room. Said Kaden probably wouldn't care if I took it. He probably won't. He recently mentioned having extra journals and drawing pads I can have as well. But whatever._

 _Anyway, the reason why I even wanted to write in the first place is… a nightmare I just had. It was some kind of a vision, which I only know because of how it felt. It's hard to explain in mortal language (that sounds pretentious, but literally I don't know how to describe it except in the Immortal language). But visions, which I've been told Immortals do tend to have, just feel different than normal dreams. This one certainly did._

 _In this dream, I saw… death. So, so much death. Shadow was dead, Tails was dead, Locke was dead, Amy was dead, everyone was dead. I even saw the death of a small child with one of them, a little girl I don't recognize. That was… That was hard to swallow. But the deaths weren't the only thing in the dream. There was this citadel, too, and I was inside of it. It wasn't normal, though. It was way too dark and abnormally large, filled with the echoing laughter of what I swear was demons. There was fire, too. I… hate fire._

 _The worst part (besides the fact that the pain from the burns in the dream was vivid and realistic) was that I heard someone burn to death. Found their body, too. They had feathers, meaning Babylonian. I didn't recognize the voice. There was no way I could have recognized them visually. One single feather was lying about a foot from the body, burning slowly. Not sure if that was supposed to mean something._

 _One more thing. Right before and right after I saw the deaths of Tails and the others, I heard a voice. That voice I can't not know. It was Kaden's. But I don't understand why he said what he did, let alone why he sounded so… furious. Hateful, even. I heard his words first as I was looking at that dead body in the flames, at that burning feather. He yelled at me, "Have you told the boy that everyone who walks with you dies, Jet?!"_

 _Yes, everyone around me always dies… though not always horribly. But… whose death do I need to be fearing now?_

A sudden known very nearly made him jump. Somehow, he managed to stifle the reflex however, and he closed the new journal. Setting it and the pen aside, he walked (or, more accurately, limped) to the door. _I was kneeling too long… damn._ He resisted the urge to sigh and pressed the button to slide the door open. A small aura brushed against his. "Cream?" he asked quietly.

The child shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Can… I talk to you?"

This time, Jet did sigh, but only out of a desire for more sleep. ...Not that he really wanted to run the risk of having another nightmare. "Fine," he murmured, stepping aside so she could come in. She walked to the only chair he had in the room and he walked with her, leaving the door open. While she sat down, he leaned against a wall. "What's this about, then?"

His question earned him a tired look. "I'm sorry to keep bothering you about this… but I've had more visions."

 _More?_

"I wanted to talk to you about them. If… If you don't mind?" The child shifted, turning wide innocent eyes up on him.

There was no way he could say "no" to her. He knew it. He suspected she knew it. Right now, though, he didn't think it really mattered. "Tell me, then," he murmured, eyes drifting to his window. "What did you see?"

After taking some time to consider what she was going to say, as though she was picking and choosing what she wanted to share, Cream posed a question of her own. "If beings of Light and Darkness aren't normal, like me, but they aren't Immortals, like you… then what are they?"

The question surprised a frown out of him. "Why?"

"Because… I think it might be relevant."

 _"Relevant"... hnn._ "...They're called semi-Immortals." Cream looked up at him, eyes still wide. "They are beings neither mortal nor Immortal, hence their titles. They die like mortals, yet can revive like Immortals at times… for example."

A slow frown made its way onto Cream's young face. "When they revive… what happens?"

"Treika'na?" Jet murmured with a small shrug. Then he translated, "Who can say?"

"You don't know?" she asked him.

"I never claimed to," was his simple reply. He had no qualms about admitting the fact that he, obviously, didn't know everything. There was a lot he _didn't_ know, in fact. "Honestly…" he continued thoughtfully, "I'm not even sure if _they_ know."

She blinked. "'They'?"

"Kaden and Analia," he clarified. "Their families have lived amongst mortals and away from other semi-Immortals for so many generations that they may not even fully realize that they themselves aren't exactly mortal."

It was quiet for a moment before Cream spoke again. "So, you don't know anything about it?'

"No." Jet closed his eyes. "Why?"

Thankfully, he didn't have to elaborate this time for her to understand what he was asking. Namely, that he was asking _why_ she was pursuing this specific line of questioning. However, she didn't immediately answer that. Instead she said, "During those years when you were gone… I spent a lot of time in school. I learned that I loved to, well… learn." She smiled softly. "I guess Mister Kaden noticed, because he offered all on his own one day to let me read the books and whatnot he has stored in his library. I just had to promise to be extremely careful with them."

This revelation was rather surprising. _The knowledge he has stored there is deeply coveted by many, and jealously guarded by he… For him to allow a child access to it without imposing on her any restraints as to what she can or cannot read… Does he see in her what I do?_

Cream continued. "I did find some books on creatures of Light and Darkness," she told him. "A lot of it amounted to little more than mortal speculation, I think, and large collections of myth and legends, but… not all of it was made up, it turns out." Jet looked at her again. "For example, you confirmed one thing I read there. Namely, that they're called 'semi-Immortals'. It isn't much, but even still."

Now Jet was intrigued. "What else did you read?"

"Not a lot of it was very noteworthy, but one thing I saw is that… well, supposedly, semi-Immortals can only truly die in certain specific ways, ways that vary depending on what type of semi-Immortal a person or creature is."

"Hnn," Jet murmured in agreement. "That's only logical, considering what they are."

"Yes," Cream nodded. "But that wasn't what surprised me."

Once more, he closed his eyes. He was weary of talking, weary in general, but he nevertheless asked, "What was, then?"

"One book said that sometimes when semi-Immortals revive, their lives are… 'reset', so to speak." His eyes opened and swung over to her. She frowned slowly to herself and continued, "One source claimed that they can sometimes be turned back into infants needing to be raised again, but retain all their memories. Another stated that they actually lose all their memories. A third said that they both become young again and lose their memories."

Gathering his patience, which was stretched a bit thin due solely to his need for sleep, Jet asked her, "Why are you bringing this up?"

Small hands tugged idly at one of her long ears, stroking it almost nervously. "Because, in one of my visions… I saw a child."

"...A child?" he asked blankly. He suspected he knew roughly where she was going with this, but…

Yet again, wide and innocent eyes turned up to look right at him. "That child… was Kaden."

Any surprise that Jet might have felt was mitigated by the fact that he sort of saw this coming. Though, admittedly, he hadn't expected her to mention Kaden, specifically. _I had more expected her to speak of Sonic… since he has been turned into a child once before._ Albeit through different means. "You saw… Kaden?" he inquired slowly.

The question was answered with a quick nod. "Yes. And he was with another child. A girl. She was Babylonian and her feathers were sort of… sort of silver-colored."

Frowning openly, Jet closed his eyes. Speaking slow, he told her, "Babylonians are never silver-colored."

Cream's head shook. "I never said she was pure Babylonian, Mister Jet," she murmured.

"Hnn," he hummed vaguely in acknowledgement. "And in your vision… what were they doing?"

Whatever response Cream was about to give was cut off by a low rumble that filled the entire interior of the Blue Typhoon. Just as his eyes snapped back open and her back straightened, the power went out.

 **~台風の目~**

"'For sale now, the world's only and most valuable purple diamond'... 'To be auctioned off in the Grande Museum of New City'." Sighing, Rouge looked up from the small flier she was holding. "What are the odds that we're missing a purple Chaos Emerald and these jokers magically find a purple 'diamond' to sell?"

The question earned a huff. "Watch the one in charge of this little auction be that rare goods dealer we've dealt with before, too. The one that was always having people steal priceless artifacts from archaeological digs so he could try to make money off of them."

"Should we go and intimidate him again?" Rouge questioned, a twinkle in her eye.

"It'll be just like old times," Knuckles snorted derisively.

"You bet." Flashing him a wink and a smile, she beat her wings powerfully and soared into the sky. Knuckles followed her quietly over the large town that they had been resting in for the last hour or so. The journey from this city to their one they were headed toward would be short, but a single sight down below made that time stretch out for eternity. A quick glance down at the outskirts of the city revealed to him a hilly area not unlike one where he, Rouge, and Locke had once trained in during the century of peace. A memory struck him.

 _Locke and Knuckles were flying together in tight formation. As they flew, they fought their "enemies", robots specially built by Tails to be used for training. Each time the robots were destroyed, they simply put themselves back together again, allowing one to train for hours without end if they so desired. Rouge had some time ago joined the "fight", deliberately teasing and poking fun at Knuckles to draw his attention away from the robots all the while. For once, the younger of the two echidnas managed not to fall for it, however. He remained fully focused on the training, and Locke smirked. "'Bout time, son."_

 _Knuckles glowered. "Shush."_

 _Rouge just laughed._

Worries resurging, Knuckles forced himself to focus on the flight. They were already approaching New City, and thus to their destination. They reached said destination in under twenty minutes. Landing lightly, the approached the shop of the rare goods dealer whom they suspected was involved in this little scam to sell the emerald. Knowing how intimidating she could be, Knuckles let Rouge do the talking. "Let's cut straight to the chase, Pane," she told him with mock-sweetness. "It was you and your lackeys who found a purple 'diamond', right?"

Pane crossed his arms. A smirk made its way onto his face. "Yeah. What of it?" His smirk grew. "You looking to buy?"

She let out a short laugh. "As if. See, the lot of you have once again committed an act of thievery, and this one can be _highly_ penalized. More so than usual."

"That's a load of shit!" Pane suddenly snapped at her. "We found it out in the middle of nowhere, just sitting in the dirt! It didn't belong to _anyone_!"

"Ah, ah, ah," Rouge cut in, "that's where you would be wrong. First of all, the whole 'finder's keepers' rule you love to follow really doesn't stick with things like this. Second of all, that 'diamond' isn't a diamond. It's an emerald belonging to the grandson of Satsuno and Seiko." The name of the ancient king and queen of the Old World made Pane's eyes widen. "He and his father would really like it back, you know."

"You… you're _lying_ ," Pane accused, eyes still wide. "Their son was murdered as an infant, they never had any other children. They _can't_ have a grandson!"

"Wrong again," Rouge smiled. "The history books only teach us that their child went missing… _not_ that he was killed." She leaned toward him, smile getting menacing. "He's very much alive, as is his son, and like I said… they _really_ want that emerald back. Remember how those history books told stories of the intense power the Lost Prince's allies possessed, power which only grows when they're angry…?" Pane's eyes grew even wider. "Shall I have them come down here and demonstrate that…? Or perhaps I should save them the trouble and use my own heels to break your arms right here and now?"

"N-no, wait!" Pane exclaimed, hands rising up defensively. "I don't even _have_ it anymore! It isn't here!"

That caught Knuckles's attention straight away. "What?" he demanded. "Then where the hell is it?!"

"I don't know! One of those monsters that keep destroying cities and whatnot found one of my fliers a couple hours after Horrace and I distributed them and came here! She and her companions threatened to raze _this_ city if I didn't hand the diamond over!"

Horrified, Knuckles and Rouge traded wide-eyed looks.

The Nocturne Clan had one of the emeralds.

 **~台風の目~**

"I don't believe this. Of all the times for a power-outage…"

Amy laid a hand on Wave's arm, ending Wave's little rant before it could even really begin. She and her old friend were standing together near to but not inside the Blue Typhoon, listening as people everywhere hurried around and shouted things in various languages, desperate to return power to this huge floating 'observatory'. Seeing the normally over-bright construct so dark was… alarming in its own way. "Is that all this is?"

Wave huffed irritably, made that way more easily than normal due to a need for rest. Everyone needed sleep, and she was by no means some cosmic exception to the rule. "Hell if I know. It's not like I know anything about this place. You'd be better off asking Jet."

"Asking me what?" responded a calm voice from mere feet behind them, coming from the direction of the ship.

Whirling around, the women were able to just make out Jet's vague shape approaching them in the darkness. Wave let out a breath. "Don't _do_ that, alright?" He gave no reply to that, so she just moved on. "What the hell happened? Why did the power go out?"

With the distant light of outside stars behind him, they could just barely see him shrug. "An energy pulse of unknown, but not malevolent, origin."

"How can you be so sure?" Amy responded, a little less than convinced.

In response, Jet challenged, "Do _you_ sense a threat?" His surprising willingness to speak right now threw Wave for a loop and rendered her briefly silent.

"...No," Amy eventually sighed. "But, then what-?"

Two sets of quick footsteps cut her off. "Hey, you guys alright?" a familiar voice called, coming as Jet had earlier from the direction of the ship.

It was Wave who turned and answered, "Yeah, we're fine, Sonic."

Sonic slowed to a walk until he reached them, then stopped fully. Only once he and his companion were this close was anyone able to see that it was Tails who was with him. "That wasn't an attack, was it?" the fox asked. His tone conveyed rather clearly that he knew it wasn't.

Nevertheless, Jet confirmed it. "No."

"I don't understand," Amy admitted. "If that wasn't an attack, then what was it?"

Some silence passed, but Wave soon broke it. "...I might have a theory on that, but it might not be correct."

"Let's hear it, anyway," Sonic responded, arms crossing.

In the darkness, Wave looked at Tails as though hoping he would back her up once she began talking. "We've felt energy pulses like this before, though they're normally nowhere near this large."

"Yeah, we have," Tails confirmed. "I mean, we haven't encountered them very _many_ times before, but it has happened."

"...We have?" Sonic asked with a frown.

Jet spoke up. "Think, Sonic. At the end of your fight against Dark Gaia, what happened? What did you sense?"

Amy's eyes widened and she answered instead of her husband. "A portal between timelines opened because of his last attack. That wave of energy that swept me, Tails, and Knuckles away was… like this one. Only smaller."

"Exactly!" Tails agreed enthusiastically. "But this wave was so much larger and more powerful that it had to have come from a far more powerful source, right?"

"That's what makes sense to me," Wave nodded.

"So what the hell opened a portal, then?" Sonic demanded, worry lacing his tone. "And _why_?"

"We need to know where, too," Amy added.

Beside Wave, Jet suddenly stiffened, a fact which she just felt somehow. "What is it?" she asked, turning her head to look at him. But Jet didn't answer. Instead, he just quickly turned and strode off toward a huge opening in the outer wall of the 'observatory', where the Blue Typhoon had earlier entered this hangar area to land. Huffing, Wave jogged after him, which prompted the others to follow.

Before anyone else could question Jet, he emerged outside. Standing there were three people Wave and the others had never seen before. Two were females (one extremely old) and one was a male who bore the appearance of a small child. None were of any races that Wave could identify. The elderly female was injured and appeared… angry. "Sein," she called sharply the moment he was in earshot.

Much to everyone's surprise, Jet seemed to flinch at her tone. "Yes?" he answered her, voice a touch soft.

This time, the child spoke. And yet… his manner of speech was far beyond the four-to-six-year-old that he appeared to be. "Are you aware of what's happened recently?" When Jet didn't reply, the child continued. "Two children, mortal children if that matters to you, have opened the Black Gate. They have freed the Night. The Night, which awakened your enemies the Nocturne Clan from their deep slumber, is now not only awake… it's _free_."

The younger woman cut in. "And that is but the beginning of our worries. Kaelix and I," she glanced at the child, "investigated what you told us you saw when you skipped realms to find those children your friends lost." Sonic and the others looked at Jet quickly in surprise, but his eyes remained trained on the trio of newcomers. "Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to deny your claims of what you saw… it's obvious to us all that you were far from mistaken. That vile God of Demons is also awake, and he appears to be on the move as well."

Finally, the elder spoke again. "It may be some eons before the demon causes any trouble here, but he _will_ come. The Night _will_ come. We four may be Immortal, but for too many generations our kind has been too far removed from our shared beginnings that we simply cannot stop these threats alone. The Night will do as it has always done, unrestrained and unstoppable."

"The dark god, meanwhile," Kaelix murmured tensely, "seems to have a more immediately alarming goal." He looked Sonic dead in the eye, as though now talking to him. "He will steal a new soul soon, a new slave to do his bidding."

Of course, these statements resulted in Sonic and the others demanding further intel and explanations, even while Jet himself stayed strangely quietly. However, they were completely ignored and even openly rebuffed. When the elderly woman spoke, she once more directed her focus on dead. "It is far earlier than Ythene and Lady Teyan wanted it to happen, but it is time for you to show your ally where his spear can be found." This earned a slight frown from Jet, perhaps one of confusion, but she gave him little to no time to consider her words. Her next words were a complete change of subject. "Where is your daughter?"

"...Suri?" Jet responded slowly. It was obvious, to Sonic at least, that Jet's thoughts were mostly followed elsewhere.

"Yes."

"...Inside."

In response, she seemed to focus some of her energy. Suri appeared in her arms, still fast asleep. With a gentle flash, Suri was purified so completely that the sheer, well, _purity_ of her aura in the aftermath of it was startling. "I wish this child well," the elderly woman murmured, passing her back. "The children of Immortals, and of semi-Immortals… are never destined for peaceful, simple lives." She turned then and slowly faded away into nothing as she walked.

"Wait a minute!" Amy exclaimed suddenly, stalling the other two Immortals before they could also leave. "Why aren't you staying? Why aren't you going to help?"

The Immortal woman turned on Amy with a deep scowl. "Listen to me, woman. If not for our own wars on another front, the Night would have long since consumed you all by now. Be thankful it has not been given the chance to do so." With this ominous reply, she and Kaelix vanished just as mysteriously and suddenly as they had come.

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic and Jet stood together where the Immortals had appeared earlier. Amy had returned inside already to go back to bed, but Wave and Tails remained. Sonic and Jet had been trading small words for a while now as they stood together at the edge of the platform outside, overlooking the stars. They spoke off and on for a time, discussing mutual points of confusions (such as what "the Night" was) until Sonic shook his head and asked bemusedly, "What in the hell were they even talking about when they mentioned some spear?"

It was a long moment before Jet answered, a sigh in his voice. "...We need to go to the Master Emerald," he responded. He'd avoided the question, and Sonic knew it.

"Why?" the hedgehog demanded quietly.

"...It will give you answers, with time," the young king eventually answered.

Tails had been listening to them all this time and approached. "I can go along, too," he murmured. "I can guard the emerald while you two do whatever you need to do with it." Sonic opened his mouth to argue, but Tails held firm. "You guys are gonna need backup. Even _you_ two can't hold off thousands of Nocturnians alone. And I don't doubt that that's at _least_ how many you'll see on your way to the island."

In that moment and before either Jet or Sonic could reply, Suri awoke. Her soft coos and slight fussing drew the attention of everyone there, and Wave walked over. "Jet?" she asked softly. He turned slightly to look at her while Suri rubbed at her eyes with tiny hands with a yawn. "I can take her inside. I know how to prepare bottles and whatnot."

Silence stretched for a time, but it lasted nowhere near as long as either Sonic or Tails had anticipated. For whatever reason, Jet gave a small nod and carefully passed his youngest child to his former girlfriend. "Alright." Sonic and Tails traded looks of surprise. Turning back to the pair, Jet told Tails simply, "Fine. Let's get going."

When his response sank in, Tails grinned and ran off to get the X-Tornado. Jet started to walk after him with Sonic at his heels, while Wave trailed along after them. Emerald eyes glanced back at the swallow, who was smiling gently at Suri and speaking softly to her. "Finally decided to trust her again, huh?" he murmured.

A small shrug served as Jet's only answer, but Sonic was satisfied with the truth. He smiled.

 **~台風の目~**

Due to a combination of rest, powerful medicine, and Analia's healing, Analia was satisfied that Kaden was finally starting to recover. As of this evening, he had even awoken more than once and spoken with her, however briefly. She doubted that the full effects of the black magic would leave him anytime soon, but she was convinced that his illness itself would soon lift. Her relief was almost palpable to those around her, which was allowing young Sarai to sleep rather peacefully in her arms. Shadow and Soren had returned less than an hour ago to rest and check on Lia, and now Shadow was sitting on the same couch as Analia while Kaden, the children, and Blaze all slept. It was obvious to anyone that he did not share her optimism.

As they sat in the dimly lit room, candles flickering all around them, Shadow worked on cleaning one of his dual handguns (which were his favorite guns, and had been for many years). There was a tension in his movements, in his posture, and Analia saw it. "Your father will be alright," she assured to him quietly for at least the second time. "His fever is breaking. I suspect he will be over this illness within the next week."

Shadow almost seemed to scoff at her. "I'm not worried, Mother."

Reaching up with her free hand, Analia lightly tweaked a black ear, prompting Shadow to stop what he was doing and give her a distinctly less-than-pleased look. "Do not lie to me, my son," she told him. This was as close to scolding as she ever truly came.

After a small moment of pause, Shadow sighed and simply resumed what he was doing. He remained tense, but he didn't argue with her. As such, Analia counted this as a victory for her. Silence again filled the room, but Analia didn't contentedly remain where she was for very much longer. She stood eventually and took Sarai to the child's room and put her to bed. Once her daughter was tucked in, she teleported to Kaden's library. Her mind was filled with potential ideas to cheer Kaden up.

In light of recent events, she knew that he had been having a particularly… hard time, to say the least. She wished for him to be _happy_ … so she settled on one plan in particular and pulled a book off of a shelf in Kaden's library. She flipped through the many detailed drawings of maps that her partner had made during his younger days and finally located a map of Chun-nan. Smiling to herself, she looked over the map, then teleported off to where she would set her plan into motion.

Standing amongst the ruins of Chun-nan, she let her smile grow. Oh, yes, she had a beautiful idea… and, soon, she would be able to see it completed.

 **~台風の目~**

 **5,429 words this time. Whew! My longest chapter in a while! Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 6:15 p.m.) 02-07-18.**


	86. A Sacrifice to Save You

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this climactic struggle... especially for the one who gives his heart.

 **Note:** I recommend listening to "A Sacrifice To Save You" by Efisio Cross as you read the fight scene in this chapter. It was both the inspiration for the title of this chapter and, along with one other song, also months ago inspired the events that take place in this installment. ...Yep, this one's been a long-time coming. Also, given the emotional nature of this chapter and how much I suck at doing emotional work quickly, I hope you can forgive the delay in updates since last chapter.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"A Sacrifice to Save You** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

In the late morning, Sonic, Jet, and Tails were traveling across the devastated Mobian landscape. While Tails flew the X-Tornado, Sonic ran and Jet. There was nothing overtly abnormal about the arrangement, really, unless one truly paid attention to how low Jet was flying. Low enough for him and Sonic to speak if they so wished. However, it had been entirely silent between them up until this point… until Jet suddenly spoke without even so much as glancing at the hedgehog. "Shut up."

Sonic glanced up at him with a frown. "I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking," Jet muttered in reply. "It's annoying."

For a moment, Sonic continued to frown. Then, slowly, he began to smirk. Whether or not Jet did the same was unknown to him honestly but, for just a moment, he thought he might have seen the corner of his old friend's mouth twitch upward just slightly in amusement. "What about you, huh? You've probably been thinking enough to risk your head exploding."

This time Jet _did_ smirk, however briefly. "Perhaps."

Momentarily astounded, Sonic stared. _He's actually letting on his feelings._ "...You're being talkative. For you, at least."

It seemed that Jet gave that a teensy bit of thought. "Perhaps," he eventually conceded.

Now it was Sonic's turn to smirk. "Thought you hate repeating yourself."

"I do."

"And yet you did it."

"Hnn."

 _He's even engaging in banter. Just... wow._ An unexpected call from Tails to Sonic's communicator startled him out of his thoughts. Looking down at the device, he answered the call. However, Tails spoke before Sonic could. _"Sonic, we've got a situation,"_ the fox told him in worried tones. At about the same time, Jet suddenly began paying attention to his own communicator.

Concerned, Sonic demanded, "What's going on?"

 _"Nocturnians are gathering in massive numbers in South City,"_ Tails replied, flying the ship a touch lower. _"That's right near here."_

"That isn't the only issue," Jet added quietly. His eyes remained locked on his modified communicator.

Emerald eyes swung up to look at him. "Why? What else is happening?"

"Some soldiers are near the city," Jet responded. "They said that they were in the city earlier, and they saw a large number of Mobian hostages being gathered." He paused for a long moment, then added with an air of cautiousness, "Supposedly, some looked like villagers."

Filled with renewed hope for Vanilla and Vector's survival, Sonic quickly said, "Get to the Master Emerald. Tails and I will handle this and meet up with you afterward." Jet started to argue, frowning, but Sonic wasn't finished yet. "We won't try to clear the city of Nocturnians or anything, alright? We're just gonna do what we can to get to and rescue the hostages."

With great reluctance, for he seemed incredibly wary of them going alone to do this (the fact this could even be seen in his eyes was startling), Jet eventually agreed. "...Fine." With nothing else left to say, they parted ways. The hawk soared up into the clouds and was soon out of sight.

Changing his pace a bit, Sonic jumped up onto the X-Tornado's nearest wing. Tails then promptly sped up the ship, and soon they arrived at the smoking city. Curiously, the Nocturnians didn't seem to be guarding the outskirts… they were all gathering in and around the center of the city. Peering ahead, Sonic could see signs of a fierce battle already underway. He picked out maybe forty or so Babylonians in the crowds, but that was all. _Those must be some of Jet's soldiers._ He brought his communicator up to his mouth. "These guys are giving those Nocturnians hell, Tails, but I doubt they can hold off so many enemies for very long by themselves. We'd better hurry."

 _"Yeah, but what do you plan to do?"_ Tails returned. He steered their shared ship toward the battle. _"You have some sort of a plan, right?"_

 _Guess I probably should have those more often than I do._ "I don't know, Tails," he admitted, feeling guilty. "I just know that we have to save those people. That _has_ to be our top priority."

There was a significant moment of pause before Tails reply. _"...Vanilla and Vector went missing from Eschire, right?"_

"I told you about that?" Sonic shifted to look out over the city. "But… yeah. They went missing."

 _"Do you think they could be here?"_

A pang of fear shot through Sonic's heart. He worried his lower lip between his teeth, only to stop when he noticed what he was doing. "They might be… but I don't know."

 _"Sonic?"_ Tails tone prompted Sonic to turn his head to look into the cockpit. Tails met his gaze, deep blue eyes wide. _"Even if they're not here, are you willing to do whatever's necessary to save everyone else?"_

This question caused Sonic to frown. "Of course I am. Why would you even _ask_ me that?"

Tails looked ahead again. _"Good."_ Seemingly ignoring Sonic's question, the young fox added softly, _"If any of this really matters to us, Sonic, we have to be ready to give our hearts for it. If we don't fight, we lose. But if we fight… we might still win."_ He turned his head back to look at Sonic once more, now offering a tentative smile. _"Or, at least... that's what Sensei told me."_ Tilting the ship, he began diving down toward the fight. _"We might only have this one chance to save these people. Are you ready?"_

Sonic reached his hand behind him to the sheath on his back, grabbing Caliburn's handle. Eyes bright and determined, he nodded. "Yeah. Let's get this done." Tails didn't reply, only began firing down into the crowd of Nocturnians below. They were close now, close enough to be shot with extreme accuracy, but that also meant that they were close enough to fight back with ease. Sonic ducked low to avoid a slash from an enemy's sword, then jumped high when that enemy moved further upon onto the wing they had just reached. Coming down hard, Sonic snapped the Nocturnian's blade and ended their life as swiftly as possible. Now was not the time for mercy. He could hate himself for all the death and destruction later.

 _Dad once told me that those who can never sacrifice anything can also never change anything._ Curling into a ball, Sonic propelled himself directly into the fray, slicing through anyone who dared get in his way. Babylonians wisely scattered, only to regroup without hesitation once his messy entrance was completed. His grip tightened on Caliburn's handle. _So what is it that I have to give up here?_ Lunging, he cut down another Nocturnian while Tails wreaked havoc from above. Blasts of aura energy and laser beams from Babylonian guns and bodies lit up the air. _Is it my very morals… my desire to see all life as important?_ Above, the X-Tornado took a hard hit from flying debris and swerved, veering sharply to the left. A Babylonian woman rose up into the sky of her own power and erected a barrier, covering Tails while another woman gave the fox's attackers hell. Sonic eyed the commotion with a strange sense of emptiness. _Or… is it something else entirely?_

It was then that an explosion wracked the area again, splitting the ground under Sonic's feet and making him stumble. Too late, he fixed his balance and noticed the encroaching threats around him. Nocturnians rushed in from nearly every conceivable angle. Harsh blasts of fire deterred some. Powerful sword strokes halted others. His skin took the punishment from the weapons of the rest. Hissing between clenched teeth, he whirled and cut down the nearest enemy to him. Bullets strafed the ground mere feet from where he stood, pelting some of the others and leaving them mere bloody messes on the floor. He had to allow himself a grimace before turning away. Such was the nature of war, he had to remind himself. And yet, that knowledge helped nothing.

A missile sailed through the air with a chilling scream. Alarmed, Sonic whipped around in time to see Tails just barely swerve out of the way of the projectile. It exploded in empty air, but the danger was far from gone. A Nocturnian ship of roughly the same size as the Tornado soared into view. Immediately, Sonic knew that the situation here was about to get even worse than it already was. The death of a Babylonian nearby to him, a young man whose life was stolen from him by a now bloody axe, only reaffirmed his belief. Even as he sprinted forward and cut deeply the murderer he had just seen, another person was killed. He didn't see who, he didn't see where, he didn't see how, but there was no mistaking that scream and the way it had ended. He had to swallow the bile rising in his throat.

With the dogfight raging overhead, Sonic began unleashing a firestorm at every given opportunity. There was no point he could see in holding back now. _In the end, Tails, Jet, dad… they're all right, ultimately… we have to be prepared to give everything in order to win. Caution can only get us so far on it's own._ In this moment of clarity, suddenly a lot about Jet's demeanor and behavior during this war made sense to him. Rushing straight into the places where monsters lie was reckless, certainly, but sometimes… sometimes it was the only real option available. _Sometimes we just have to take our chances… don't we?_ Despite his own thoughts, he just couldn't shake the feeling that no matter what they did, they would end up losing far too much before all was said and done either way. And yet, his determination didn't wane now. _I'm armed and ready. I came here to fight for my cause, and that's exactly what I'll do. It's all I can do. _Even as life after life was snuffed out around him, Sonic somehow managed to cling to just enough hope to keep himself going. He refused to fall here.

Across the battlefield, a Babylonian's green aura attack killed a cluster of Nocturnians. In retaliation, the Nocturnians unleashed hellish explosions of their own dark energies. Aura energy and something far more wicked clashing in a vibrant display before both simply blew up together. Though plenty of Sonic's allies successfully dodged, enough of them fell to give Sonic a sense of unease. Truly the enemies they were clashing with here, at least some of them, were more powerful than they were letting on if they were taking out trained Babylonian soldiers with such ease. That alone was deeply concerning. Were they in over their heads here?

An explosion sounded nearby, drawing much attention to itself. Many heads turned to see one of those hulking Nocturnian beasts lumbering toward them with surprising ease. It's maw spread wide, a ball of energy forming between it's fangs. Sonic's communicator crackled to life. _"Sonic, it's aiming right at you all! You have to get out of there!"_

Already eyeing the beast and judging the distance between it and himself, Sonic realized how futile it would be to try to run now. "No! I'm gonna take it down!"

 _"There are more threats approaching from the east and west!"_ came the urgent reply, _"both on land and in the air! We're extremely outnumbered, and the troops Jet has in the area are locked in combat elsewhere! They can't get to us!"_

"We aren't running, Tails!" Sonic snapped. "I will _not_ let these people die here, and certainly not for _nothing_! We came here to save those hostages and I'll be _damned_ if we don't at least _try_!"

 _"Then take out that beast now, before it can unleash that attack!"_ The X-Tornado made a sharp turn and blasted away at the enemy ship, knocking said ship off course long enough for Tails to make a tight U-turn. _"I'll hold off the rest as long as I can! Just do something, and do it now!" _It was so unlike Tails to yell, so unlike him to snap orders at anyone, that it spurred his companion into immediate motion.

Wasting no time with words, Sonic sprinted toward the oncoming monster while Tails shot off through the sky to meet the newer threats. Babylonians here and there split off from their teams to follow each of them, clearly prepared to lend aid. In the distance, in the direction Tails had gone, Sonic could feel a huge build-up of energy that was far from benevolent in nature. The energy the beast was gathering up was rapidly growing into something too powerful for Sonic to handle alone with his injuries and how little he'd rested as of late. It crossed his mind to wonder why so many powerful Nocturnian forces were gathering _here_ of all places, let alone _now_ , but such thoughts fled from his mind when something struck him from behind… and he tripped.

With great force, a Nocturnian sent Sonic flying into the pavement and began hacking and slashing at any unguarded places that they could reach. A Babylonian was quick to intervene, tackling the Nocturnian and tumbling away with them down some stairs leading into a cafe of sorts that was somewhat below ground. Powerful explosions began wracking the battered city, making the ground jump and shudder and crack. Sonic fought to regain his feet amidst the motion and the pain. However, as always seemed to be the case in this war, he simply wasn't fast enough.

Ahead, the creature unleashed it's attack, decimating everything around it as the energies burst outward. Similar attacks surged into existence so close that Sonic could _feel_ the sheer evil within them as though it were the heat of a nearby flame. The attacks surrounded Sonic, Tails, and every ally they had in the area. Just before they were all enveloped completely, he did the one and only thing he could think to do. Reaching out with his very soul to any Chaos Emeralds left on Mobius, he cried out, "T… _Time-stop_!" A powerful surge of Chaos washed over everything the whole planet over. All around him, everything froze. The attacks ceased to destroy. The Nocturnians ceased to kill and the Babylonians ceased to fight back. The creature ceased it's rampage. The ground ceased to quake. The ships ceased to fly. And yet, one person remained unfrozen solely because it was Sonic's will that it be so.

 _"Sonic?"_ Tails asked him, voice so quiet over the communicator.

Sonic didn't reply. There was no reply to make. He knew that this time-stop would last for only so long. When it ended, everyone here was going to die. Perhaps not the strongest of the Babylonians within this city and maybe not even himself, but everyone else… they were doomed. And it was his fault. _People always die around me. They always, always die._

Tails spoke again. This time his voice was firmer, commanding attention and yet still kind. _"Sonic."_ Slowly, Sonic lifted his head to look at the frozen X-Tornado. It hovered there, millimeters from impending doom, and yet Tails didn't sound afraid. _"Sonic, listen to me."_ In that voice… Sonic swore he heard a smile. _"I know you're the one people call a hero, Sonic… I know you're the only one who wants to have to make hard choices… but this time, you have to let me do this. Let me do what I can do to save these people."_

Eyes stinging with unshed despair, Sonic demanded harshly, "What are you _talking_ about?"

 _"A sacrifice,"_ came the eerily calm reply. _"To save you. To save these soldiers. To save everyone here."_

Understanding the meaning behind those words was like taking a bullet to the heart. "At the cost of your _own life_ , Tails?!"

 _"I've already decided that I'm willing to give my heart for this, Sonic. For all of this."_ Again, Sonic could hear Tails smiling just from his voice. _"But, more than that… I've decided that I'm willing to give everything I have to bring back our peace. Even if that means I can't walk with you guys all the way to the end."_

Around them, things began to move slightly. Time was beginning to resume its natural flow. The sting in Sonic's eyes worsened, anger dissolving into terror. "Tails, you _can't_ do this!"

 _"Someone has to, you know."_ The frankness, the sheer mellow tone to this reply, caught Sonic off-guard. _"Sometimes it's impossible to fathom just how much good one life can do by giving itself up for others."_

Things began to move faster, gaining speed and starting to return to normal. " _Tails_ -!"

In his seat, Tails twisted around so that Sonic could just catch a _glimpse_ of his face, of that smile, from where he was standing. _"I'm sorry, Sonic. I wish I could have done so much more than just this."_

From deep within the young fox's body, energy began to build. It was an intense energy, one that Tails normally never used for fear of just how easily it could kill both himself and all those around him. And yet, as that distinct yellowish-orange radioactive energy began to form a sphere around the X-Tornado, Sonic was forcefully reminded of just how _powerful_ that energy was… how powerful _Tails_ was. With this ability alone, he had enough power to even hold his own against Analia for a time without support. He could certainly do this… wipe out these Nocturnians and maybe spare the innocent lives still left here… but at what _cost_? His attack could and almost certainly _would_ destroy all the other attacks, and Sonic knew Tails had enough control not to hit anyone he wasn't aiming for… but what would happen to _him_? More than once, he had stated that using too much of the power all at once put his own life on the line. And yet… he wasn't stopping. He was actually going through with this.

Rapidly, foolishly even, Sonic began to run to him. " _Tails_!"

That audible smile still remained. _"Goodbye, Sonic."_

Time unfroze.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,132 words this time. THIS IS THE WORST THING I'VE DONE SINCE I KILLED RUINED FUTURE ARC JET. ;_; Posted (at about 9:00 p.m.) 02-13-17.**


	87. Farewell to Hero

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in the aftermath of such loss... especially for the one who knows what most never will.

 **Note:** I recommend you listen to "Farewell to Hero" by Peter Roe (feat. Ùyanga Bold) while listening to this chapter. It, and the song I shared yesterday, inspired the tragic events that just unfolded within this story. And, for the record, _I'm so sorry_! ;_;

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Farewell to Hero** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

Dust was lifted in the air and carried around by the wind, brushing across the wan faces of the few people left standing. Fallen weapons glinted in the sunlight. Bodies littered the ground. Where the ground hadn't been reduced to dust, rubble lay in heaps, sometimes hiding bodies from sight. So much death. So much loss. And, amidst it all, a sacrifice few would likely ever know about. Kneeling just below where his friend and his ship had both once been, Sonic tilted his head up to the sky, eyes closed to the sky. Tears spilled freely down his face, unbidden… uninhibited.

With his eyes closed like this, he could just picture the ship, that face, that smile… and the brilliant lights that had consumed them both. Though he had searched and searched, not a trace of either had been found. It was as though they had simply melted away into nothing… a reality he simply couldn't swallow. Breathing labored, each inhale agonizing around the lump in his throat, the so-called " _Hero_ _of Mobius_ " stood and turned. Eyes opening, he gazed upon the faces of the soldiers who had bravely fought alongside him and Tails, who had also been willing to die for the sake of peace. He held them in higher respect than he held most, in this moment.

Emerald eyes looked away, now seeking out new faces… the faces of those he had come here so desperate to find and to save. One by one, hostages were being located and freed. People who had been lined up for public slaughter now wept at the return of their freedom, however brief it might turn out to be. He looked over them all, seeing in them all the same loss he was feeling now. They had all lost _so_ much, even if what one person had lost wasn't the same as another. They had all lost and _been_ lost… and it had taken the bravery of one kid genius to find them all again.

When familiar sweet, sweet eyes turned to him and met his gaze, he felt his lower lip tremble weakly. He knew the question in her eyes, knew the answer he could not give. She had seen Tails and the Tornado. She knew they were no longer here. And he… he couldn't find the words to explain to her the sheer magnitude of what had happened to them. Turning away again, he put everyone at his back… and, dropping his sword into the dust, let his tears spill freely once more. The wind howled softly, carrying with it a silent song of misery and death…

But somewhere, beyond most people's ability to hear… a lonely white emerald cried out a song of _hope_.

 **~台風の目~**

 **474 words this time. ;_; Posted (at about 7:25 a.m.) 02-14-18.**


	88. The Voice of Chaos

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in the midst of this search... especially for the one who may yet see home again.

 **Review Replies:**

 **(The bold and italicized one is mine, the other is from Blazing Winds)**

 _ **Hello, thatguy4643! Well, I almost made myself cry, so... ;_;**_

 **To thatguy4643: Yeesss. Cry! For our amusement! XD (I kid). Anyways, good to see that Kymma did a good job of eliciting emotion.**

 **I almost cried too.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Voice of Chaos** **"**

 **~台風の目~**

"What are you doing here, Jet?" Straightening, Jet stood and turned to face the new voice that had joined him so suddenly on the edge of Angel Island's east side. When he didn't answer the question, the owner of the voice huffed. "You gonna talk?"

"Now, now, Knuckie," Rouge soothed with a smile. "Not everyone can be as talkative as you."

"What? I'm not- _Silver_ is more-..." Letting out a soft growl, Knuckles crossed his arms and turned away. "Aw, hell. Just forget it."

Rouge let out a small laugh. While her husband moodily eyed the light cloud cover in the sky, she turned back to Jet. "My guess would be that you had the same though we did. That the green Chaos Emerald might have wound up near the Master Emerald like it tends to do."

After a moment, Jet conceded a nod and a simple, "Yes."

"I don't suppose you can sense it," Rouge joked with a smile. Her wings unfurled, stretching out in preparation for her to take off and search.

It needed no explanation by now, but Jet still found himself stating, "Only Sonic can do that." Almost as an afterthought, he then added, "...And Kaden."

Even as Rouge's eyebrows went up, Knuckles's furrowed lower. The echidna turned to him. "Kaden?"

"At times," Jet agreed vaguely with a noncommittal shrug. Before either could ask for an explanation, one Jet really didn't have anyway, he turned to look again at what he had been examining earlier. Footprints in the dirt… and several droplets of black blood. Black, being the color of _Nocturnian_ blood. Nocturnians had been here. Feeling uneasy, he took to the air and flew to the tallest peak on the island… the very one Sonic had once shown him. They had been just fourteen then, hadn't even been away from Ross and his hell-house for two months, and yet Sonic had shared with him a secret… a secret later years proved that Sonic no longer remembered revealing.

 _"Come on, it's just up this path," Sonic urged, jogging ahead with relative ease._

 _Eyeing the distance separating them from the ground, Jet grumbled, "I don't see why we took our boards if you don't want us to actually fly to this place." He shifted his board under his left arm unhappily. Loose rocks tumbled with every step the pair took._

 _"Because," Sonic replied loftily, "walking is what I was forced to do when I first saw this place. So, yeah. Memories."_

 _"You're ridiculous," Jet accused, though his voice held no real heat to it._

 _"Lighten up, we're nearly there," Sonic responded, not at all bothered by his friend's usual display of attitude. "Besides, it'll be worth it once we get there."_

 _"What could there possibly be up here that's so great?"_

 _"Come on, I thought you loved nature."_

 _"Yes, when I'm allowed to explore it freely. Not when I'm being forced to needlessly walk up a shoddy path up a random mountain for no reason."_

 _"It's not for no reason. And, trust me, this'll be worth it."_

 _Opting not to argue about it anymore, Jet let the matter go. The pair trekked on in relative silence with Sonic leading the way and Jet lagging further and further behind. He really wasn't that keen on reaching wherever their destination was. Something about this whole place just felt weird to him in a way he couldn't describe. 'It's like there's something… alive here. But… nothing normal.'_

 _Suddenly, Sonic spun around. "Come on, I can see the cave!" he called down. He stood on a high rise near the very peak of the mountain and, seemingly, at the end of this miserable path._

 _"Cave?" Jet echoed, already breaking into a jog to catch up. His heart rate picked up anxiously._

 _"Yeah, come on! This is where he always hid it, so it's probably still here!" Without waiting, the other teen turned and dashed inside._

 _"What are you talking about?" Jet called after him, greatly confused now. He hid his nerves under a veil of continued irritability, though he didn't doubt that his friend could see through it. "Who's ' he' and what did he hide?"_

 _"An old friend of mine!" was the excited reply. "And you'll see! Come on!"_

 _Within moments, the two of them reached a part of the cave (really, it was more like a tunnel now) where some sort of an ethereal green glow provided the darkness with a balm. Honestly, that light was one of the only things keeping Jet from panicking as a result of being in this small, dark pace. Cursing Sonic for his decision to take a claustrophobe into a cave, he demanded, "The hell is that?"_

 _Sonic gestured for him to follow and stepped toward the glow, now walking. Together, they entered a small natural room… where a huge diamond-like gem was waiting._

Distantly, Jet was aware of Knuckles and Rouge following him as he flew up that very mountainous path. Once, Locke had taken Sonic here. Another time, Sonic had taken Jet here. Now, it seemed that two more people were going to learn of the somewhat secret hiding place the Locke had for so long utilized. Though, of course, Jet assumed that these two already knew, either way. And even if they didn't… at least he knew them to be trustworthy.

The mouth of the small cave came into view quickly, far quicker than it would have had they walked (yet another reason to love flying), and Jet felt an immediate twinge of anxiety. _I'll have to go inside. ...I'll have to go inside._ There was no backing out of this. It was one thing to avoid going into a closet or a tiny basement or into an elevator, but it was another thing entirely to avoid ensuring the security of the freaking Master Emerald over his fear. But that didn't mean he wanted an audience. Slowing to a stop, he turned toward the treasure hunting duo. Soon, they were all hovering in a rough approximation of a triangle. "Head back to the others."

Knuckles and Rouge traded a look before Rouge countered reasonably, "We still need the other emeralds. We're missing at least four, I think."

"If even _you_ two have not found them by now," Jet responded smoothly, "then it stands to reason that our enemies most likely have them, does it not?" Clearly, that wasn't what they'd wanted to hear. He knew that that had likely been a sharp blow to their hope, but he also knew that someone had to point it out. Right now, he was okay with being that person.

Eventually, Rouge let out a sigh. Her aura was heavy with resignation… and fear. "What do you intend to do if we head back?"

"I'll secure the Master Emerald." Piercing blue eyes briefly dared to meet irritable violet ones. Voice soft with a promise, he added, "It will be safe."

With a snort, Knuckles looked away. "You'd better made _damn_ sure it will." That was the closest thing to permission that he, as the modern guardian of the emerald, would likely ever give.

Nodding, Jet silently reaffirmed his promise. It seemed to convince them to trust him enough that they finally turned and began to reluctantly leave. Only once they were out of sight did Jet turn back to the cave. He landed lightly outside of the lip of the cave, heart pounding… and hesitated. Bad memories hit him, threatened to cripple his determination, but he still forced himself to take the first step in. Teleporting objects of power, such as the emeralds, was immensely difficult to say the least, but this was one situation where he would have considered it to be very, very worth the attempt… had he not known how futile said attempt would have been.

After that first step, each step that followed grew harder and harder to take. This was not a situation where things got easier as he went along, nor was it a situation where he felt safe. Sure, there was nothing here that could harm him _now_ , but in the past that hadn't always been the case. He remembered being beaten and locked into closets where he was left to shiver and starve, hiding away in tiny places during wars where only so many allied lives could be sheltered, being kept in tiny cells in between bouts of agony and suffering at the hands of Syxans… but those were memories he began quickly beating back. It took effort to remind himself that he was trying to let go of the past, and that that meant actually letting go. But, once he did and he focused on his goal here and now, things did get a little easier. His fear didn't leave him, but at least now he was focused.

All-too-slowly, the now familiar green glow of the Master Emerald entered his vision. As he stepped into the room where Locke had stored the emerald so many times in the past, a voice he knew well entered his mind. Namely, _the_ Voice. The sound of it was a welcome distraction, gave him something to focus on that could help him calm down. _"It has been centuries since you and I last spoke in this place."_

Recalling again his first trip here, Jet murmured a vague, "Hnn."

The so-called "Voice", more accurately called "Ythene, the Voice of Chaos", spoke to him again. Only when dealing with people such as her, those whose voices were utterly monotonous, did Jet's inability to read voices not matter. That was something he was thankful for. _"Your kin have spoken to you, have they not?"_

"Did they speak to _you_?" Jet returned evenly, gazing deeply into that glow. When he looked closely enough, he could just make out the vague, distant shape of a woman.

 _"They did,"_ was the simple confirmation. _"The Queen is not pleased… but she agrees that the time for this is now."_

Jet blinked. "She will let him do this, then?"

 _"Sonic will be allowed to find his spear,"_ Ythene confirmed softly. _"However… I was instructed to remind you what awakening the spear may very well entail for the two of you. He will be pushed into a state of pure emotion, as True Chaos often does to people. The rift between you two has been far from closed."_

Steeling his expression, Jet looked away. "I know. I was informed of the risks before."

 _"You will still follow through?"_

"I won't hesitate, if that's what you're implying..."

 _"Good."_ There was a pause, then an unexpected accusation. Albeit… an emotionless one. _"You are upset… and I sense doubts within you regarding your friendship. Are you truly willing to be the one to do this?"_

"Do you really think there's anyone _else_ who will?" Jet responded a touch sharply. He took two steps forward and hefted the emerald up. Shifting the bulky jewel into one arm, he turned to leave and muttered, "Just shut up and get out of my mind." No reply came. Satisfied, he began walking back out.

 **~台風の目~**

In the quietude of the morning, Analia was trying her hand at drawing to pass the time. As he had been doing off and on for some time, Kaden was dozing on the bed before her, left arm dangling off the edge in a rare pose for him. All bundled up in the thick, heavy blankets (for they were very far north and he couldn't much stand the cold), he looked smaller than he actually was. And yet, he looked peaceful. With the aid of her magic, his fever had finally broken and he was resting with considerably more ease than before.

At some point while she drew, Kaden must have stirred and looked at what she was doing. However, by the time he spoke, his eyes had closed again. His voice startled her just a little when he suddenly mumbled something. She looked up at him when her brief fright passed her by. "Hm?"

Stifling a yawn, he gestured vaguely with his left hand at her sketchpad and the drawing it contained. His eyes still closed, he repeated. "That's incorrect."

Though he stated it a touch rudely, she knew it wasn't his intention. He was trying, in his own way, to offer help, so she smiled at him. "Show me, then?" Her smile grew when he murmured an agreement and pushed himself up off of his stomach. After disentangling himself from the blankets a bit, he took the pencil and sketch pad from her (both of which she had borrowed for Kaden himself). Before he could even start to show her a better technique for what she had been doing, however, Analia suddenly leaned forward and gave his cheek a quick kiss. Suddenly, he seemed keen on focusing on just the drawing.

She suspected that he was blushing under all that dark fur.

 **~台風の目~**

"It's going to be soon, isn't it?"

In the wake of Silver's question, much silence ensued. Jet barely looked up from the dagger he was so busily cleaning. Silver's gaze barely shifted from the midnight sky. The camp around them barely stirred. "What will be?"

Golden eyes blinked placidly. "The end of this war. It'll happen before too much longer, right?"

"...In theory," Jet responded eventually, wary as always of such a hope.

"Kath and Selene certainly think so," Silver informed him with a small smile. The light of all those distant stars reflected off of his eyes. "Arthr, too, and even Tammy, Sara, and… well, most people I've talked to." Finally, he turned his head to look at his "uncle" fully. "Can you Babylonians sense something I can't or something?"

"Not exactly," Jet hedged, though he didn't deny it outright. Silver gave him a moment to collect his thoughts, suspecting he might continue if given the opportunity. Sure enough, Jet added after a small time, "It's more of an instinct, I suppose. It's easier for us than it is for some other races to sense when a sort of… 'climax' is coming. At least when it pertains to combat."

"Guess that explains why you guys never seem to be unprepared for those kinds of events," Silver said with a short laugh.

"That isn't always true," Jet rebuffed, "and you know it."

"Eh... true. Instincts only help so much, after all." Silver turned his face back to the sky. "You know, I've been here so long… in this timeline's years, at least… I don't know how I'll ever get used to things in my own timeline again."

"You'll be fine." This assurance, while brief and simple, somehow managed to still be comforting.

"If this war ends soon," Silver continued quietly, "I guess that that means I'll be going home soon, too."

"Mm-hm," Jet responded vaguely. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking or feeling. The only thing Silver knew for sure was that the hawk was strangely fixated on cleaning that dagger very, very thoroughly.

 _Maybe he's as nervous about being left alone as I am of going back after so many years._ Silver closed his eyes. _Well… he won't be really alone… but what contact he has with anyone he once knew on Mobius, namely me, ends when I leave. At least for a while. And when I go home, I won't be alone, either._ His eyes opened again gradually. _I guess I'm just nervous because it's been so long since I've seen Blaze and the others, and I have no idea what's happened to them or how long has passed there… But things should be fine, right?_

Turning his head, Silver heard himself ask something entirely off-topic in an effort to lighten the mood. "Say, when are you gonna ask Selene out, huh?" Immediately, a small pebble was flung at him and bounced off of his forehead, making him laugh. Somehow, through this interaction alone, silly and slightly painful though it was, he was comforted. _At least when I go back… I know the other you will still be there._ Smile never fading, his eyes read deeper into the hawk than most ever could. _He may not be you, exactly, but at the same time he is. And, maybe now that I know you… maybe now that someone really understands what you went through… maybe now we can finally start to fix things. _A fresh smile painted itself on his face. _But first thing's first… we have to end this war and get me home..._

 _And the moment I get home, I'm giving my wife and baby girl the biggest hug I can._

 **~台風の目~**

Aura attacks lit up the darkness of space in and around the Watcher's Observatory as Tammy, Arthr, and the many other gathered Babylonians worked together to fend off the newest Nocturnian assault. In the midst of the madness were Wave and Amy. They stood side by side, unleashing twin psychic attacks on their enemies. Earlier in the day, Jet had come to Wave and asked, for the first time ever, if Wave would watch his kids for him while he was gone. It had been awkward on his part, she was sure, but it was a responsibility she had readily taken on (which had likely been a relief for him). Now, their lives were in her hands. It made her fight harder, fight smarter. But things were not going well for them. _While we aren't exactly losing, we certainly aren't losing, either…_

Nocturnians were suddenly thrown into the psychic attacks, drawing their attention for scarcely a moment to see Astra aiding them with a stolen sword. Just after Astra did this, Arthr suddenly called out, "Guys, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Wave called back. She was more willing to talk to him than Amy, since she had actually gotten to know Arthr and Amy hadn't.

"A Nocturnian was just spouting off at one of the soldiers off that way!" Arthr yelled over the roar of a nearby attack. He pointed to his left. "They were saying some crap about their forces gathering again, this time a lot more completely than before! Tammy's afraid that this means their amping up for some final strike on us or something!"

Neither Wave nor Amy replied, if only because they had no idea what reply to make. The battle ebbed and flowed around them. However, this abruptly ceased when Astra stood straight and held up a hand. The Nocturnians were suddenly trapped by thousands of thin threads wrapping around them and pressing them into one another until they disappeared suddenly. Amy, Arthr, Wave, and Tammy stared in confusion, along with the many other soldiers present, and then numerous gazes shifted to Astra.

Astra's own eyes gave naught but a vague question until she happened to look upon Wave and Amy. She raised an eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"

"What did you just _do_?" Amy countered immediately while Wave remained silent.

"I teleported them away. Quite simply… I couldn't bear the trauma of killing them myself." Astra murmured, shifting her gaze away from the hedgehog.

This was a statement Amy immediately sympathized with, and yet… _She obviously battled when rescuing Hannah and Espio. ...But, then again, fighting doesn't always entail killing. It never seemed to me that she fought very hard to keep Espio safe when she retrieved him…_ These thoughts lingered for a moment before she just sighed and let it go with a sigh. "Okay, then," she murmured. Without saying anything else, she turned to go back inside.

Her friend (namely Wave) lingered behind for a time before hurrying after her. She had to go check on the kids. _Jet would never forgive me if something happened to his kids. And, frankly, neither would I._ She ran across the area they had been fighting in, bound for the Blue Typhoon. As she ran, she passed by a sort of security checkpoint leading through a doorway. Without really intending to, she overheard a young male giving identification to pass through. "Haru, psychologist, therapist, and medic. I have clearance to see this patient…"

Just moments later, she disappeared into the ship.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,468 words this time. And... yeah. Hope you enjoyed. As always, much thanks to Blazing Winds for his help in the Astra scene. Posted (at about 11:35 a.m.) 02-16-18.**


	89. Memory Lane

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of exploration... especially for the one understands the value of a proper surprise.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Memory Lane"**

 **~台風の目~**

Voices sifted through the haze of sleep as Kaden rested in the bed he had been using. He was unsure as to who was talking overall, though distantly their identities did register at some point or another. One person's hand drifted over his head to rub at his ear, further proving to him who the first speaker was even as he drifted back off toward sleep. _"He is healing so quickly due to magic, for the most part."_

 _"I thought you said magic is what made him ill in the first place."_

Kaden frowned slightly as these words registered and he shifted a bit. The rubbing on his ear continued, however, quickly prompting him to lay still again. As he did so, the first voice responded to the second. _"Dark magic, Blaze. Black magic. Not my own."_

 _"Didn't you express concerns that your magic would be insufficient to heal him?"_

 _"I did."_

Exhausted, Kaden tried to tune the voices out in order to go back to sleep. Alas, his poor, overly-sensitive ears would never allow that. _Why must everything always be so loud…?_ he wondered in sleepy dismay.

Blaze spoke up after a pause. _"Then how is he already doing so much better, Analia?"_

Too tired to at the moment to come up with an explanation himself, Kaden waited for Analia to answer the question instead. _"Unless I am mistaken…"_ She trailed off significantly for a time. Then, seeming to choose her next words with care, she continued more strongly, _"Unless I am mistaken, one of his much more dormant abilities has reawakened. It, most likely, is responsible for his rapid recovery."_

 _"'Dormant abilities'?"_ Blaze echoed.

 _"From his mother,"_ Analia explained. _"It has awakened before, but always for only very brief periods of time. This may be one of those times."_

 _"What abilities?"_ Blaze asked. The sounds of movement met Kaden's ears while his student and granddaughter-in-law spoke, telling him that she was leaving the room. When Analia's hand slowly pulled away from his ear, he knew she was walking out, too.

 _"Perhaps it would be best if he told you himself, if and when he is ever ready…"_ his partner murmured. The sound of the door shutting was soon followed by footsteps and then, finally, quiet.

Feeling vaguely relieved, Kaden allowed himself to drift back off.

 **~台風の目~**

Though nightmares were always a concern for him, the dreams that soon swept over him managed to be peaceful. He dreamed of a fire with a lazy stream of smoke. He dreamed of a flowering field and a clear sky. He dreamed quiet exploration in the woods. He even dreamed of the peaceful family life he had known for only one brief century of his long existence… and it was that dream that lingered by far the longest.

 _In the dream, Kaden was sitting alone in the room of his and Analia's house that was basically his office. It was where he did all his writing, drawing, paperwork, and so on. Right now, he was busy darkening a sketch he'd made for panel in a manga he was working on, one that was currently very, very popular. As he worked, he kept half of his attention focused on his family, which he was listening to from where he sat at his desk. In the hall beyond his shut office door, small feet ran by and to the stairs, then down them and into the living room where Analia was. The conversation was easily picked up on by his highly sensitive ears._

 _"Mom, can we go to an amusement park?" Sarai asked._

 _The smile could clearly be heard in Analia's voice. "I do not see why not." Scarcely a second later, she added, "But you must ask your father and brother as well, to see if they would like to go."_

 _The ancient warrior found himself smiling slightly for whatever reason as the younger hedgehog responded and soon began running back up the stairs. He stood and had his office door open before the twelve-year-old could even knock. He was amused by the briefly surprised look on their child's face, and the emotion colored his aura as he asked, "Yes?"_

 _Young emerald eyes were bright with excitement as their owner explained quickly, "Mom said we can go to an amusement park, but she wanted me to ask if you and Sen wanted to come, too." When he pretended to be hesitant, the child pleaded. " Please, Daddy, please?"_

 _He couldn't say "no" to that. He simply couldn't. And besides, he liked amusement parks well enough. They weren't his favorite places in the world, but he found roller coasters and other such thrill rides to be enjoyable… even though the noise levels were very hard for him to bear. For these reasons, he instantly caved. "Alright. I'll come." His slight smile grew as he watched the young hedgehog cheer, and he couldn't resist a quiet chuckle as Sarai ran off to relay the good news to Analia._

With no idea how much time had passed, Kaden jerked awake. At first, he had zero idea as to _why_ he was suddenly awake. However, after a short moment, he realized a gentle hand on his shoulder was giving him a small shake. It was Analia's voice that met his ears. "Kaden, wake up. You need to eat." A short bit of quiet protesting later, Kaden found himself sitting up in bed with a bowl of some sort of stew in his hands. He reluctantly began to eat a few small bites of it, despite really not feeling very hungry, while Analia took a seat on the edge of the bed by his legs. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.

He shrugged, hoping she would understand that he felt fine - just didn't feel like saying it. _Though, she always says she prefers it when I verbally answer her questions…_

Analia gave him a smile. "Good," she murmured. "I am glad." He hoped he didn't need to actually say that he was honestly glad as well. "Do you feel well enough to walk around?"

In response to his mild confusion, Kaden felt his right ear flick just slightly. "Why?"

The smile she was wearing grew, prompting his heart to give one of its usual _th-thump's_. He quickly looked back down at his food. "I have a surprise to show you."

As always, the idea of a surprise made him wary. "...Surprise?" he echoed dubiously.

"Relax," Analia soothed with a small laugh. "It is nothing terrible. It is something I… _repaired_ , let us say. You will like it, I promise."

Though still doubtful, Kaden didn't pose an argument. Instead, he just asked, "You are wanting to do this today?"

"After you are done eating, if you feel well enough."

"...Hn."

Another smile. "Finish eating. You will need the energy."

Confusion mounting, Kaden went ahead and took another bite.

 **~台風の目~**

Eyes firmly shut, Kaden blindly followed his partner in the direction she was tugging him. "Analia-"

Analia shushed him, albeit gently. "Sh. We are nearly there."

"How come Papa can't look?" Kimmy asked from somewhere close behind him. Blaze was no doubt carrying the child.

"Because this is meant to be a surprise," Rouge answered from close by, almost certainly smirking coyly all the while. "It's not surprising if you peek."

"Oh-h-h." Kimmy fell silent for just a second, then asked, "So how come we get to look?"

"Because this isn't our surprise," Rouge answered patiently.

Now Knuckles spoke up. It sounded like he was just a foot or so from Kaden's left side. "We getting close, Analia?"

"Yes, we are," Analia assured. Kaden bit back a surge of irritation over the fact that he couldn't look at where they were going… but mostly over the fact that it was flipping _cold_ here.

"Why would you leave the gift way out here?" Blaze asked quietly.

This made Analia laugh softly. "Well, I could hardly _move_ it." It seemed that _everyone_ but Analia was confused now, but she was clearly determined not to give any other hints than that. Kaden opted to keep his mouth shut about it.

Minutes passed in relative silence, broken only by the chilly breezes that swept through the area every minute or so. He heard another noise rather frequently, too, something that sounded to his ears like a very familiar plant shifting and at times even bending… but could it really be that? _Is that… bamboo?_

Suddenly, Blaze gave a sharp gasp and he could just _feel_ people freezing around him. Analia gently nudged him to a halt. "What?" Kimmy asked, audibly (to him, at least) shifting around to get a better view. "What is it? Why're we here?"

Her touch gentle, Analia gave Kaden's hand a light squeeze. "Open your eyes," she whispered to him. With a small huff, Kaden did as he had been told… and promptly froze.

Stretching out before them all, nestled between a ring of mountains deep within the two thousand or more peaks of this age-old mountain range, was a city. It's outer defensive walls stood strong, encircling the massive settlement with only the occasional gate offering a means in and out. Houses stretched out for nearly as far as the eye could see. Shopping districts stood out amidst courtyards and numerous koi ponds. Alleyways snaked through the city in innumerable directions. Tall, red religious temples jutted out over the civilization. Dragon road snaked out into the distance from the east toward the sea. It was all... just like he remembered it, just as he had lived it so long ago (sans the people) and he had no idea how to process it.

There, in all its ancient glory, stood Chun-nan.

For reasons he couldn't even explain right now, Kaden felt his eyes start to well up with tears and his lower lip gave a slight quiver against his will. Choked by the sudden, painful lump in his throat, he brought his free arm up. He hid his eyes in the crook of that arm, fighting back his emotions and trying his _damnedest_ not to let himself actually cry. Analia gave his hand another encouraging squeeze. _She… she actually… Why did she…?_

A hand reached up to brush across his cheek. "Would you like to go and explore it?"

Choking back a slight sob, Kaden finally started to succeed in forcing back his emotions. He gave a nod without hesitation. _Of course I… Why even ask me that?_

When he finally uncovered his eyes again and looked at Analia, he found her smiling softly at him. "Go on, then," she whispered. "We will catch up." She released his hand.

His emerald gaze lingered on her for a long moment before he finally turned away. In a flash of dark blue, he disappeared down the side of the mountain they stood upon and into the city below.

 **~台風の目~**

Alone again finally, Kaden walked down a street that had, many centuries ago, always been busy. He remembered the throngs of people always crowding the narrow path, the constant calls of the merchants in the shop booths lining the road on either side. But that wasn't all he remembered.

 _"Come on, Kaden! Get a move on, will you?!"_

 _"Locke, wait up!"_

 _"Heck, no! You never wait for me!"_

 _"Come on! You can just fly over everyone, but I can't!"_

 _"Oh, well! I'll just meet you there!"_

 _"That's not fair, Locke!"_

 _"Oh, well!"_

Blinking away the memory, Kaden slowly turned a corner and found himself traveling down a street covered in faded paint stains… pink and yellow decorating the road for several hundred feet. _...I pissed off a shopkeeper here, he recalled. He was being an ass again, so I pulled a prank on him… He was pissed when that bucket of ice water dumped on him._ Gradually, he recalled the results of that particular prank.

 _Ten-year-old Kaden ran up to Locke from somewhere behind, shouting his name all the while. Locke knew that tone of voice, so he immediately, and without even thinking, began running. Kaden caught up to him in seconds, now no longer shouting and instead just focused on running. "What did you do this time?!" Locke demanded._

 _"Nothing, just run!" Kaden replied, risking a glance over his shoulder at whoever their pursuers were._

 _Locke groaned in annoyance. "You pulled another prank, didn't you?!"_

 _"Just shut up and run!" was the sharp reply._

 _" Why did you pull another prank?!" Locke snapped at him with a sort of glare. "Wasn't the result of the last one you pulled enough of a deterrent?!"_

 _"Last time wasn't that bad!" Kaden retorted as they ran. "That guy just threw a few pots and pans at us!"_

 _"And nearly knocked me out with them!" Locke exclaimed. "He might've missed you, but he hit me with all of them!"_

 _Kaden abruptly changed the subject back and answered the original question. "Look, that jerk tried to dump a ton of water on me first, alright?"_

 _"Pretty petty way to get revenge!" Locke complain._

 _Out of the blue, capsules full of paint of all things began getting hurled at them by their pursuer. Shouting a bit in surprise, Locke and Kaden booked it down the street, getting covered in paint all the while. By the time they ducked into an alleyway and lost the angry shopkeeper in the confused crowds, they were both almost completely covered in bright pink and yellow paint. Glaring, Locke hit Kaden on the top of the head._

Fighting back a small smirk, Kaden wandered past a koi pond and across a courtyard, past the alley where he so often used to go to play mahjong with as a child with (adult) strangers, and toward the bell tower where he had spent so much of his time as a child… usually just drawing or waiting for Locke to come around and visit. Seeing it brought a flood of memories to him, memories of drawing, of stargazing, of bickering with Locke, of trying to see past the distant walls and out into the world beyond, of trying to see his friend arriving from the sky for a visit, of eating stolen treats while listening to the crowds below… But he also remembered other things. Darker things. Mainly things related to hiding from the six Elders of Chun-nan who had so ruined his childhood.

The tower came into view, though heavily fortified and hidden courtyard where he had been kept day and night for so much of his early life remained hidden from view. The bell tower was far enough away that he could visit it without having to see that other, far more hellish place. Part of him wondered if Analia had even restoried that place to begin with. _Knowing her… she may well have left it out of her restoration efforts._ His steps slowed, then ceased. He bit his lower lip, weighing the risks of his morbid, hesitant curiosity. _I would be better off not looking. Far better off. But…_ Taking in a deep breath, he steeled himself for what he might or might not see and began walking.

The walk itself was quiet. He passed by more shops (one of which he remembered used to sell handcrafted dolls and wall scrolls, and another which he recalled had sold delicious sweet bread), then past an open courtyard where once there had been many performances with music and dance and fireworks and even just plain fire. He had loved it when those had happened… especially since, a few times when he'd been very small, Saran had let Kaden sit on his shoulders like a father would in order to see over the crowds. Another treasured memory, another time he could never get back. But it was hard not to miss them, even harder not to miss to miss the man who had given his life so much light.

Shaking his head as though that action alone could clear away the memories, Kaden turned a corner to pass through an alleyway. Plenty of illegal sales had taken place in alleys like this one. He'd stolen his first knife somewhere around here, and a month later had first been forced to make use of it in roughly the same area. He'd also tried alcohol for the first time at age seventeen in a similar alley, maybe even this exact one. Hell, he'd even witnessed the sale of many of a cursed object and artifact tied to black magic in this streets. But some other alleys, like the one he was now stepping into, had much lighter memories attached to them.

 _I used to play mahjong here._ Even after all these years, Kaden still remembered just how often he come into this particular alley in order to test his mettle against the many gambling adults. He'd had no money to put at risk, but he'd still always been able to find some who were willing to indulge him in a game, anyway. Some had once practically been street rats, like him. He still wondered if they had only interacted with him out of pity, but that was a thought he let drift away. _She even restored the tables._ His fingers skimmed lightly across the surface of one such table before retracting. Moving around the lightweight wooden tables and chairs, he continued on his way.

Turning another series of corners, Kaden found himself face-to-face with the courtyard's imposing walls and gates… or at least he would have, had it actually been there. True to form, Analia had refused to restore his place of suffering, leaving a neat garden of flowers there instead. Her form of a memorial, of an apology for something she had had nothing to do with and could not have prevented. So like her to feel sorrow over something from so long ago. So like her to care… and to want to heal.

He noticed the flowers were white roses.

He chose to pretend that they didn't matter, that their meaning held no significance to him.

Turning away, he jogged away, headed for a different section of the city. Before long, he found himself slowing to a halt at the bottom of some stairs leading into one of the city's temples. It wasn't one he had ever set foot in, but it triggered a memory that sent him speeding off to the south-eastern corner of the city. There stood another tradition religious temple, one he _had_ spent significant time in. It had been a place of refuge for him when he'd been little, a place of safety. The priestesses had given him food, allowed him to sleep, read to him, even given him toys once or twice. Those were acts of kindness he'd never forgotten, even long after he'd grown too old to be allowed in without pledging allegiance to their religion.

It was near this temple that Kaden spotten Blaze. Kimmy, who was still being comfortably held in her mother's arms, waved excitedly. "Papa! Papa!" she called. "We're over here! Come see the fishies!"

Amused, Kaden appeared there in a flash. Sure enough, the pair were standing beside a koi pond that was as full of life as it had probably ever been. _Yet more food for the stray housecats and wild dogs that once roamed these streets._ Turning his head to look at his great-granddaughter again, Kaden acknowledged the child with a soft, "Hn." For whatever reason, this made her beam at him.

"Is it as you remember?" Blaze asked him quietly, turning her attention away from the pond as well. "The city, I mean."

Kaden blinked once, then inclined his head. "It is."

"I imagine it's quieter."

"Much."

Blaze smiled just a bit. "A city this size must have boasted quite the population."

" _Over_ population is far more accurate," Kaden corrected. Then he asked, "Where are the others?"

"Knuckles and Rouge went to go see Dragon Road," Blaze answered. "They mentioned that Locke has told them both about it numerous times, so they wished to see it."

"And Analia?"

"I don't know. She didn't say."

Shrugging, Kaden turned to go and find her. Blaze didn't offer a word of protest over him leaving so, acting under the assumption that she didn't really mind the renewed solitude for now, he took off. Using his senses, he picked up on the warm feeling of Analia's Light and began to follow it to her location. He found her standing on a rooftop, gazing out into the sky. The earlier chill from the wind forgotten now in her presence, he slowed to a walk. When he jumped up to join her, she gave him a bright smile. No words were traded but, for once, he thought that they could agree that none were needed. Each knew well enough what the others thoughts and feelings were here. It was enough.

Content to remain here with her until they inevitably had to leave again, Kaden closed his eyes and chose to savor the moment.

 **~台風の目~**

At least an hour passed before Analia roused Kaden from his light doze on the rooftop. He had been resting in the sunshine with his arms behind his head, savoring the heat amidst the constant chill of the breezes, but now he was awake again. Opening his eyes, he tilted his head back to look at his partner. She gave him a smile and asked, "I am taking a walk. Come with me?"

A blink, then he shifted to get up. Accepting the proffered hand, he got to his feet. Together, the pair dropped to the empty street below and began walking. He didn't ask where they were going, didn't care if there was a destination. For now, he just relished in the peace.

 **~台風の目~**

It was here, Kaden realized, that it had happened. Here was where he first met Locke, beside this shop with the belltower in plain view nearby. The bickering he recalled with ease, but not how it had somehow led to a second meeting weeks or maybe months later, or all the other meetings after that… let alone how they had actually managed to become friends. But, looking ahead at the distant walls, he did… remember one thing.

 _Kaden sat on one of Chun-nan's high walls, knees hugged up to his chest. It was dusk and absolutely frigid out, but for once he didn't notice. He was too focused on his emotions to notice the chill of the encroaching night. "Locke?"_

 _Sitting beside him was Locke, who was busy checking the time using the sky as his rough guide. "Yeah?"_

 _"You have to leave soon, don't you." While technically a question, it came out as more of a statement because he knew it was true._

 _"Yeah, probably in a few minutes," Locke confirmed. "I'm kinda pushing my luck staying out so late. I think." Kaden just nodded. "Why?" Locke asked him, turning his head to look at his slightly smaller friend. "Is something wrong?"_

 _There was silence for a time before Kaden attempted to answer that. "What… was it that you said earlier?" he asked slowly. "About… friends?"_

 _"Oh, that?" Locke gave one of his easy smiles. "Just that they stick together and stuff, you know? Even when bad things happen, or they can't be near to each other, and stuff like that."_

 _A slow nod served as Kaden's initial response before he mumbled a lame, "Oh."_

 _"So I'll be back, 'kay?" Locke told him, standing up. "Don't worry about it so much." Kaden looked up quickly at the boy he had now known for only a few weeks, excluding all the time that had passed between their first and second meetings. This was only about the ninth or tenth time they had ever interacted. Yet, Locke still gave him another smile and didn't recount what he had just said and implied. "Don't look so surprised, Kaden. And, seriously, relax once in a while." He stepped to the edge of the wall and waved. "I'll see you around." Turning away, he jumped off and flew off, leaving a stunned Kaden alone in the growing darkness._

 **~台風の目~**

Near eleven in the morning, Kaden went to one of his favorite haunts from his childhood. Namely, Dragon Road, Chun-nan's beautiful and only constructed connection to the sea. Countless trade routes across said sea had once connected to this road, bringing many goods and people across it. Now, however, it was quiet. That had once been the case almost literally never, and he recalled always savoring it when this place was even just a _little_ be quieter than normal. But that rare bit of peace wasn't what had always drawn him here. It wasn't why he had always loved this place. No, the reason was simply because of how huge this place was, how long the road had been built to be, how fast one could run on it without the risk of buildings being in the way. People had always been an obstacle, sure, but he'd grown rather adept at dodging them, once upon a time. And now… Now there were no people.

Allowing himself a rare grin, Kaden tore off into the distance.

 **~台風の目~**

Knuckles and Rouge stood at the end of the road near the docks where, so many years ago, huge merchant ships would have docked. Kaden skidded to a harsh halt just behind them, arms pinwheeling briefly to help kill his extremely high momentum before he slammed into either Knuckles or his wife. Thankfully, he managed to stop with about a foot to spare and neither witnessed his less-than-graceful halt. Their backs had been to him, but they both quickly turned once they heard him. Rouge was the first to speak, wearing one of her usual smirks. "Having fun?"

For once, Kaden saw no point in denying it. "Hn."

Knuckles gave a nod that, while curt, managed to seem approving. "Good." With that said, he began walking down to the ancient docs, no doubt wanting to examine them. Rouge quickly followed suit.

Not at all eager to reunite himself with the sea, Kaden turned and dashed back up the road the way he had come.

 **~台風の目~**

Smiling as brightly as ever, Analia took Kaden's hand into her own as they walked together through one of the cities extravagant gardens. "I am glad that you are happy."

Feeling affectionate, Kaden leaned over and gave her kiss a quick kiss. It was hard for him to say this normally for reasons he never bothered to contemplate, but for once the words came easily to him. "Thank you."

Her smile grew, her warmth increasing as her Light undoubtedly rose with her emotions. "You are welcome."

More hard words, but that came even easier than the ones before. It was a rare thing, for him, but he didn't hesitate to make his, for once, open admission. "I love you."

These words seemed to make her glow brighter than the sun with joy. But maybe that was just him. Or maybe it was just her smile. "I love you, too."

Feeling warm himself for once in his life, Kaden leaned his head against hers and let her lead the way.

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,649 words this time. Hope ya'll enjoyed this rare feel-good chapter. For the record, it only became some sort of collection of drabbles at the end because... well, I got lazy. XD Anyway, 'til next time. Posted (at about 11:25 a.m.)** **02-21-18.**


	90. Weary

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this emotional time... especially for the one who regrets much.

 **Note: I don't know what happened with how this one was written. I just… yeah.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Weary"**

 **~台風の目~**

He saw the aftermath.

With emerald in arm, he surveyed the damage wrought upon the area by an ally's final stand. Emerald eyes glanced to him sharply, at first angry and accusing. Then simply dull, weary, and almost broken, they looked away.

He approached, slow, uncertain. His ally seemed to ignore him, back to him. People milled about, talking and yet silent. Maybe it was just the dull roar of disbelief of grief within him.

The emerald glowed in his grasp, perfection and light against the destruction and shadows of this place. Its warmth offered little comfort to anyone now. There was too much here to hurt them, too much that already had.

Those emerald eyes turned to him again, shining faintly with the threat of unshed tears. It had been too long since he'd last seen that look on this man's face.

Don't cry, he silently commanded. Do not cry.

Sonic stood, swiping furiously at his eyes with an arm. "Come on," he all but whispered. "Let's get out of here."

Slowly, Jet gazed over the freed Mobian survivors. "What of them?"

"I'd hoped your soldiers could find them a safe place to hide in."

That needed no consideration. He could trust his people to do that. To protect them. "Are you ready, then?"

A small nod. Sonic gestured for Vanilla to join them.

Now was the time to take their leave of this wretched place. Making his orders clear to his soldiers with a simple glance, Jet gathered up his energy and vanished with his allies in tow.

It was time to begin the next leg of their journey.

 **~台風の目~**

 **289 words this time. My god this was short, but... yeah, I hope you still enjoyed it. Posted (at about 7:05 p.m.) 02-23-18.**


	91. Interlude

**Hello, Guest! Uh, okay. Lol. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of mingling hope and despair... especially for the one who knows the value of patience.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Interlude"**

 **~台風の目~**

Hope was such a painful emotion, Sonic decided almost numbly as he and Jet sat in the medical ward. They and Vanilla (who was rightfully with her daughter) had only been back on the ship for around ten minutes by this point. It had taken a fair bit of convincing (bordering on downright coercion), but Sonic had finally convinced Jet to sit down and let Amy (who had finally healed herself fully) heal him. As Amy did this, Sonic sat beside Locke's bed, gaze drawn mostly inward. He hadn't yet told anyone about Tails's death (though obviously Jet was able to figure it out), but _he_ knew about it… and it haunted him.

But, in spite of this, he was hopeful. Not over Tails's survival, but instead over Locke. His old friend was stirring again, and he had been responding just a bit to some of the sounds around him. It was difficult to tell whether he would wake or not right now, however. _Even if he does… there's no telling what sort of a state his mind will be in. I don't think he'll wake up panicking or anything, but still._ He allowed his gaze to slide to Lucas. _If either of them even wake up at all._ Biting back a sigh, he turned his attention back to Locke. _No… best not to think like that… right?_

Locke moved again, just a bit. The soft sound of shifting bedding drew the attention of both Amy and Jet, but only Amy spoke. "Has he opened his eyes yet, Sonic? Or tried to talk?"

He shook his head. "No. Just moved a few times." Sonic picked at some of the fur on his own knee. _Should he have woken up by now?_

Amy, however, seemed to not be too concerned at this point. "Okay. Just keep an eye on him for a few more minutes for me, will you? I'm nearly finished here, and then I'm going to go check on Vanilla. I can take back over after that."

"Okay."

Relative silence settled in the room again. Amy finished up with Jet and left the room. Jet stood and went to sit beside his son. Sonic opted to let him be, allowed the silence to fester. He had no desire to speak right now. He worried that he would say something scathing for whatever reason and, therefore, refused to open his mouth. Instead, he held his tongue and let himself just think. Which, of course, lead to him thinking about Tails.

 _When we first met… it was just an accident._ Even now, Sonic recalled finding Tails and Amy lost in Leaf Forest, saving them from robots, fighting alongside the fox for the first time… It was impossible to forget how he'd somehow rapidly made friends with the pair and how he and Tails had wound up on Angel Island together after first meeting Ivo Robotnik. They had later built the X-Tornado together and started off on their first adventure, searching for the Chaos Emeralds. They'd teamed up with Knuckles, and Amy had later joined them. They had found emeralds, fought together, survived together…

And then time travel had happened. Sonic had wound up in Silver's timeline for reasons he still didn't fully understand, and Silver had wound up in this timeline. It was thanks to Tails that they had figured out about the dual timelines in the first place, and thanks to him that Silver and Sonic had been reunited. It was also thanks to Tails that Sonic had found Jet outside of Crisis City, first paving the way to the two of them repairing their old friendship. He'd done so much more than just these things, of course, but those specifics were among the clearest in Sonic's mind. _Those days are gone… and memories won't bring them, or him, back._

A sound met his ears, low and quiet and barely enough to pull Sonic out of his thoughts. Blinking, he focused his eyes on the bed before him. _Did he actually…_ Leaning forward, he dared to ask, "Locke?"

For a moment, nothing. Sonic held his breath, hardly willing to hope. Then, unexpectedly, Locke actually spoke. "...S…'nic?" While Sonic sat there, stunned, Jet got up and quickly walked over, no doubt having heard Locke's voice as well. Silence reigned at first, but right about the time that Jet reached the bed Locke tried again. The word came out slurred and his eyes never quite opened (let alone stayed open), but what he was attempting to say was clear. It was Sonic's name.

Finally, Sonic found his own voice. "Locke? Y-yeah, I'm here." He leaned forward and gripped the man's nearest arm. "Locke, can you hear me?"

Though the echidna's mouth worked to try to formulate a reply, the only thing that came out was a vague and nearly inaudible sound akin to an, "Mm-hm."

Emerald eyes snapped to meet blue ones, though Jet skittishly avoided the eye-contact like always. Sonic ignored that for now. "Get dad ahold of dad. Now. He has to know that Locke's awake." Though normally one to severely chafe at being told what to do, Jet didn't argue. With a curt nod, Jet stepped out into the hall to try to get ahold of Kaden. Meanwhile, Sonic did his best to make sure that Locke didn't drift back off. He had to stay awake, at least for now. "Locke, are you okay? Does anything hurt?"

It was a short while before Locke was able to give even a semi-coherent reply. When it came, it took Sonic a small moment to make sense of what he'd heard. Soon, however, it became clear. "M'head."

Somehow, Sonic managed a wan smile. However, there was no joy to be found in it. "Yeah. That makes sense. You took a really… nasty hit. Do you remember at all?" Whatever Locke tried to say in reply, Sonic failed to understand it. Biting his lip, he urged his friend to stay still and got up to find Amy.

 **~台風の目~**

"Those people and all their questions. Getting on my last nerve!" Astra threw a desk to the other side of the room she was in. The place was an utter wreck, papers and pictures scattered about, pieces of yarn hanging from furniture, and broken pieces of wood strewn haphazardly. The planet was barren and dark, the only signs of life being the hideous creatures that roamed as they wished. The white cat growled to herself and stalked off to a massive board with more pictures, documents, yarn, and notes in a disorderly manner.

Astra stared at the board silently, her attention off her short tantrum and locked on a set of pictures towards the top-left corner. Four white cats stood together, all smiling. "I hate you. All of you…" She grabbed the pictures off the board and slowly let her magic rip apart the people one by one. "Mom… dad… sister…" Astra only left the cat with the most resemblance to her. "Rose… You were always a scourge to my abilities… I'm glad I got rid of you." The picture was shredded to nothing as Astra looked back to the board. "Now… They trust me. Jet doesn't, but that doesn't matter… Sonic is manipulable… A few of their friends are still missing… I think… Oh well." Her attention was pulled away and focused on a dark form standing by her door.

 _"Yats ot dnetni ouy od regnol hcum woh?"_ It asked with a guttural growl, watching her intently.

"I'm only gonna be here a short bit longer. I need to keep away from the yokai, or I'll _quickly_ be caught."

The shadow-like creature seemed to accept this answer and disappeared as if it had never been there. _"Soahc eht dna hturt eht rof hctaw."_

"Shut it. I don't need you telling me what to do," Astra muttered, sitting down in front of a table that suddenly had a crystalline structure appear in the middle. Her face contorted into a wicked grin. "Now… let's see what can be done." A grey mist-like substance surrounded her as she cackled, the crystal glowing dimly. Her wild grin was diminished when a face appeared in the crystal object she had been using. "Leave me, now," she demanded with a growl.

"You are hardly in a position to _force_ me, little witch," a smug male voice replied.

Astra clenched a fist. "Watch who you make enemies with. They will bring your demise."

"My demise will not come from the likes of you," the voice laughed. "I was not born by the will of the Night for nothing, little witch." After saying his odd little 'nickname' for her, the man (namely, Kethro the Dark himself), gave her a grin. "But I invite you to keep your anger nevertheless. It is a vital emotion when fighting the Light and those who follow it."

"I have no need for anger in those situations. I reserve it for those I detest."

Apparently prepared to ignore this, Kethro told her, "I was instructed to check in on you to ensure that you have been doing your job… but I care little for that. Instead, I have a question for you."

The witch blinked once, tilting her head minutely in question. "What?"

"The others may be unaware of your goals, but I am privy to some," he revealed simply. "My question to you is… what do you intend to accomplish if you _succeed_?"

"If I succeed…?" she echoed, closing her eyes as she continued. "I wish for nothing more than to rule over _them_."

"To what end, then?" was the next inquiry. "Controlling him would allow you to do _far_ better than merely that."

"Existence is fragile. Though… If I rule _all_ of them, imagine the immense possibilities." Astra cracked an eye open. "I've the means to end it all in an instant when I make it there. Nothing will be beyond my grasp, and perhaps I could even make them reach the _true_ extent of their power."

"I have little faith in your success, save for with the one," Kethro told her frankly. "But even then… if you succeed, it will only be because his enemies long ago started the process _for_ you." He paused, seeming to think for a moment, then added, "However, in the event that I live long enough to see you make the attempt, I will aid you." He grinned. "If only because I wish to see how it turns out."

"How do you think they got to him?" Astra grinned. "Who do you think helped them complete that mission?"

"I am aware," he told her calmly, not at all stroking her ego. "But that does _not_ guarantee your victory."

The white cat simply kept her own grin. "I will let nothing get in my way. Certainly, you have kept tabs on some of the things I have done, so I will not bother to say more on that."

"A word of advice," he suddenly said, his usual smugly pleased demeanor becoming abnormally serious. "Do not underestimate his kind. Too many have made that mistake. None of have survived the results of their error."

"Then, I will be the first." Astra stood. "Now, begone. The seeds of trust need be sown," she paused, pondering her words, "Or, perhaps, the seeds of _distrust_." He vanished without reply. Once he had completely faded from the structure on the table, a blurry image of several people in a room, gathered around a table appeared. "Beware your inner darkness, _allies_. Your final hours approach."

 **~台風の目~**

With a nimble leap, Kaden landed atop a slanted roof covering an inn he vaguely recalled having seen once or twice before in his past. Once seated, he glanced at Analia. She was busy exploring some old shops a road or two away. A breeze swept through the area, lifting her long hair and causing it to sway along with numerous paper lanterns and other such decorations outside. The image she made was alluring in its own way, but he chose not to think about that right now.

Satisfied that the woman he loved most was safe and that there seemed to be no signs of danger in the area, he turned his attention to his incessantly vibrating communicator. The Caller ID said that it was Amy who was currently attempting to reach him. Though he wasn't sure _why_ his daughter-in-law was calling, he didn't waste any further time wondering. Instead, he just answered. "Yes?" he asked in lieu of a proper greeting once he answered the call.

Amy launched right in, not wasting a second to express herself. _"Oh, good, you're better!"_ she enthused, apparently relieved (or at least he guessed that she was). Then, all at once, she mellowed out and her voice softened. _"Anyway, um… Listen… Locke is awake."_

Upon hearing this news, Kaden's eyes widened (a very rare expression on him) and he went still. Surprise and relief stabbed at him together with agonizing intensity, yet he didn't shy away from either emotion this time. Better relief than grief, really. "Awake?" he echoed, hardly daring to believe it. He hardly dared to hope, and yet… hope was something everyone needed during times like these and he knew it.

 _"Yes,"_ she confirmed quickly. Though it wasn't like he could see her and her certainly didn't know for sure if she was, he could all too easily imagine her nodding as she answered his question. _"He is. He's only been awake for about an hour, but he's been staying awake. He hasn't drifted back off."_

Further relief and hope rose up within him. _He's doing better, then…?_

As if sensing his thoughts (a feat that was impossible across such a distance), Amy continued, _"He's been doing okay. Sonic's been talking to him a fair bit, though not all of Locke's replies are totally understandable. Still, he's been responding, and he seems to understand what Sonic's saying with little to no trouble. He's even been able to move around a bit and communicate to us how he's feeling."_

As another chilly breeze brushed past Kaden, making him want to shiver, he dared to ask, "How _is_ he feeling?"

 _"Biggest complaint is a headache, as can only be expected. He said his right elbow hurts and his ribs are sore as well, but otherwise he seems to be alright."_

A soft sigh escaped his lips. _He's doing alright, then…_ He took in a slow breath and then released it, letting some of his previous fears go out with it. _Good._

 _" ...Oh, and speaking of Sonic,"_ she suddenly added, _"he tried to have Jet call you earlier. Did you get the call?"_

"No," Kaden answered. He glanced back at Analia. She was currently appreciating some potted flowers and stalks of bamboo outside of an old painter's shop. The corner of his mouth twitched upward. "There are high levels of residual magical energies where I am. Not every call is going to get through here for a while."

To her credit, Amy accepted this in stride and didn't ask any questions for now. She was probably too busy to, anyway, what with her patient being awake and all. _"Okay."_ Again, it was just too easy to imagine her nodding while she spoke. _"Now, listen… When can you and the others get back here? I need Analia's help to check Locke over more thoroughly. To see if he really is completely okay."_

Kaden bit his lower lip for a second, some of his worries resurging, before catching himself and making him stop. His eyes again sought out Analia's position. "I don't know." He shifted, getting ready to stand. "I'll talk to her."

 _"Okay. Call me back when you know."_ There was only a slight pause before her manners kicked in and she added, _"Please."_

This time, it was actually Kaden who pointlessly nodded. "I will." Coming from him, that simple response was as good as a direct promise.

It didn't take much stretching of the imagination to assume that Amy was now wearing a smile. _"Thank you. I'll talk to you later, then."_

"Hn." Kaden stood up and dropped off the roof to the street below with scarcely a sound. When he landed, he made a request of his own. "Keep Sonic out of trouble until we return." It was the only expression of concern he would give right now.

This made Amy giggle for some reason or another. He probably could have figured it out, had he bothered. Instead, he focused on walking while she responded. _"I make no promises, but I'll do my best. And you guys stay safe, too, okay?"_

With no other reply to make, Kaden merely gave another noncommittal hum. "Hn." With that, he hung up and broke into a jog to find his partner. It took no time at all, of course, and he approached her without hesitation. She turned to him with a smile when she sensed his approach, but he spoke before she had the chance to. "Amy called. She said Locke is awake."

That sobered her bright mood straight away, as evidenced by the soft changes in her aura. "How long?"

"She said about an hour," Kaden answered. He quickly relayed to her everything else that Amy had said, finishing with, "She wants to know when we will return."

Analia's thoughts almost certainly turned to Shadow and the children (save for Kimmy), all of whom had been left with Shadow at the castle. His parents' castle, he recalled, though he did his best not to think about that right now. "We will need to retrieve the others, but that should not take long. Aside from that, I do not foresee there being any delays. We can be there within the hour."

Pleased, Kaden nodded his acceptance of this. "I'll find Blaze and the others." After all, he knew this city _far_ better than she did and as such he could search it far more easily in spite of her power for flight.

"Meet me at the castle when you have them," Anali told him. "I will get Shadow and the children ready to go."

With nothing left to say, Kaden blurred into motion and disappeared.

 **~台風の目~**

Jet sighed heavily and leaned back against a wall in the corridor just outside of his bedroom. He was in a call with the leader of the da Asani again. "You're sure that's what they're up to?"

 _"Certain,"_ Kaja answered simply. _"We witnessed it for ourselves. The Nocturnians are pulling forces through portals, from other realities. I have no estimate of how large their forces are now, but they are massive."_

Eyes closing, Jet leaned his head back against the wall. _Damn it all…_

Suddenly, Kaja said, _"You are a good man, Jet. It is difficult for a good man to be a king."_ Jet frowned. _"That is why you must surround yourself with people that you trust, people who can help you make difficult decisions when they are necessary. Decisions such as what actions to take during dark times such as these."_ Though Jet's mouth opened to reply, Kaja spoke again before he could. _"You are not Kath. You do not have to rule alone as he did. You are king now, and it is up to you to decide what kind of king you will be."_

His ally's words had certain merit, Jet knew, but he still felt the need to point something out. "Trust is dangerous, you know…" he said softly. "It can shatter you, sure as any broke dream. And… it can leave a person emptier than they have ever felt before."

 _"That may be so, but you know the benefits as well as the risk. And, in the end, it is up to you to make your own choice. I can only offer my advice, if you will accept it."_

"...Yeah. I get it." Blue eyes glanced to the side, locking onto a door as it slid open. "Listen, I'll have to call you back later. Keep me posted on everything."

 _"I will. Farewell."_

Not replying, Jet hung up and walked over to Hannah and Ten as they stepped out of their separate rooms. Suri was napping and didn't seem to be stirring. Hannah mumbled something about being hungry, so Jet bent down and picked her up. "Are you hungry as well?" he asked Ten. His question was answered by a rumbling tummy.

Looking a touch sheepish, Ten rubbed his stomach. "Yeah, definitely. Can I help you cook something?"

Nodding his assent, Jet turned and went down the hall. As they went, he murmured to Hannah, "Are you feeling any better?"

His little girl wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "A little, I guess," she answered in a small voice. She was quiet for a second before voicing her own question. "Is Lucas okay?"

Fresh concern stabbed at Jet, but he strove to banish it for her sake and for Ten's. He knew the older boy was paying attention just as much as she was. "He's stable," he told them both carefully, "but he hasn't woken up yet."

"When will he?" Ten questioned, eyes on their father.

Jet hated having to admit it, but he refused to lie to his kids. "I don't know. Amy still thinks that he will at some point, but we don't know when."

Hannah hid her face in his left shoulder and grew quiet again. Ten, however, kept talking. "But, Dad, what if… what if…"

Though Ten couldn't seem to finish the question, it was clear what he was asking. Jet winced, albeit subtly. "I don't know," was the only response he was able to make.

Ten dropped his gaze. "Okay."

Striving to bury his worries for their sake, Jet led the way into the kitchen. "Come on… let's bake some waffles." In this moment, seeing the two kids brighten (even just a little) was a reward in and of itself.

A voice entered his mind as he began gathering the things they needed to begin cooking. It was Ythene, the "Voice". Though outwardly he gave no sign of hearing anything, inside Jet focused quite heavily on her words. " _The emerald is on the ship now."_

Not a question, but a statement. Still, Jet answered her. _Yeah. It's in a safe spot. Or at least as much as this ship can offer._

 _"The Queen intends to begin now."_

Jet bit his inner cheek. _Fine. Not like I can dissuade her, anyway._

 _"Correct."_ A slight pause, then, _"You still harbor concerns."_

Grabbing the last of the things he needed, Jet gently set Hannah on her feet even as he internally snapped, _Of course I do. No sane person wouldn't. But it doesn't matter. I know as well as you that this is necessary. Whatever emotional and mental state this puts him into, I'll deal with it. Just get it done. The anticipation is getting fucking ridiculous._

 _"It will be done, Child of Storm. Be ready."_

With that, the connection ended. Eager to focus on his kids instead of his concerns right now, he beckoned to Ten. "Come on. Are you going to help me or not?"

Grinning, the young hawk hurried over while Hannah contented herself with watching from the sidelines. And, for now, there was peace.

 **~台風の目~**

It was bright when Espio awoke. Painfully so. The light seared through his eyelids, piercing deeply and making his head pound with agony. He heard a sound, a groan, but didn't realize until a probable eternity that it was coming from him. Wincing, he tried to open his eyes. Only his right eye even so much as succeeded in flickering open at all. In less than a mere second, it closed again without having seen anything but that painful light. He just lacked the energy to keep it open. He was too tired to do it, too tired to move, too tired to try to speak, too tired to even stay awake. Weak from his pain and weak from his exhaustion, he let the empty blackness of unconsciousness drag him back under.

 **~台風の目~**

Only when she was completely alone in her old private room did Amy allow the first of her tears to finally form and fall. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she buried her face in her hands. Sonic had just informed her of what had happened back on Mobius, what had happened to Tails, practically her _brother_ , and now all she could do was let herself slowly begin to break down. As her initial shock gave way to grief, her silent tears turned into hard sobs. Loss wracked her to her core, leaving her weak in its wake.

Crying only helped so much.

 **~台風の目~**

Standing in the control room of a large ship, Shade surveyed the progress being made around her. Nocturnians repaired and readied weapons and technology, sometimes worked on repairing it. Outside, portals constantly admitted more and more ships of varying sizes, shapes, and power into the vast open space surrounding this one and many others. Beside her stood the leader of it all, the one whose ire was currently palpable… and partially directed at her. She chose not to address it, to instead bring up a different topic. "Soon, then?"

Ix, too, had been watching progress be made all around them. At her question, he turned his head slowly to look at his second-in-command. "We've permitted their survival too long." He turned his attention ahead again. "It has long since become too problematic to ignore." That much Shade could agree with. "Those we need dead will die this time."

Inclining her head, Shade turned her head to look back at some of the soldiers almost idly. Her mind whirled with potential outcomes of a true attack on Sonic and his allies. "And the others?"

"They are needed alive, as I have said." As he said this, Ix turned his head the opposite way of before to look outside a window. "They have powers, abilities, and knowledge that we will benefit from."

This was a decision Shade could side with for now. "When will we strike?"

"As you said… soon." Ix turned away. He picked up his staff, which had been leaning against a wall. "For now, we bide our time and avoid any further direct combat with them."

Shade gritted her teeth, irritated, but did not dare voice her dissent now. "We wait, then?"

"We wait."

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,541 words this time. Apologies for the severe delay, everyone, but I hope you enjoyed. Things are heating up a bit! As always many thanks to Blazing Winds for writing Astra into this chapter. Posted (at about 2:45 p.m.) 03-14-18.**


	92. Bloodline

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this threatening time... especially for the one who's feeling protective.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Bloodline"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _"Get up."_

Wincing, Shadow moved his arms to push himself into an upright position. Though his mind was in a haze of pain and confusion, he knew that the last thing he remembered was… speaking with Analia. They had been making plans to leave, to return to the others. He had bent to pick up Lia, and then… then…

 _"I have no use for weakness, Shadow. Stand."_

That voice. It was one that Shadow was certain he didn't recognize. And yet, whoever owned it… knew _him_? They knew his name, at least, which was unsettling enough on its own. Their voice filtered through the haze again before he could contemplate it much, however. This time is was harsher and far more commanding.

 _"Stand!"_

Gritting his teeth, Shadow finally pushed himself up and regained his feet. When he opened his eyes and turned to face the owner of the voice, he was met by a creature he had never seen before. The creature appeared aged, and yet… still threatening. It was menacing in appearance, pitch black with three glowing red eyes forming a triangle on its face. Twin horns protruded out of either side of it's head. The base of was black like it's skin, but the main bulk of each horn was crimson. Like blood. Like Shadow's own eyes.

The creature, whatever it was, sported powerful-looking arms. Each hand had a mere three fingers, but each finger boasted a nail like the claw of a demon. It had no legs as it hovered before Shadow, eyes fixed intently upon him. As it hovered a bit nearer to him, Shadow noticed the clinking of chains and sharp metal objects adorning the worn robe the creature was wearing. But it was impossible for those to hold his attention while that creature stared him down. Those eyes were transfixing, but in a wholly alarming manner.

The creature spoke again. This time, Shadow's head was clearer, and he was more awake. As such, he noticed something that he hadn't before. It had an exceptionally deep voice, one that echoed menacingly and sounded, to his ears, like that of someone (or some _thing_ ) with authority. "Good. You would do well to listen the first time you are commanded to act. I do not tolerate insubordination… weakness… hesitation… or resistance."

Tearing his gaze away from the creature, Shadow quickly glanced around. He noted that they were in space, and he was standing on a large chunk of space rock. It was just one chunk of many, however, and crowding the surfaces of innumerable others were alien creatures too like the one before him to ignore. Yet they seemed to have no intentions of doing anything with command from their apparent leader. He looked back to said leader. _It's eyes… are similar to mine._ Take away the glow, and they were nearly the same… hence some of Shadow's captivation. _Is this thing really…?_

Those menacing eyes seemed to assess Shadow critically. A derisive sound akin to some sort of a hum escaped the owner of said eyes. "You hardly look the part of one of my kin… but you will do."

Shadow gritted his teeth together. He _had_ to know. "Who the _hell_ are you?"

"I suppose you _wouldn't_ know the answer to that, would you?" Those freakish arms crossed. "I am the leader of a race colloquially known as the 'Black Arms'... the very same race a rotund man from the planet you call home encountered prior to your creation. He called himself a 'scientist'... but he was little more than an arrogant pest. Still, the fool survived the encounter and escaped with a chunk of flesh off of one of my many spawn… all of which are mere mindless creations of my own life-force. To put it rather _simply_ , they carry my DNA, though they are not me… and it was that stolen DNA that aided in the creation of _you_."

The implications struck deep. _So this is the same alien I read about from Gerald's old files… the creature he called "Black Doom"._ Hands balling into fists, Shadow growled lowly, "The hell do you want?"

At this, the alien before him… _smiled_. And it was one of the most chilling things Shadow ever recalled seeing. "What I want is… cooperation. We have a common enemy, you and I… and I should very much like to see the little bug die in the worst way possible."

 _"Bug"...?_ Frowning deeply, Shadow let his mind race. To voice dissent now, _here_ , when surrounded by well over a hundred thousand potential enemies… well, that was an utterly foolish notion. For now, he had no choice but to play along. His own arms crossed. "And who… _exactly_ … are you referring to?" he asked cautiously.

Black Doom (if that even really was this creature's name) hovered closer. _Horribly_ close, in fact, so close that it was nearly unbearable. The sheer amount of _dread_ the mere proximity was creating in Shadow was _insane_. "The little bug goes by the name of Ix…" he whispered darkly in Shadow's ear. Hearing that voice talk directly into his ear like that gave the hedgehog more unwilling chills, though he fought them back. "He commands vast armies and thinks himself _strong_ … but all he has accomplished is the deaths of countless _nothings_ … and the awakening of a creature so vastly evil that it openly _despises_ other evil…"

Steeling his nerves, Shadow demanded to know, "What the hell are you talking about?"

That wasn't a question the alien opted to answer. "Such a pest does nothing but irritate me, Shadow, and put all of my own plans in some form of jeopardy. The Night that he has helped to free will end it all… and I have no interest in ceasing to exist." Finally, he floated back to a more comfortable distance. "Kill it… and you won't have to worry about your own precious spawn losing her little life, either."

His heart sank, then all at once exploded in anger. "Do _not_ threaten her," he snarled, indulging in a rare outburst of emotion. "I will _kill_ you and your entire fucking race before I let you harm her!"

Black Doom merely gave him another grin. "Go ahead, little half-breed… take that risk. Try your luck against me. Or are you too afraid of what might become of her if you do?" When Shadow could think of no better response than to openly snarl again, Black Doom turned away. Everything around them was beginning to fade to black like the end of a movie. Or a bad dream. "Slaughter or be slaughtered, Shadow… that is the way or kind thrive." More blackness encroached on everything around them. Shadow couldn't move, could barely even see. "If you want your spawn to live…" Everything faded away entirely. All he heard now was that voice. "Then you must be prepared to _kill_ for it."

The next thing Shadow knew, he was waking up.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,193 words this time. Well, this would have been up sooner, but... well, I got stuck, then I was lazy, then of course the site went down for at least a day or so. Such is life. XD Anyway, hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 1:20 p.m.) 03-19-18.**


	93. The Shadows

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in these dire times... especially for the one who returns.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Well, considering the fact that he was one of the main baddies in an older Sonic game... well, I'd imagine he has a bit of an ego. XD But, in all seriousness, all will be revealed in due time. As for what Shadow will do, we shall see... we shall see. ;)**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Shadows"**

 **~台風の目~**

Shadow sat up in the chair he had been sitting in earlier. A quick glance around proved that, though he had apparently dozed off, the children were still fine. Blaze had taken full charge of the lot of them while he had unintentionally dozed, engaging them in a quiet game involving literal sticks and stones. He didn't know what the game was, nor did he care to learn. He focused instead on the mild pounding in his head, the slight quivering to his hands… and the memories of what and who he had seen in his dream. _For a dream to have been that vivid… it couldn't have truly been a dream._ Biting back a small growl of irritated confusion and concern, he sat up the rest of the way in preparation to stand.

The movement drew Blaze's attention. She, Kimmy, and Jason had returned earlier, well before Kaden had been ready to leave behind his ancient home. She knelt on the floor nearby, head turned toward Shadow. Amber eyes watched him calmly and she said, "You should rest more while you can, Shadow. It is not like you to be so exhausted."

Leave it to her to actually be paying attention, he supposed. But he ignored that for now. "No. I'm fine." Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Lia got up, spun around, began to run, and slammed into him all in a matter of seconds. The impact knocked the wind out of him, but he didn't make any attempt to disentangle himself from her. "Mind your strength," he reminded calmly.

Lia just hugged him tighter. "You were asleep _forever_!" she complained. "I _missed_ you! I wanted you to play with us!"

Warmth filled him just under the surface, gentling his one and compelling him to halfway return her hug with one arm. Still, he had to deny her for now, though a part of him never wanted to. "Not now, Lia."

This earned him an impressive pout. "But _why_ , daddy?" she whined. She climbed into his lap while Blaze resumed her game with Jason and the twins. Soren was no longer paying attention to it, instead fixing his stormy grey eyes on Shadow and Lia. Shadow kept half an eye on him as well.

"I have things to do," Shadow told her simply.

"Are you going to look for Uncle Sonic's emeralds again?"

"That is one thing that needs to be done, yes."

Soren stood and walked over. "Are you going now?"

"Not to do that." Shadow stood, picking up Lia with him. As hedgehog children were naturally small enough to hold right up until around age seven (her age) or so, he was able to easily shift her into one arm, thus freeing the other for use. "I'm going to check on my parents first."

That caught Blaze's attention again, and she looked over. "They are just in Chun-nan," she reminded. She and Shadow had been the only ones to know about the ancient city's restoration before Analia had actually taken the others to the location. "They are safe."

 _They aren't the ones at risk of harm._ For now, Shadow chose not to mention his conversation with Black Doom and the threat the alien had given his daughter. Instead, he told her, "Yes, but they have been there for some time. Father is well enough to return to the others now, and we should not waste time."

Thankfully, she accepted this explanation for why he intended to go to the newly restored city and didn't argue further. She did, however, point something out to him. "I have a feeling that the children will not be happy to stay behind here," she said in amused tones.

Crimson eyes glanced over his half-siblings, the echidna, the kitten, and the son from another him. He didn't need any particular genius to determine that she was, of course, completely correct. "Fine, then." Satisfied, apparently, Blaze stood and picked up her daughter. She then gathered the other children around Shadow, as proximity made teleportation of multiple people easier. Once this was done, he teleported as near to Chun-nan as he could. As soon as they appeared, he began leading the way toward the settlement.

It was eerily quiet. Shadow couldn't be sure, but he thought that there wasn't even anyone _here_. Of course, he was a bit too far away from the city to actually _tell_ (especially since Kaden and Analia in particular would both be concealing their auras), but… he couldn't shake the concern that was making itself known within him. _Something is not right…_ Growing more and more tense with each step he took, Shadow scanned the peaceful scenery with his eyes. _This isn't right._

Blaze affirmed his belief by murmuring, "There is something wrong… Kaden…"

Tensing further, Shadow demanded, "What?"

Amber eyes bright with her own concern, Blaze told him slowly, "He used his Darkness. A lot of it. I can still sense it, charging the air… burning with anger."

Worry gnawed at Shadow and he pulled the gun he was currently carrying out of its holster at his hip. _He never uses that energy without cause… and extreme cause at that. For him to have used that here…_ He stretched out his senses, mechanical and otherwise, trying to find any signs of trouble. He found nothing. Not yet. It was hardly comforting.

"So, wait, does that mean the Nocturne-guys found this place?" Jason asked, eyes wide.

"They could not have," Blaze said quietly. "Not with the barriers Analia put around the area."

"Mother's barriers aren't invincible," Sarai pointed out. Her head was lowered, eyes shadowed by her thick bangs. "Powerful though they are, they can fall."

"And they have," Sen added just as softly. "Her barriers are made of Light and magic… I sense neither anymore."

"I just sense the Darkness," Soren agreed. "It's… It's fading, but it's still everywhere."

Shadow's grip tightened on his gun… and his daughter. _Father, what did you do…?_

It was way, way too quiet out here, even with this place being uninhabited by people. The only significant sounds came from the occasional creaking of bamboo stalks as they swayed in the wind.

Even the bugs and other wildlife had appeared to have gone silent, as though fearing that the slightest sound would draw danger their way. And, honestly, he was beginning to contemplate following their lead. Maybe they were on to something. All things considered, he wasn't about to pretend that his group was safe walking around like they were. Maybe they really _should_ have followed the animals' lead and hidden themselves away.

 _It's likely too late for that already._ That determination made Shadow grim, more so than usual. His lips pursed together into a thin line. Lia noted his tension and clung to him, eyes wide with for once unspoken fears. Though what, exactly, they were all fearing was still unknown to him. Which, in turn, only made him more worried. _Just how threatened are we right now… and from what?_ The Nocturnians seemed an obvious culprit for whatever was going on here, but even that was too broad of an answer to be useful. Within their uncannily vast ranks were swordsmen, archers, all manner of magic users, monster tamers and riders, monsters and other beasts themselves, assassins, general soldiers, pilots, and more. Who knew what they were up against this time? He certainly didn't, which only served to worsen his tension. And fuel his adrenaline.

Whatever was coming (or, perhaps, was already here), he'd be ready for it.

Blaze suddenly spoke up, her voice hushed. "Shadow." Drawing to a halt as she had so abruptly done behind him, Shadow turned to face her. Aside from that motion, only an unconscious flick of his right ear had shown that he'd heard her. He watched the cat as she, her amber eyes transfixed on a spot in the shadows of the bamboo forest to her left, warily shifted her young daughter to her right side. "I saw something move."

Ears now straining, Shadow quickly turned his head to look where she was. All of the tiny yet powerful sensors and the like implanted into him by Gerald's past experiments (some of the very "upgrades" that had turned him into the cyborg-like being he now was) began working overtime to analyze the environment. In mere seconds, they had taken in, analyzed, and made cold logical sense out of everything he had seen, felt, heard, smelled… but he came up with nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't even so much as see an animal out there in the relative darkness of the undergrowth. "Where?" he eventually asked Blaze in undertone. Maybe he had misjudged where she was looking?

Moving very slowly, as though to not draw attention to herself, Blaze pointed. "Out there." She was tense. Too tense. No trick of the eyes could have done that to her. So it stood to reason that she really had seen something. But _what_?

He slipped the gun out of its holster, just a bit. "How far out?"

"No… not far. Shadow, it was close. _Very_ close."

Not liking this at all, Shadow pulled his gun all the way out into the open. " _How_ close?" he demanded, abandoning any pretenses that being quiet would help delay the inevitable confrontation.

Before she could respond in her usual calm voice, Blaze actually had to take in several deep breaths and let them out. "I could see it's eyes… and it's fangs. Both, in great detail." She turned her gaze to him. Amber eyes almost seemed to plead with him to understand. "That was all I could see before it moved and… vanished."

Though not normally one to be swayed by the emotions of others, something in Blaze's tone put him off. He grew more and more wary with each passing moment. "What was it doing?" he asked, though he hardly dared to at this point.

She closed her eyes… as if doing so would get the memory out of her head. "Just… smiling."

Something shifted in the dense vegetation at his back. Shadow swung around, gun already aimed at forehead-height for any normal person. Immediately, he found that the forest there had grown darker than before. _Abnormally_ dark. Reminded of his father's Darkness and Blaze's own shadows, he tried to sense if perhaps one of them was behind this. However, whatever energy was sensing was far too evil and sinister to belong to anyone he personally knew. _Which means… it must be that creature she saw._ His mind immediately jumped to the potential conclusion that this was some Nocturnian pet, one of their wickedly vicious and at times wickedly _powerful_ monsters. If it was, it surely wasn't one that they had seen before today. And it most _definitely_ wasn't one that he was confident he could kill with just a gun.

"What do we do?" Sarai whispered, eyes locked on the rough area where the sound had come from. Still, nothing could be seen out there aside from the wall of blackness that now seemed to be slowly creeping toward them.

He sensed that they were running out of time. Whatever was going to happen when they _did_ was unknown to him, but he knew better than to ignore his instincts where matters of life and death were involved. "Everyone, run. Now. Get to Chun-nan and behind the walls. They can provide some means of defense." No one moved a muscle. So he was forced to do something he normally hated. In light of the danger, he willingly yelled. " _Now_!"

Thankfully, that got the party moving. However… it also seemed to spur their invisible hunter into motion as well. He fired twice at where it _seemed_ to be based off of the sounds he heard, but his actions seemed to have no effect. There was no change in the sound of the thing running, no cry of pain, no angry snarl, nothing. Cursing his luck and this situation (though not out loud because he was holding a child), he abandoned the fight option for now and instead opted for flight. In the perhaps vain hope that running meant living to shoot another day, he tore off after the others with Lia in tow. And, just in case, he kept his gun in hand.

Ahead of him, the rest of the children fled toward Chun-nan with varying degrees of reckless abandon. They could all sense it. They could all _feel_ it. More than just their lives were in danger right now. More than likely, their collective _sanity_ was being threatened, on top of everything else. Suddenly, this whole place felt like an abattoir to Shadow, who had an unfortunate amount of experience surviving around such places. He felt a twist of something in his gut, possibly anxiety or maybe even just fear. Usually, only his traumatic childhood memories caused him such emotions. The recent buildup of threats to Lia's life, however, was creating the feelings in him as well. Watching tendrils of those unnatural shadows reach out toward her, himself, and the others… well, that made it worse.

Expression thunderous, Shadow fired uselessly into the darkness. Bullets struck trees at times, but usually just seemed to vanish as though dissolved. He detested the failure of his weapon to have any sort of an impact against this threat, whatever it really was, but for now all he could do was abide by the rules of his own plan. _Run to the city. Get within the walls. Don't stop._ If anything would increase their ability to survive today, it would be the shelter they were rapidly nearing. But their enemy was faster.

Staring ahead in abject horror, Sarai exclaimed, "It's going to cut us off!" Shadow wanted to be able to prove her wrong, but he refused to lie. Especially not when she was so, so terribly correct.

So, what to do?

The answer appeared obvious. Fight, or keep running. But when one dug deeper and really paid attention, what became obvious was that nothing about this situation was simple at all. Fight or flee, someone might die. If they chose to fight, he and Blaze would have to struggle to find something, _anything_ that would actually be effective. They would have to try to defend the children as well themselves, on top of having to fight far harder than they would have had they had any other allies with them. They risked some dying even if others lived. If they fled, they risked all being caught. They risked individuals being picked off along the way, even if others made it to their destination. Neither option was entirely favorable, but… for now, running still seemed like their best bet. He urged the group onward, pushing them to run harder. What other choice did they have?

At his side, Blaze lashed out several times at various ominous tendrils that tried to reach toward her daughter. The feline unleashed several attacks upon the darkness, setting foliage ablaze in the process. Shadow started to turn his head away from the sight, only for it to snag his attention when he noticed something odd. Wherever those fired raged, the shadows violently receded… as if pained by the light they produced.

A memory struck him hard.

Years and years ago, he had been in Crisis City at the same time as Sonic and his (at the time) new group of friends. While he hadn't traveled with the group, nor had he fought side-by-side with or otherwise _for_ them, he had kept an eye on them. It had been on Ivo's orders, though he lacked any ability to recall _why_ he had been working for the man. It was because of all the experimentation, the testing the rotund madman had done on the various technology within him. So many memories had been fried… but some remained. Some were important, like this one. Daring to close his eyes for a moment, he forced himself to focus… to remember what he had witnessed.

 _It was the aftermath of Sonic's climactic and violent struggle against Mephiles. The blue hedgehog lay unconscious in a crater. Scattered around said crater was the rest of the group: Amy, Jet, Blaze, Silver, and the others. Knuckles stirred first, then risen and awakened Blaze with a shake and some quick words. Shadow was too far away to hear them, but he edged nearer. When Blaze jumped to her feet and begun to run, leaving Knuckles behind, he froze silently in place behind a large igneous rock. She slowed very near to his hiding place. Almost too near, but he remained still._

 _Crimson eyes watched as she had come to a stop beside her silver-furred friend. The aptly named teenager had been stabbed through with a beam of energy earlier, courtesy of their now-dead foe. To Shadow, his fate seemed obvious. But then Knuckles reached the cat and said something, something that caught Shadow's attention. "You're fire's not normal fire, is it?"_

 _Whatever had given him that impression was lost on Shadow, but all he could do for now was listen. He watched as Blaze slowly shook her head, turning her miserably gaze up to his face. "No," she responded in a voice softer than usual._

 _"So it is one of the Mystics, then."_

 _Shadow remembered frowning deeply at that, though he could no longer remember why. His eyes scrutinized the somewhat unassuming woman before him, gaze critical and perhaps even harsh. 'To think that such an ancient power still exists…' He gave her another frown, not that she would ever know it. 'And in someone so young and inexperienced, no less…"_

 _The pair had continued to talk for a brief time, discussing the special properties of her fire and it's ability to heal the damage done by the power of Shadows. As Knuckles himself stated, her fire emitted a form of Light specifically tailored to countering said Shadows, even outright nullifying it. But, more than that, her fire could only ever burn what she allowed it to burn. It would create an inferno on-par with Iblis's, otherwise. And it was this latent power that had urged him not to press his luck against her by staying longer. As she began to heal her friend, he left._

Realizing that those flames were quite likely their only chance here, Shadow opened his mouth to call out. However, she seemed to have already followed his train of thought. She was attacking in earnest, releasing torrents of blinding orange fire in nearly all directions as the group fled. If nothing else, it was holding their foe at bay for now. But something told him that it was far from _dying_ yet. Which meant that more was needed. _My fire will do nothing, fueled as it is by Darkness…_ His eyes flicked swiftly to young Sen, whom he knew for a _fact_ had inherited Analia's Light. However, he quickly discarded the tentative idea that took hold when he did so. _No. I will not ask the children to fight._

With Blaze's fires holding the dangerous shadows back at a fair distance, at the very least, Shadow pushed the group onward. This was the final leg of the journey. Another few seconds, and they would be within the city. _But what then?_ Suddenly, he wasn't as confident as he had been before that the sprawling ancient civilization would offer them much in the way of defense or shelter. _If this chase through the woods is any indication, this creature can easily make it's shadows flow around every obstacle over a wide distance without straining itself and without needing to directly see where all of it's energies are… so…_ Pursing his lips together, Shadow tried to think. He was running out of time, and they _needed_ a plan. _Perhaps if we split up… spread far apart if possible…_ A new thought took hold. It wasn't great, wasn't ideal, but it was something. That was the important thing. _If I send Blaze off with the children and lure it away, perhaps they can find Mother and the others and get help. Or… at least they can escape._

Before he could say a thing to the agile feline, she shouted to him, "It's gaining speed! We need to move faster!"

 _Fucking hell._ Feet speeding up beneath him, Shadow raced to the nearest twin (it happened to be Sen) and hauled the child up into his free arm. Then he snapped at Jason, "Get over here, _now_!" The normally argumentative and moody echidna was so startled by his tone that no complaints wound up being voiced. He conceded and rapidly moved over to Shadow. Thankfully, Shadow didn't have to explain to the child what needed to be done. Jason seemed to have followed his train of thought already, so he quickly jumped up onto Shadow's back. Using the strong arms he had inherited from ancestors innumerable, he clung to Shadow's shoulders and hung for dear life. Shadow grunted, but kept moving.

Near his left side, Soren ran on his owen, keeping pace neatly. Blaze had scooped up Sarai already and, like Shadow, had also convinced the child to hold onto her back. This left her one arm free still, allowing her to continue to throw fire at the shadows around them. It wasn't enough, not anymore, so Shadow urged her on faster. The shadows were closing in around them, giving the bursts of flames a wide berth and rapidly encasing the group. He cursed and cursed and cursed (albeit only in his mind). But then… light.

It took a short moment for Shadow to realize that it wasn't normal light.

He gazed upward, startled and confused, trying to locate where the light was coming from. His steps lagged, but only for a moment before he noticed and kept going. Lia spotted what he had failed to moments later. "Daddy, there! Look!"

Jason spoke up at his back just as Shadow was following Lia's pointing finger. "A portal!" he exclaimed. "And it's huge!"

"Unnaturally so…" Blaze murmured nearby. Shadow had to agree with that assessment. The shimmering portal in the sky high above them was (according to his best estimates, at least) a massive oval as wide as six houses and as tall as as two or three. Truly an impressive size, sure, but _why_ was it so big? He had no idea, but he did realize one thing. And he wasn't the only one.

"That glow it's emitting…" Sen said softly, young ears perked, "it's hurting the creature."

Just like that, as if on instinct, every other hedgehog ear perked to locate the sound that Sen was hearing. It took no time at all for them to hear it. _It screams in agony from the glow of a portal…? Why?_ He squinted into the glow, a soft yet sharp ( _L_ _ike starlight,_ he decided) light that was now gently coating everything as far as his technologically enhanced eyes could see. Belated, he realized something - something that made him scowl in confusion. _That glow… it feels the same as Jet's aura. Only… much larger. What the hell?_

By now, they had entered the city. Shadow barely noticed, even as they slowed to a stop and Jason and Sarai dropped to the ground. All eyes were on the portal as crackles of emerald green energy akin to lightning bolts appeared within the portal. Someone appeared within. Ancient energies raged. _What in the hell is happening?_ Then, all at once, everything anticlimactically ceased and the person was ungracefully tossed out of the huge portal. With supreme lack of dignity, they fell to the ground below and became entangled within the branches and leaves.

A second later, _Silver's_ voice shouted up at the heavens, "You guys _could've_ been gentler, y'know!"

Two pairs of eyes, one amber and one crimson, widened discernibly. Neither bothered to trade a glance, a word, or anything else. They simply collected the children and ran. The creature seemed to be dead, or at the very least it had left. That meant that they could focus on what was happening right now… namely that Silver had returned. _But returned from where?_ Shadow didn't even know anymore how long it had been since he'd last seen the younger hedgehog. All the days had long since blurred together, leaving him uncertain as to how many of them had passed since Silver had disappeared. But, right now, he supposed it didn't even matter.

Up above, the portal had long since snapped shut. Shadow's ears pricked, listening as Silver clambered out of the trees and dropped down onto the grass. Blaze sped up, amber eyes shining, and Shadow steeled himself for what was likely to come. _Do not cry,_ he silently commanded her. Though, truthfully, he could never actually fault her for doing so in situations like this. Still, the twist in his gut betrayed a feeling the precise opposite of comfortable in any way. _Do not cry._

Silver was still moving around, though it was hard to tell what he was doing. "Man, that landing could have gone way better…"

Listening hard, Shadow heard the younger hedgehog begin walking. He was coming toward them, no doubt already aware of their approach. Shadow slowed, urged Blaze to do the same with his free hand. They met Silver halfway. Tears were immediately shed as Blaze set her load down, all except for her own daughter. Shadow turned away, unwilling to witness the emotional reunion… if only _because_ of those tears. Instead, he focused on occupying the children for now and keeping a wary lookout for any signs of further danger. Reunion or not, they couldn't afford to be unaware. And Shadow refused to let any of them die.

 **~台風の目~**

"Blaze… come on. Try to breathe, please. You're freaking out."

"No! I thought you were dead! _Dead_ , Silver!"

Wincing, Silver wrapped his arms tighter around his wife and daughter. Both females had their fingers tightly clutched in his thick chest fur, squeezing and pulling with painful tightness that he only just managed to tolerate for now. They were sobbing, shaking, venting so much fear and grief that his heart threatened to shatter on their behalf. He wanted to speak, wanted to offer all the comfort in the world and then some, but words for once failed him. The best he was able to come up with was a lame and obvious statement. "I'm not dead, guys… I'm here. I'm okay." _And so are you._

"But where _were_ you daddy?" Kimmy wailed. When she raised her head to look at him, her eyes were so full of tears that the golden hues to her amber eyes became more pronounced than ever in the sunlight.

His own eyes took on a telltale shine. Swallowing hard, he said thickly, "It's a long and complicated story… like, to the point where telling it multiple times would just be ridiculous." His smile was deeply apologetic and full of sorrow… both for his girls and the friends he had just left behind, possibly for good. "Dad and the others are probably gonna want to know, too, so can it wait until I can tell everyone together?"

Blaze laid her head on his chest. She took in a deep, shuddering breath and then released it. Her tears still soaked his fur, but her voice was much steadier and calmer. Much more like it normally was. "Sonic and most of the others are still on the ship… but a few of us came here so that Kaden could rest. He grew ill and has only recently recovered."

"We were gonna go to that Choo-city-place to look for him and Nana and Knuckles and Rouge," Kimmy told him piteously. Small hands swiped at equally small eyes.

Confusion registered, but Silver caught on to what she likely meant. "Chun-nan?"

"Yes," Blaze nodded against his chest. "Analia restored it with her magic. To cheer Kaden up, I think. She took a small group to explore it earlier this morning. We cannot leave without them."

Though Silver stretched his senses out, he detected no sign of his grandparents, or Knuckles and Rouge. "But… all I sense is this… dark aura." He paused, then added, "Though, it's fading. Like whatever the aura came from is dying."

It was only then that Shadow spoke up from amidst the other children. "There was trouble just before you arrived. There were signs that Father had unleashed a large amount of Darkness, and that the barriers Mother had placed around the city had fallen. Some sort of shadow creature chased and attempted to kill us just after we sensed that."

Alarm surged to the forefront of Silver's mind, only to be replaced by fresh confusion. "But… a shadowy beast wouldn't be able to cause that much trouble for Gramma _or_ Gramps, let alone both of them together."

"I am aware. So it stands to reason that whatever did cause such trouble left with them."

"So… where _did_ they go?"

Blaze's eyes closed, her grip on him finally beginning to relax a bit. "We don't know," she murmured. "I had hoped to follow the trail of Kaden's energy. It would at least give us a direction to travel in."

The plan was sound, or at least as sound as any Silver would have come up with on such short notice. And, besides that, he trusted her skills and her in general. "Right. Lead the way, then, Blaze." Even as the words left his lips, he tightened his arms around her and their child protectively. "...When you're ready."

Though he couldn't be certain, for just a moment he thought she managed a smile.

 **~台風の目~**

 **5,063 words this time. So, uh... plenty of reasons as to why this is so late, but the big one is real simple. Writer's block is a big fat B, if y'all know what I mean. Haha. Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and I'll see y'all next time. Posted (at about 8:30 p.m.) 04-16-18.**


	94. Amnikaribah

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this ancient memory... especially for the one who learns a name that is to be feared.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah! Not this time, though, sorry. XD Well, you shall see soon. And this chapter certainly _hints_ at what could be going on. ;) Haha, yes, yes it is. Lol. XD Anyway, hope you enjoy this!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Amnikaribah"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _"You would do well to breathe through this, Child."_

Sonic jerked when he heard the Voice's, well, voice in his head. He sat up, realizing he had again dozed off by Locke's bedside. In confusion, he looked around the room. Amy was standing with Jet nearby, exchanging some soft words with him while she checked on Lucas. Suri was squirming in her father's arms, babbling at Hannah and Ten while the older two children took turns playing tic-tac-toe on a notepad. Everyone seemed fine, with the obvious exception of Locke and Lucas. Which meant that the warning he'd just received made… no sense.

Of course, the moment he stood up, _something_ hit him like a freight train. His body registered no pain, per se, but suddenly breath seemed nearly impossible to come by. He was distantly aware of hitting the ground as he fought for air, struggling to cope with the onset of powerful emotions that he had no explanation for. An intense wave of fury hit him and, before he could even attempt to understand why this was happening, it was just… over. Gasping for air, he shifted backward on his rear, reaching blindly for his chair to help him stand up.

A hand grasped his arm gently and helped pull him to his feet. Amy's voice reached his ears. "Sonic? What in the world-? Are you okay?"

Swallowing hard, Sonic opened his eyes (which he hadn't even noticed before that he'd closed). Feeling a bit shaky in the aftermath of… _whatever_ that was, he turned his head to look at her. "...I'm… okay," he said eventually. _I think._

"What happened?" his wife questioned him while she helped him sit down.

That was a question he had no idea how to answer. "I… don't know?" he responded lamely. He felt eyes on him. Turning his head again, he caught sight of Jet. Faint hints of worry shimmered in blue eyes, but as soon as Sonic noticed it it was hidden and Jet looked away.

Amy's voice drew Sonic's attention back to her. "Are you going to be okay?"

Though he didn't _really_ know, Sonic nodded. "Yeah."

"...Okay. If you're sure." Despite seemed rather uncertain, Amy went ahead and left him be. She returned to her young hawk patient, leaving Sonic free to do his own thing.

For now, Sonic chose to reach out to the Voice. _What in the hell was that about?_ he mentally demanded. His eyes drifted to Locke, who was sleeping deeply under the influence of various medicines. Remembering the man's easygoing manner and frequent smiles helped to calm him down the rest of the way. Soon, his heart stopped pounding.

 _"I cannot answer that in full now, Child… All you need to know now is that a process has begun that you should not fight. What is due to occur will do so easier if you do not resist."_

 _What are you talking about?_ Sonic's confusion mounted, coupled with no small amount of concern and, honestly, irritation.

 _"You will learn in time. Now… you would do well to attend to your chameleon friend. He is on the verge of awakening again."_

If this was an attempt at distraction… he had to admit that it worked very well. Still, he mumbled a few choice words of disapproval and irritation at the Voice before getting up. He headed off any questions from Amy by saying straight away, "I'm gonna go check on Espio, Ames. I'll be back."

"Okay, Sonic." Bright green eyes glanced his way. "Let me know how he is."

"I will." Sonic walked out of the room and down a few halls until he exited the ship. Once out, he headed to where Espio had been resting under the care of the medical personnel employed by Jet and Kath here in the Watcher's Observatory.

Stepping into the room, Sonic walked over to the bed the chameleon was laying in. Thanks to the incredible medicine at the doctor's disposal here, Espio was looking better already… though by no means great. Sonic's eyes lingered on the vertical scar that sealed Espio's left eye shut. His arm on the same side was carefully bandaged and held still in a cast and sling. His left leg was also in a cast, and his right leg was wrapped tightly with bandages. Bandages wrapped around his chest, stomach, and head. It was bad, but… not as bad as it had been.

Espio shifted. With a slight frown, he turned his head from one side to the other. He seemed to try to shift the rest of his body, but pain quickly rendered him motionless again. Sonic moved closer. "Espio?" There was no response, but Sonic wouldn't give up that easily. "Espio, can you hear me?" A long couple of minutes passed before Espio frowned again and, miraculously, managed a little nod. Relieved beyond words, Sonic murmured, "Thanks goodness…"

A verbal reply eventually came, though enunciation clearly wasn't something Espio could do well at the moment. "W're 'm I?" he mumbled. It seemed to take a fair bit of effort to get those three syllables out.

Sonic sighed shakily and took a seat. "A medical ward." He paused for a moment. Feeling the need to further explain, however, he soon continued. "After you and the others vanished off the ship, Jet had Tails take the Typhoon to this huge place in outer space called 'the Watcher's Observatory'. It's still docked here, and this room is in the medical ward of the observatory."

Another faint nod. Espio was quiet for a fairly long while before mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like, "Rouge."

 _That's right… they were trapped together at one point, weren't they?_ It felt like Sonic's stomach clenched at the reminder. "She's okay," he assured quietly. "She's with Knuckles and some others now, and she's okay." He shifted a bit to get more comfortable, and to buy himself time. He had a question to ask, something he didn't exactly want to ask even though he knew he had to. It was just hard. _The longer I hesitate, the harder this is gonna be…_ Sighing, he forced the words out. "Espio… Rouge said Kanari was with you two. Do you… know what happened to her?"

A faint frown gradually made its way onto the chameleon's face. "...Wh't…?" he eventually managed to ask.

Swallowing hard, Sonic asked again. "Do you know what happened to Kanari?"

Espio slowly shook his head, frown persisting. With plenty of effort, he weakly replied, "D'nt know… who…" He trailed off, voice strained from the pain he was no doubt in.

Puzzled, Sonic laid a hand on the bedside railing. "Kanari, Espio. ...You know, your girlfriend?" But Espio's head just shook again. Sonic noticed again the bandages wrapped around his friend's head and dread filled him. _Head injuries,_ he remembered with a jolt, _can cause memory loss… Does he really not… remember?_ "Espio," he began slowly, "does… the name Kanari sound at _all_ familiar to you?"

Another vague head shake.

"But you know who I am?"

The response he eventually got wasn't what he'd been hoping for. "...I… think."

Though he hardly dared to, Sonic pressed on. "Okay… okay." He glanced to the doorway, back in the direction of the ship. "What about Amy and the others?" There wasn't much of a reply this time, though Espio _did_ sort of say something Sonic failed to understand. Sonic decided then to worry about this later. _I need to not push him too much,_ he reminded himself. _He needs to rest._ "Never mind that now," he murmured, sitting back in his chair. "It's okay. Just try to sleep, okay? You need it."

Espio didn't reply. He was too tired. His throat hurt. His voice refused to make itself heard. Forming words (let alone comprehensible ones) was too difficult for him to continue to attempt it. He was _so_ tired and in _so_ much pain. Even if he'd wanted to, not that he exactly did, he couldn't have made a reply.

Sonic suggested sleep. Sleep sounded wonderful. Honestly, he probably would have drifted off at some point soon whether he wanted to or not. So, needless to say, he was out before long. Everything faded away into nothingness. The pain, the lights searing his eyelids, the presence of Sonic, the blankets, the bed, everything was soon gone. All that remained was blissful blackness… that is, until the vision started.

Seeing visions while sleeping or while in that vague place in between sleep and wakefulness… well, that wasn't uncommon. Both he and Cream were well used it by now, she seeing the future (however briefly) nearly every time she slept and he the past. Most of the time, he saw nothing he could deem as being especially major or important. Some instances, however… some were different. This proved to be one such instance and, for the first time in quite a number of years, Espio saw Kaden during the days of his youth. And while he slept and watched, he learned.

 _In the early morning hours, Kaden sat atop the floor of a small wood home, idly practicing his writing skills on thick paper with a quill and some ink. Nearby, a hooded figure in a white robe entered the home through the front door. The man was wet from the rain, but showed no signs of annoyance as he removed his hood. His pure white fur and eyes seemed aglow in the soft light. "Still practicing, Kaden? I had expected you to abandon your studies by now."_

 _"I'm bored," was the slightly pouty reply. "...This only kinda helps."_

 _The man chuckled and crossed the room to the small kitchen-like space close by. "I don't suppose that you're hungry as well?" he inquired lightly. Though Kaden gave no reply, the answer was apparently obvious to the white-furred hedgehog. He pulled out some bread, berries, and a couple tea cups._

 _Eventually, Kaden did speak. However, he seemed keen on changing the subject. "Sensei?" he called, now doodling on his paper._

 _His sensei, a man named Saran, glanced back over his shoulder. "Yes?"_

 _"You know how you let me read your books when I can't sleep at night?" A very slight pause. "I was reading more last night."_

 _"Oh?" Saran set about making some tea. "Did you find anything interesting?"_

 _"Something… kinda weird," Kaden responded slowly._

 _"Weird in what sense?"_

 _"...Well…" Kaden hesitated, setting his quill down on the paper and starting to bite his lip. When he noticed that he was hurting himself, he quickly stopped. "You've been teaching me about what I am," he continued slowly. "A being of Darkness or… whatever."_

 _"I have," Saran confirmed carefully, still busy._

 _Reluctantly, Kaden continued, "The book I found talked about things like me." He hesitated again, but resumed speaking before his teacher could interrupt. "It talked about how people and creatures like me… or, at least that most of them, are… demons."_

 _At this, Saran set everything down and immediately turned to the child he'd taken into his care so long ago. "Kaden," he said softly though very seriously, "how much more than that did you read?"_

 _Fearing he was now in trouble, a fact which always earned him beatings back home, Kaden dropped his gaze and retreated into the corner. "I…" He cut off with an unintentional whimper._

 _Saran walked over, kneeling down a respectful distance away from his student. Everything about him was gentle, soothing, and not at all angry. "Kaden, I have no intention of harming you," he reminded quietly. "I just need to know how much you read."_

 _Kaden, knees hugged up to his chest and his gaze and ears low, was quiet for a long time before eventually mumbling, "All of it."_

 _A soft sigh escape Saran, but he soon gave his student a smile. "I am willing to explain what such texts often fail to, if you are willing to come out of the corner and try to relax," he offered._

 _Thankfully, Kaden accepted this readily enough. "...Okay." Slowly, he moved back to where he had been seated before. Saran, meanwhile, stood and returned to the food he'd been preparing. When he came back, he brought Kaden a plate of buttered bread with a side of berries and small fruit. Kaden eagerly took a bite of one of the little fruits while Saran sat in a chair with his own plate._

 _After a few small moments, Saran stated, "Strictly speaking, the book was not incorrect." Kaden looked up at him. "As I have taught you before, Light and Darkness together help provide balance in existence. They are opposites, with Light being a source of 'good' and Darkness being a source of 'evil'." Kaden's stomach churned, and his gaze again dropped. Saran looked at him steadily. "But that is not the whole story, Kaden."_

 _The child shifted uncomfortably. "What do you mean?"_

 _"Good and evil are not all there is, Kaden," Saran reminded. "There is a third force that can be just as powerful and influential. Do you recall what that is?"_

 _Immediately, Kaden understood. "Neutrality."_

 _"Indeed." Saran ate a berry before continuing. "While it is true that, for the sake of balance, many of your kind are born evil, many are not. Many are born 'neutral' in the sense that they are neither inherently good nor evil. They are free to choose their own paths, to align themselves however they see fit. You, Kaden, would be classified as one such 'neutral' being of Darkness."_

 _The relief Kaden felt was nearly palpable. "I am?"_

 _A smile. A kind, honest smile. "You are."_

 _Kaden released a heavy gust of air he hadn't been intentionally holding back. "Okay."_

 _"As far as the others," Saran suddenly continue, "it is true that vast numbers of them are demons."_

 _Worried emerald eyes sought out his teacher's face. "Those really exist?" Kaden asked warily._

 _"They do," Saran confirmed. "I will teach you more about them when you are old enough to better understand, but… for now, I feel a warning is necessary."_

 _"A warning?"_

 _"Yes." Saran stared vaguely at his food, thinking. "Kaden, you yourself are no demon, but demons do live. Plenty walk among us on this world. Countless others roam the heavens, uncontrolled by any other than their own kind, ruthless and merciless toward any and all, bloodthirsty, lethal… But, every so often, there comes an outside force that can control them." Saran's white gaze grew distant. "Many, many years ago, one such force rose to try to conquer our world. It took the form of a trio of wicked villains by the names of Ix and Shade and Kethro. Using their own forces as much as the demons they had conquered, they brought this planet to its knees… and only a hero fondly remembered in legends as the 'Father of Light' was able to stop them. He gave his life to accomplish the feat, for their might was no exaggeration."_

 _Kaden stared down at his food. "He died?"_

 _"Yes." Saran looked down at his student again. "Someday, my grandfather's work will inevitably be undone. Someday, only his descendants - Children who inherited his Light - and their allies will be able to complete his final mission." When Kaden looked back up at him, Saran continued more quietly, "Kaden, because of who and what you are, and because of your own lineage, I can almost guarantee that this is a conflict you will one day become involved in. If this proves true, then you must remember to be wary of the demons these foes will utilize - and to be wary of what such demons can do to you."_

 _Nervous, Kaden nodded. "O…okay."_

 _Saran wasn't done yet. "And Kaden… there is one more thing you must remember. You must swear to me that you will not forget it."_

 _The child swallowed hard. "Yes…?" he all but whispered. Analia's great-grandfather watched his student with a degree of seriousness that was not normal for him. As he gave his warning, thunder rumbled eerily outside. Kaden shivered._

 _"Fear Amnikaribah…"_

 _Kaden felt his breath catch._

 _"...The very God of Demons."_

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,766 words this time, and my _lord_ is this chapter important. Hope everyone enjoyed! Posted (at about 4:55 p.m.) 04-23-18.**


	95. The End is Nigh

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this small flash forward... especially for the one who finds his resolve.

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The End is Nigh"**

 **~台風の目~**

Something, Silver vaguely realized, was not right.

He shifted a bit and realized he was covered in a layer of blankets. Beneath his head was one of the softest pillows he'd probably ever had the pleasure of resting on. _Only, the pillows in my room at the palace were softer._ That thought triggered an avalanche of memories almost straight away. Saying farewell to that other timeline's Jet for the final time, watching as the versions of Jet and Sonic who had sent him there in the first place had opened a portal for him to go home, reuniting with Blaze and some others… But then what?

With a soft groan, Silver sat up in the bed and rubbed at his temples. _What happened?_ Golden eyes opened to see an ancient bedroom. It was sparsely furnished, boasting just a bed, a small table and chair, and a sort of dresser, nothing more. _How did I end up here? For that matter, where even is "here"?_ Warm sunlight poured into the room past the half-drawn curtains on the only window. So it was still daytime, then. Meaning it couldn't have been that long, right?

He pushed the blankets off and swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood. There was no pain. He wasn't even tired. _So why don't I remember what happened? I must have passed out or something..._ Worried, he walked to the door and slowly opened it. There seemed to be no danger (he certainly didn't sense anything), so he went ahead and stepped out into the hall. Stretching out his senses, he tried to detect whoever was here. Much to his relief, he sensed Blaze, Shadow, and all the kids that had been with them earlier. Analia was here, too, as were Rouge and Knuckles. Eager to see them all, he hurried off down the hall.

Before long, he found his way down the stairs, down a few more halls, and into the room most of the adults were currently occupying. All eyes turned to face him. Conversations trailed off, then ceased entirely. There was silence. The Blaze practically dropped the cup she had been holding in her haste to run over to and embrace him. He, of course, didn't hesitate to return her enthusiastic hug, but confusion kept him from properly enjoying it. "Blaze," he started to ask, "what-?"

Blaze shook her head, which was tucked under his chin. "They said you might not remember," she murmured.

"Uh… who?"

"Sonic and Jet."

Confusion made him frown. "Wait, which-" A few feet away, Shadow gave him a look. Understanding dawned. _Ah. Those two. The ones who dragged me between timelines to begin with._ He gave his wife's side a small poke. "So… what happened?" he prompted.

She drew him toward a chair and had him sit, then took a seat herself. "Forgive me for answering your question with one of my own," she told him a tone that said she really wasn't very sorry at all, "but what is the last thing you remember?"

"You smiled," Silver answered immediately. She looked up at him, and he offered a sheepish her a sheepish grin. "Well, you did," he defended lightly. "We were discussing finding Gramps and the others, but…" His gaze shifted to Analia, who was watching them both quietly. "Guess you guys already did that."

The corners of Blaze's mouth twitched up. "Not exactly." She looked down at her cup. "After you collapsed, which was just minutes after we spoke, the… other Sonic appeared to us. He explained to us where you had gone and why." Before Silver could speak, she continued. "He also stated that you collapsed because of lingering energy from the portal, energies you were subjected to in very close proximity and that were apparently a bit too much for you to handle."

"And Uncle Jet showed up, too?" Silver asked.

"Briefly," Blaze answered. "Only to help explain what Sonic could not."

"And… they knew I wouldn't remember passing out?"

"Yes."

"Let me guess, they didn't say why I wouldn't remember."

Another small twitch, the beginnings of a tiny smile. "No, they did not."

Silver huffed out a small laugh. "Figures." His golden eyes flicked from Blaze to Analia and then over to Shadow and Rouge. He could hear Knuckles in another room, no doubt entertaining the children who were there with him. However, he couldn't see, hear, or otherwise sense his grandfather, and that worried him. "So, what exactly happened with you guys?" he asked Analia, gaze shifting back to her. "And where's Gramps?"

Analia turned to look at her grandson. "During the time in which you returned," she said slowly, "we were fighting a group of demons that likely came with the intent to kill Kaden." She looked back out the window. "He has gone off in an attempt to remove the threat of them attacking other settlements." Something in her expression shifted so subtly he nearly missed it. It was almost akin to… a grimace. "Demons are rather fond of murder and the like, as one might expect… and the ones we were fighting headed straight for the closest cities as they fled from us."

This news made Silver wince. "No wonder Gramps got ticked."

"There were other reasons," Blaze sighed. "For example, one demon apparently attempted to destroy a sacred temple within the city during their initial attack. And another attempted to slice Rouge in two, though she dodged successfully."

"Yeesh…" At a loss for words, Silver looked over everyone again. "So, no one was hurt?"

"No," Shadow answered, finally speaking up. "Not this time."

Time passed, but eventually Silver had to ask the obvious question weighing on his mind. "...But… _demons_ , guys? Those are _real_?"

Shadow's answer was to snort indelicately. Blaze just sighed again. It was Analia who answered, "Yes… and they are not to be trifled with. Even the weakest among them is powerful enough to slaughter nearly any they so choose." The normally happy and loving woman gazed over her family with great solemnity. "You were all lucky to outrun death this time. Next time, you may not be."

"We know," Blaze murmured. Silver noticed that her hands were shaking slightly.

Finally Rouge, who had been silent this whole time, voiced a question of her own. "Analia, do you know _why_ we were suddenly attacked by demons?"

It was a perfectly reasonable question, and one Silver very much wanted answered as well. _As if dealing with just the Nocturne Clan alone wasn't bad enough…_

"There is more than one answer to that," Analia told them all carefully. "The first is… simpler than the second. And easier to understand."

"What is it?" Rouge pressed.

"The Nocturne Clan has a certain… _fondness_ for evil creatures and forces that they believe they can conquer and utilize for their own gains. As such, whenever they _can_ find and control demons, they _do_." Analia closed her eyes then and added in soft distaste, "Their overuse of dark magics certainly helps."

Silver felt himself gulp. "You mean… they're going to keep doing this?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Shadow responded harshly. "From their standpoint, it would be idiotic _not_ to."

While this made sense, it was far from comforting. "Do they already have more demons on their side?"

"It is likely," Analia responded, "if not rather certain."

More silence ensued. This time, it was a lot more tense and unhappy than before. But, once again, it was eventually broken. This time, Blaze was the one to pick back up the dropped thread of conversation. "You said there was another reason, Analia?"

Analia slowly inclined her head in answer, her bangs shadowing her uncharacteristically serious eyes. "There is."

"What is it?" Silver asked, though his stomach lurched a bit at the prospect of finding out.

At this, Analia closed her eyes and drew in a breath. She let the air out slowly before beginning to speak. "The Nocturne Clan was sealed away many eons ago. You all know that by now." Every gaze was now fixed on her, listening intently. "The exact reasons as to why and how, while important to history, are irrelevant here. What matters is that the Clan was sealed in an orb they could not have freed themselves from alone. Yet, they escaped, and Knuckles witnessed it himself. He found the sphere broken in two."

"He brought it to me," Rouge added quietly. "He wanted to know if I knew what it was, and he told me what happened. I had no idea, so I took it to my grandfather, Tchen. He seemed to have some idea, but he refused to tell me."

"Tchen has a head for history, as do you," Analia nodded. "I would _expect_ him to know what the sphere was, but he could not have known what broke it."

"But you do?" Blaze asked.

Another nod. "Yes." Analia frowned a little, an exceedingly rare sight to behold. "Demons may be an evil force to be feared, but there exists another far more terrible than they. It is a manifestation of all that is dark and malicious and hateful in existence, a sort of _creature_ many refer to as 'the Night'. It hungers for the dying hope and Light of all things and it wants nothing more than to ensure that everything that is good in existence crumbles." Finally, she opened her eyes again, though her frowning gaze was directed at the stone floor. "Even while the creature itself was sealed, it possessed ample power to free the Nocturnians and set them loose again, bringing more darkness into existence without it having to lift a finger itself."

Silver's heart was thudding painfully in his chest. _"The Night"... I've heard of that before…!_

Before anyone could finish processing what they had just been told, Analia looked up at them all. "If you wish for more information, you will have to ask an Immortal. Perhaps Jet, though he may be too young by Immortal standards to know much. Either way, an Immortal will undoubtedly have far more information than I."

Swallowing hard for at least the second time, Silver nodded. He gathered his courage as much as he could and, in as steady a voice as manageable, said, "Then… I guess we'd better find Gramps and head back to the others. Soon." Nods of assent answered him, and he stood up. "I'll go ahead and start looking. You guys follow whenever you can."

As Shadow holstered the gun he'd been almost obsessively polishing, Analia began walking out of the room. "I will return the children to the Typhoon. I will catch up."

Everyone else seemed ready to leave now. So, without replying, Silver teleported outside.

 **~台風の目~**

 _I suppose it would make sense to convince them that I care about their well-being…_ Astra thought to herself, idly walking toward the medical ward. Her gaze was distant and her focus undoubtedly was on other matters, shown in part when she tripped over the foot of a passersby. Only when her elbow hit the floor did she realize that it was too late to catch herself, grimacing and clenching her teeth.

Having heard the crash, such as it was, Sonic soon emerged from the room he'd been in with Espio. He spied Astra on the ground and hurried over to her. "Hey, you okay?" he asked as he moved to help her up.

The cat recoiled quickly, scuttling back about a foot or so when he came near. "Wh-what?" Astra asked, voice trembling.

"You okay?" Sonic asked again. He now sported a concerned frown, but made no further moves toward her.

Astra shakily nodded and forced herself to stand quickly, moving to stand by him while she feebly stood against the various people brushing up against her. "H-how's Espio…?"

Somehow, Sonic wasn't surprised that she knew the chameleon's name. "He regained consciousness for a few minutes earlier," he sighed, "but… he couldn't talk very well." Though he knew there was more to it, he didn't say anything else on the ninja's condition right now. "He seems to be getting a bit better."

"I'm… glad to hear." The cat cast him a weak smile. "How are his wounds? Have they healed decently?"

"Like I said, he seems to be getting a bit better," Sonic reiterated. He glanced back toward Espio's room. "His more major wounds are as bad as before, more or less, but whatever medicine they've been giving him here have completely healed the minor ones already. He's on the mend."

Astra smiled a bit more at hearing this. "That is certainly good news. The fact that he regained consciousness and was able to speak also brings immensely good possibilities for his future."

 _Maybe._ "There's bad news, too," Sonic reluctantly revealed. "And it's… _pretty_ bad."

"Huh?" Astra blinked once and tilted her head. "What do you mean by 'bad'?"

Sonic drew in a breath and forced the words out. "When I was talking to him earlier, he asked me about Rouge. He remembered being trapped with her, and wanted to know where she was and all that. _Rouge_ told us at an earlier point that she was trapped with him and his girlfriend Kanari. But when I _asked_ him about Kanari… he had no idea who I was even talking about. He doesn't seem to remember her at all, despite having been dating her off and on for most of the last century. Which means…" Emerald eyes closed, but only briefly before reopening. "Which means… he's suffered memory loss from all those head wounds. And there's no telling how much more he can't remember." His concern grew when Astra's eyes gained a cloudy haze.

"Kanari…" Astra murmured faintly, "The woman is… dead."

"What?" Sonic asked her sharply, snapping his head around to look at her fully.

The cat turned away slightly, perturbed by his movement. "Kanari, or at least someone who was _most likely_ her, was dead when I went to rescue your friend… I left her because it would dampen his chances of survival…" she admitted quietly, tears forming in her eyes. "I-I'm so sorry…"

Numb, Sonic could only bring himself to ask, "...She… was a chameleon?" He _had_ to ask, because he had to know. For Espio's sake. _Even if he can't remember now... and may never again._ His question was met with a solemn nod that caused his heart to sink. _Another person dead…_ A lot of time seemed to pass (though he knew it was likely mere moments), then he suddenly felt the familiar weight of intense resolve settle within his heart. _That's enough. No, it's more than enough! No more people are going to die, not on my watch!_ He gave Astra an intense look. "Listen, I know you don't know us well and we don't know you well, but I have to ask you now whether you intend to continue to fight with us. Because, trust me, this war isn't over yet, but it will be soon. One way or another."

Astra bit her tongue as a way of focusing herself as she thought. "I… may… Right now, there is nothing else for me to do other than retaliate for the injustices caused by the Nocturne Clan."

Just like that, Sonic went into tactician mode. The last time he'd _really_ done this was when he'd had to construct a hasty yet flawless plot to stop Ivo and Dark Gaia at the same time more than a century ago. "If you're willing to fight with us, and I'll accept it if you don't, then I'll need you to sit down with me at some point so we can discuss what you can do to fight. Everyone's abilities need to be assessed and utilized properly if we're going to win this war."

That cat grinned and nodded softly. "Of course. I will make the time soon for us to do so."

Sonic returned the nod, then started to turn away. "Get some rest in the meantime, okay? You can use a guest room on the ship to sleep if you want. I'm going to check on Espio again."

"Of course." Astra flashed him a gentle smile and headed back to the ship. That went swell.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,787 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for his help on the Astra part (and also for getting me unstuck in the first scene when I was attacked by writer's block again). Hope everyone enjoyed. Also, a quick announcement: this story will _likely_ be ending in twenty chapters or less (though that's no guarantee). So, in other words... the end is coming. Posted (at about 9:50 p.m.) 04-25-18.**


	96. Grief and Sorrow

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this sad addition to the tale... especially for the one who puts on a brave face.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yes! XD Yeah, that's certainly gonna be interesting. We shall see how it all goes. Also, thanks for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Grief and Sorrow"**

 **~台風の目~**

She had just received the news minutes ago.

Vanilla sat in her bed onboard the Blue Typhoon, cradling her child in her arms. While Cream slept, no doubt exhausted from her own emotional pains, the older bunny tried to come to terms with everything she had just been told. Analia had come to her not even ten minutes prior to now after having, apparently, returned the other children to the ship from Mobius. And she had come bearing news.

The look of contrition in the ancient healer's eyes was one Vanilla knew too well. It wasn't often that Analia wore it, for it wasn't often that such a look was _warranted_ from her, but this time… this time was different. Analia had had two truths to share, each of which was a burden in its own right. As of yet, Vanilla had been unable to decide which of these truths was worse. But she did know that each one _hurt_.

Gently running her fingers over her daughter's soft ears, she gazed down upon the sleeping face in her lap. _It's no wonder you've already cried yourself so dry…_ Her mind flashed back to their home back in the once peaceful Eschire Village, to the small grave she had discovered near to her garden so soon after this horrible war had started. It had both puzzled and concerned her, but no one in the village had known where it had come from. The marker left at the grave had been hastily, though not haphazardly, placed. It bore no name to this day, no dates, nothing. But now she knew.

Bokkun had died. The small, anxious child she had adopted somewhere around a century ago was dead. It was his grave, left by Silver, that she had found at her home… and a part of her wondered if she would have been better off not knowing. In truth, however, she knew that that would have been worse in the end. She had needed this, needed the closure, and Analia knew it. _At least now I know to mourn… and I know that my boy, at least in death, was able to make it home._

Fighting back the rising tide of emotion within her was difficult. Several soft sniffles escaped her, causing Cream to shift in her sleep. Beside the pair on one of the pillows, little Cheese also stirred slightly. Though she wanted little more than to just cry right now, Vanilla silenced herself for the time being in order to let the two of them sleep some more. Goodness knew they needed it. She likely did, too, but with the weight of Bokkun's death and her own illness weighing down on her… she didn't know if she could even manage it.

 _Illness… Am I destined to die of it just as my husband did so long ago?_ The memory of the poisoned fruit that had killed her partner during their child's infancy made her heart clench with old aches and pains. Since Mark's death, the idea of seeing anyone around her stricken with any sort of illness had always bothered her and left her more fearful and worried than was likely necessary. But now, knowing that she herself was also slowly succumbing to a poison… Most would have likely found themselves in a state of hysteria, but Vanilla just felt drained.

After enduring weeks of relentless assault on her village, after witnessing the deaths of countless innocent Chao who had fought to maintain defensive barriers around the settlement, she and the other villages had thought that they would be okay. Even after people and Chao and animals alike had died, they had thought that maybe the rest of them would find a way to survive. _We thought that we, and the rest of the world, had sacrificed enough… but we should have known that the worst was yet to come._

When the Nocturnians had finally come to accept the fact that they simply could not penetrate the barriers without killing every Chao maintaining them, and that hunting down so many hundreds of small magical creatures would take too long, they had changed tactics. It was then they they filled the area with toxic mists, poisoning everything and everyone both within and outside of the barrier. The toxins had killed several entire households by the time Vector had unexpectedly appeared in the village with her, which had apparently happened when numerous people had all at once (according to Analia) vanished off the ship some time ago.

The crocodile had been brave.

Some would have called his heroics foolish, but she knew a hero when she saw one. Once everyone had been thoroughly weakened by the mists and the remaining Chao had either died or been forced to flee, the Nocturnians had stormed the village to gather them all up for slaughter. But first, they were to be taken as hostages. Prisoners.

Vector and a handful of others had fought them, desperately trying to buy Vanilla and the rest time to escape. Perhaps the plan had been doomed from the start, perhaps it had just been bad luck, but either way nothing had gone right. All those who had fought back had been viciously attacked and left for dead. Everyone else had been taken away.

That horrible day had ended with Sonic and Tails finding the group wherever they had been taken to and fighting to rescue them. Though they _had_ been saved, Tails had died for the cause. And now, even though she was safe and should have been able to relax for the first time in too long, Vanilla's knowledge of her own imminent death was just… too much.

The toxins that she and the other villagers had been subjected to, Analia had told her earlier, were both natural and not. Some were naturally occurring gaseous compounds, the effects of which Amy had been able to undo with her healing efforts when Vanilla had first been brought here. The rest, however, were magical in nature. More specifically, they were born of black magic, not unlike the kind that had apparently caused Kaden to fall so ill so quickly. Only… whatever form of evil magic had caused Vanilla's poisoning was… not one Analia knew how to combat. And if she couldn't heal Vanilla, then no one could. Which meant she was going to die.

It would be a slow death. They knew that much for certain. Vanilla _knew_ that from watching her friends and neighbors suffering around her back in her village. It would be slow. It would be agonizing. Analia promised, with rare grief in her voice, that she would do everything she could to ease the pain and to try to find _some_ way to save her life, but… at this point, Vanilla was finding it hard to hope.

But then again…

Cream stirred again, rubbing at sleepy eyes before yawning and giving her mother a joyful smile. She had been through much, too, Vanilla realized all over again. Yet, the poor child still managed to conjure up all the warmth of the sun within one small smile in spite of it all. Somehow, that sight alone was enough to free some tears from Vanilla's eyes. And, as she embraced her child, she found that she just might have the strength to keep on hoping, too.

 **~台風の目~**

Focusing on work was hard right now. With all the grief swirling around in her, Amy found it difficult to give her full attention to even the most serious of tasks. She _needed_ to focus, she knew, because she was checking on Locke and Lucas and the former of the pair had been regaining consciousness off and on for a little while now and needed to be monitored, but…

She kept seeing Tails's face.

In her mind's eye, she remembered first meeting him when they'd just been kids. She remembered protecting him from bullies, taking him to meet her parents, listening to him tell her all about his adorable childish inventions… She remembered, later on in life, coming to view him as her brother, visiting him as often as possible at his lonely house in the woods, making frequent trips to the nearest city with him to help him shop for food in the like… She also remembered meeting Sonic with him, getting dragged along on a crazy adventure with the two of them partly just because her little brother had trusted the stranger in blue who had found them lost in the woods one day.

Looking back, she remembered being unable to picture her life without the fox in it, but now… now she was forced to live it, because that was her new reality. The pain was unlike anything she had ever expected to feel. And… there was no stopping the flow of tears that she had been fighting back for so long now. She just _needed_ to cry.

 **~台風の目~**

Vanilla wasn't the only one that Analia had paid a visit to. Jet had been in his room with the door open, rummaging through his things in search of one of Suri's toys while the baby had crawled around on the floor and gotten into… well, everything. Hannah and Ten had been in a room close enough for him to keep an ear out for them, entertaining themselves by playing a board game or something. Then Analia had appeared and, in her own gentle and quiet way, had demanded his attention.

From a logical standpoint, what she'd told him had made sense. Too much sense, really, but that was beside the point. He knew she would never lie about such a thing, and he had already reluctantly considered the same conclusion that she had come to regarding his son's health. He made no claims about being a medical professional or anything of the sort, but he knew how to read the equipment, the charts, the emotions in Analia's and Amy's auras. Really, he supposed that he'd known the truth well before Analia had told it to him… he just hadn't wanted to believe it.

Hearing the words spoken to him, and from someone he trusted to never lie to him, had a crushing effect. The false hope he had been trying so desperately to cling to had vanished without a trace, replaced by slicing, lethal truth. But once it happened, and something within him recognized that it really was okay to grieve now… somehow it made things just a tiny bit better. Maybe that was why she had done it. To snap him out of his numbness and his stubborn disbelief and force him to accept what he already _knew_ to be true… however painful that truth was.

After she left again, an apology sighing from her lips as she went, Jet sank down onto the edge of his bed. Head in his hands and eyes squeezed tightly shut, he fought back a rising hysteria within him. However, he was unable to shut his own mind up, to stop it from repeating to him everything he'd just been forced to accept. Lucas was dead. Maybe not _physically_ dead, but dead all the same. He was brain dead, had been nearly from the moment Jet had found him. Amy had thought he was starting to recover before, but he hadn't. He was as gone then as he was now, and there was not a single thing anyone could do about it. His son was _dead_.

Another surge of hysteria hit him as he remembered how he'd found the child seemingly so long ago. The blood, the wounds, the lack of a pulse… He'd been hysterical then, too, seeing Lucas like that and thinking that he had already died. But then there had seemed to be some hope, because he'd started breathing again and his heart had restarted, but now… Now the truth had been spoke, and the knowledge that he really had come too late to save his own child was just… it was too…

Pain that was by no means physical in nature wracked his body, leaving him reeling and nearly wholly lost to its influence. It barely registered in his mind that Suri was using his knee to stand up, until she began to wail in response to the emotions she was sensing from him. Trembling and nearly sobbing, he reached out and picked his daughter up. He held her close, several tears slipping down his face even as he tried to get ahold of himself. The pain of loss was one who knew very well, but while his logical mind reasoned that he should have been able to cope… the rest of him doubted that he ever could.

Someone else apparently sensed the sudden uncontrolled spike in his emotions. They entered his room without permission, without knocking, but only because it was _her_ did he allow it. Really, he couldn't have stopped her right now, anyway. He was breaking down for the first time in years, and he knew it. He knew that _she_ knew it, and he could feel it when she briefly searched his mind for answers as to _why_ this was happening. Then Wave put her arms around him, her aura now full of her own pain. "I'm _so_ sorry, Jet… I'm _so_ , _so_ sorry…"

It didn't matter that she was sorry. It didn't even matter that _he_ was sorry. What mattered was that yet another innocent child was dead, and this time he shared part of the blame. He hadn't been able to prevent Lucas and the others from being kidnapped. He hadn't come in time to rescue Hannah before she had been traumatized by who knew what, to prevent Suri from being corrupted before, to prevent Ten from having to fight for his life nearly by himself in the woods on Mobius, to prevent Lucas from being viciously attacked and killed… These were all unforgivable. And although he _desperately_ wanted to make the Nocturnians pay for their even more unforgivable roles in these events, right now…

Right now it was all he could do not to drown in his own grief.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,412 words this time. ...Well... this was a long-time coming. Still broke my heart, though. ;_; Hope you all enjoyed this grief-filled addition to the story. Posted (at about 12:40 p.m.) 04-26-18.**


	97. Wrath

**~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah... it is. ;_; But yes, yes they will. In due time, they will. Still heart-wrenching, though, certainly... X(**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Wrath"**

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic sat on his and Amy's bed alone less than an hour after his conversation with Astra. A deep frown marred his face, part concentration and part unexplained anger. He was supposed to be coming up with a plan, but he found himself much more focused on his emotions instead. Though, couldn't put his finger on _what_ , exactly, was wrong with him right now. The fear he was feeling, he could explain. The grief he could understand. Even the anger could be rationalized to a point, but this level of it struck him as… abnormal. _It doesn't make any sense for me to be this pissed about everything… does it?_ A part of him wanted to continue to believe that it didn't, but a larger part of him was confident that it knew otherwise.

 _Bokkun was murdered. Omega was destroyed. Kath and Azerel were murdered. Espio, Rouge, Kanari, Hannah, and Lucas were all kidnapped. Espio is alive, but only just._ He felt his frown deepen. _Rouge has trauma she won't talk about. Kanari is dead._ He gritted his teeth, struggling against a fresh wave of anger. _Hannah is so traumatized she barely speaks anymore. Lucas is alive, but only physically._ Suddenly, he was seething. No, he was somewhere beyond that point. _Kath and Azerel are dead._ A growl bubbled forth, threatening to erupt into a snarl. _Tails is dead._

A small burst of red flame exploded around him, startling him so badly that the fire died almost instantly. He sat there in silence, stunned and staring, then slowly looked down at one of his hands. Swallowing hard, he called forth his fire again and, sure enough, it was still red. Understanding nearly took his breath away. _It's that fire that Pyros gave me… the Wrathfire…_ His mind raced back to time a little over a century ago, to when he met a somewhat grouchy dragon within the Master Emerald. The pair had talked for a time, then Pyros had shared Sonic a powerful and rare form of Dragonfire that was powered by anger… the aptly named _Wrathfire_. He had never used it before, not even accidentally. Seeing so much of it burst out from him out of the blue like it had today was… well, he supposed that disconcerting was a safe word for it.

At least he had managed not to burn anything.

Still, Sonic was troubled. _Something about all of this just doesn't feel normal. It might look like it is, but it doesn't feel right._ With his frown now firmly in place once more, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. _I'm not this angry… not ever. ...Save for the time I went Dark and destroyed Mephiles._ A heavy sigh escaped him. _I feel like I should talk to someone, but… but who am I supposed to talk to? I'd love to talk to Locke, but obviously that's a no-go. Same with talking to mom and dad right now. Talking to Pyros may not help much, either, come to think of it._ He thought a moment. _...I mentioned to dad once that it might be a good idea to speak with his old sensei, Saran, sometime in the Master Emerald… but I doubt he could help much with this particular mess._

It soon occured to Sonic that there was a chance that Jet, with all his mellowness and calm attitude, could potentially be of help with this. He'd certainly been wanting reasons to get the hawk to talk to him lately. And yet, he couldn't shake the part of him that was suddenly _angry_ with the hawk. Angry over the distance between them, angry over the secrets and the lack of communication, angry over the fact that it was _Jet_ who had said that they had to get the Master Emerald off of Mobius, prompting Tails to insist on tagging along…

The degree of anger he felt was terrifying. Once his mind decided to aim it all at one single person, it grew even more terrible. It scared him so much that he didn't dare leave his room right now, lest he wind up letting his anger out in some way, shape, or form on anyone around him. None of his friends deserved that… Not even Jet, despite what his emotions were now trying to tell him.

Biting his lip, Sonic put his head into his hands and just tried to breathe.

 **~台風の目~**

 **766 words this time. Erm... sorry for the delay. I'll do my best to get the next one out faster, but since it's due to be an epic and very important one... well, it may take a while. Still, I'll try. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 8:15 p.m.) 05-09-18.**


	98. Lost One

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this reveal... especially for the Lost One.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, poor Sonikku... Haha, yeah, it certainly has been a spell since that was last brought up, huh? XD Don't worry, you'll see more of it later. ;)**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Lost One"**

 **~台風の目~**

It had been hours.

Earlier that day, Kaden had gone after a pack of demons that had attacked him, Rouge, and the others, as well as Chun-nan. After he'd ensured the safety of the others, the demons had torn off toward other settlements in a wise attempt to flee from his wrath. Now, he hunted them. Preventing them from killing anyone today… that was of supreme importance.

Along the way, he passed many soldiers. Just as many of them were on his side as weren't. Mobians and Babylonians worked together against a common foe, a sight he hadn't borne witness to since ancient times. It should have been heartening, he supposed, but right now his mood refused to be swayed from its current dark path. He was _furious_ , righteously so, and these beasts were going to _feel_ that rage with every last breath they took. He would make sure of it.

Now, the reasons for his rage weren't limited to "these things attacked those I care for and that pisses me off". No, there was far more to it than that. He looked back on his childhood, remembering all the things he had been taught by his sensei about demons. He remembered the tales of ravenous hordes consuming worlds, slaughtering or torturing and _then_ murdering untold numbers of people, and worse. But, no, even that was not the main cause for his current emotional state. The real, main cause was… _it_. The Night. It was a demon in its own right, an evil force unparalleled throughout existence. And it and its hordes of demons had once attacked this very world… resulting in the vicious, _gory_ murders of both of his parents.

He had been maybe eighteen at the time and had learned not too many years prior who his parents were. Namely, the king and queen, Satsuno and Seiko. Only once, he had attempted to work up the nerve to go and meet them, to let them know that he was alive… but he had been too afraid. He had backed out, run away, and mere months later they had died. His own cowardice and the actions of Malevolence itself, the so-called "Night", meant he would never have the opportunity again to meet his father and mother. Seeing their spirits once or maybe twice didn't _count_. He hated himself, hated Malevolence, and he _hated_ demons for playing a role in them all.

Gritting his teeth, Kaden drew his sword and sprang forward. He plunged the black blade through one of the demons he'd been actively pursuing. It screamed and fell hard into the dirt, blood spurting messily from it's punctured heart. Without Analia around to temper his dark and at times violent (at least when he was angry) nature, he found himself unable to care at the moment about the suffering of the beast beneath his feet. He simply stabbed it again, ensuring it would die, then wrenched his sword free and jumped off of the demon's large back. Flicking some blood off of his hand (he normally would have made _some_ effort to avoid getting filthy like this but couldn't care less right now), he resumed his pursuit of the others.

In fact, it was a group of "others" who found _him_. They happened to be the people he'd left behind earlier to pursue these monsters. Analia appeared by his side first, prompting him to skid to a halt. After Analia, Shadow appeared with Rouge, Knuckles, and young Soren (whom Kaden had yet to personally meet, though he'd heard enough about the boy at this point to have few questions about him). Then Silver of all people arrived, bringing Blaze with him. The sight of the boy, safe and sound, almost instantly eased some of Kaden's intense, burning anger. Though he'd probably never be able to bring himself to say it, he had worried… and feared.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one.

Fists clenched into tight balls, Shadow all but stomped over and hissed, "Stop _doing_ this! Every time you take off-" Well, someone was emotional today. Which was... bizarre.

Kaden cut him off, uninterested in any sort of a reprimand. "Trouble follows. I am _aware_ , Shadow."

Before the argument could be taken further, Silver interjected. "I'm… guessing you found one of those demon… things?" he ventured, golden eyes taking in his grandfather's soiled fur.

Glancing down at the blood (god, that was never coming out of his fur without a fight all its own), Kaden shrugged. Analia asked, "How many remain?"

"Out of _that_ pack, two. Maybe three." Scowling, Kaden glanced off into the distance, where the nearest settlement was. "But there are others. Or, at least, there will be."

His partner pursed her lips together tightly, a display of concern he had not seen on her in centuries. "You cannot possibly defeat them on your own, Kathal."

At the sound of _that_ name, one of the truest translations of _Kaden_ into the ancient language, Kaden winced. He had always hated that name, the title of _Prince_ that it carried, the attachment it had always had to a life he had never been allowed to live… but now was not the time for those things. There were lives that needed saving. And, actually, that hated name had given him an idea.

Clearly satisfied that he now remembered what he'd already known, Analia spoke again. "Or can you… Kaden?" she murmured, voice full of the things she wouldn't say. Not here, not now.

"...Hn." Giving her one last glance, Kaden sheathed his sword with a snap and tore off toward the city again. This time, though, he was not alone. The others followed in the air and on the ground, all doing what they could to keep up. He didn't wait for them. He couldn't. Right now he just had to _move_. More demons were coming, he was _sure_ of it. Now that Malevolence was free, it was going to want to wreak havoc and kill once more. The one comfort Kaden had at the moment was that it would be too weak to do so for very long. One day it would strike with a true vengeance and lay waste to these lands again, but for the time being…

In a silent display of aggravation, Kaden bared his fangs just slightly. All his life, he had been warned of demons, of the Night, of his own Darkness, of the demonic _God_ that might very well one day come to kill him just because of who and _what_ he was… and he was so, so tired of it. More than that, however, he was tired of his secret. It was no _secret_ to the people of this world who their last rulers had been, no, nor was it any sort of secret that the son of those rulers had been lost (hence them referring to him throughout history as the "Lost One"). It certainly wasn't a secret that the very thing that could prove his identity was sleeping within him, just waiting to be unleashed. No, the _secret_ was his very _identity_ itself.

As only made sense, the names of himself and Sonic and Tails and everyone who had been fighting for the sake of the world for so long were known to just about everyone. Yet, no one knew the truth about _him_. He wished that there was some way for it to stay that way, but at this point… At this point, he had to acknowledge that that was possible no longer.

Before this miserable war had started, he had had a dream, as he so often did. Being what he was, he was gifted (or cursed) with the ability to see and interact with the spirits of the dead, and they with he. He had seen his father for the first time on that day, and what they had spoken of haunted him now. _"Time is of the essence,"_ Satsuno had said. Kaden had challenged the man's words, refused what he had been told. He had _refused_ to consider the fact that he might be forced to do _this_ at any point… let alone that he might _have_ to for the world to survive. He knew now that time really was not on his side, though... and that his own desires didn't much matter these days.

Still, on that day he had argued. _"I forge my own path,"_ he had told his father, voice darkened by emotions he still had no names for.

Unlike he, his father had acknowledged him. Accepted him, even. _"As you have always done,"_ he had agreed. But then he'd continued on to say, _"However, there is no harm in occasionally following the paths that others have themselves forged."_

Kaden had wanted nothing to do with it, any of it, and had stated as such. He had been adamant, angry even. He still was, he supposed, but no longer was the emotion misdirected at the spirit of his father. Still, it had been then. _"I refuse,"_ he had said, though now he saw that saying such was foolish.

 _"The time will come,"_ Satsuno had warned him gravely, _"when you may not have a choice."_

God, Kaden hated being proven wrong. That is, when it was over something as huge and important as this. He _hated_ it. But, then, he supposed he hated a lot of things. Too many, maybe, though he really didn't feel particularly inclined to change that. Even still, though, it occurred to him that constant hatred was a trait ill-befitting of any sort of leader or ruler… a simple fact that he had never before had cause to contemplate. Now, he most certainly did have cause. A part of him chose to hate that, too.

Satsuno had left him with a message and a warning all in one with a single, important sentence. _"The world needs leadership once more, if only until the storm has passed."_ With this one statement, he had provided a truth, hinted at the future, and made a promise.

The truth was that Kaden would have to lead, whether he wanted to or not. Fun fact, he did _not_.

The future was this. This future was _now_. This conflict, this _war_ with the Nocturnians... this was the storm they were meant to try to survive.

The promise was that he wouldn't have to do it forever. As soon as the war was over, he could take steps that would allow him to step _down_. That was a comfort, he supposed. Still, he would have preferred it if none of this had been forced upon him to begin with.

Up ahead, the city began coming into view. Three large, crimson portals lined the sky over it, allowing into their world creatures of unspeakable horror and insatiable bloodlust. Though he felt his heart drop a bit at the sight, mostly he felt a resurgence of his earlier fury. _So be it,_ he decided, pouring on the speed. Let his rage be further fuel for the incoming fires, then. At least that way his anger would, for once, manage to do the world some good.

As he sped up, Kaden left the group mostly behind until Analia used her magic to gently pull them all into the air. While in the air, she could maintain a speed similar to his, and this way no one was lost in the dust. He hardly cared at the moment. They were entering the city now, and all he could hear were screams and fires and things breaking and crashing and gunfire and ungodly beastial howls… Struggling to drown out the chaotic noises, Kaden sped on ahead and dug deep. Closing his eyes, he concentrated. The chains that normally bound his power within fell away, leaving him wholly free in a way he had never been before.

The eyes that snapped open were pure blue.

Snarling, Kaden leapt high into the air and unleashed a tidal wave of blue magic that swept over the city like water. It cleansed and purified everything in its path, eliminating evil while never once harming any innocents… such as it was meant to do. When that wave died down, he sent another forcefully outward in another direction, then fired a beam straight up into the air from his palm. It struck the center of the swirling energies within one of the portals, disrupting them and making the portal collapse. The shockwaves from the collapse nearly knocked his partner out of the air, but in the heat of the moment he hardly noticed.

Demons surged toward him, hungry for any piece of him and anyone else that they could get, but he refused to let them get close enough to do him harm. With a swift motion, he created and released a powerful current of magic that acted like the wind, slicing through any threats before him. Just seconds later, a second beam of brilliant magical light destroyed a second portal. Then, with a powerful surge, he unleashed yet another tidal wave of magic, further decimating the ranks of demons within this settlement. It crashed over builds and through streets and doorways and past civilians and into any source of evil that could be found, laying waste to his enemies. This wave was large enough to reach the portal above, to utterly destroy it... and every demonic entity below.

After that, all went quiet. Very, eerily quiet. The silence, however, was something that didn't bother him in the slightest. What did bother him was the utter destruction that had been wrought upon this place. So, while his magic was still active, he closed his eyes and again focused his energies. This time, magic gently enveloped every inch of the city and began repairing it while its citizens healed. It took mere minutes. By then, he could no longer sustain his own magic, and it all simply ended. But it was enough.

Blue eyes fading back to emerald, Kaden turned away from the scene and walked back to Analia. He was spent… and for now, his people were safe. He could hardly ask for more than that.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,401 words this time. I... am so sorry that this took so long. Posted (at about 3:55 p.m.) 05-22-18.**


	99. Destination

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this discussion... especially for the one who learns something new about such an old friend.

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Hm... maybe, maybe not... we'll see. But, yes, while he did do a lot of protecting here he also needs some protecting, too. I agree. Anyway, thanks for reading!  
**

 **~台風の目~**

 _ **IMPORTANT NOTE:**_ **This chapter makes references to two reveals about Kaden and Jet that were made back in Hero. You'll see what they are down below, but if you don't remember these past reveals it should be okay. If not, you can always go back and read again. Should you choose to do that, the first reveal (Kaden's) was made back in chapter 235 and the second one (Jet's) was made back in chapter 271.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Destination"**

 **~台風の目~**

Nearly two hours after Jet had calmed down (that is, as much as he'd been able to), he sat on his bed still with Wave and Suri. Sonic had come in some time ago, having apparently been going around the entire ship to check on everyone currently there. Now he and the two (adult) Babylonians were deep in conversation together for the practically the first time since Jet's surprise return to the group. It felt like ages ago now that that had happened, but that was something that didn't bear dwelling on at this moment. He was far too busy trying to keep his emotions buried and under control, trying to prevent himself from breaking down again.

"The fact of the matter is," Wave was saying, "there are still four emeralds. _Four_ , and the Nocturnians could very well have them already for all we know."

"No, they don't," Sonic was quick to argue. "They _definitely_ don't. I mean…" He buried his face in his hands for a moment and sighed, then lowered his hands again. He was seated in the chair at Jet's desk, and Jet struggled to ignore the deep anger simmering in the hedgehog's aura. Sonic continued. "They may have one. Hell, they might even have _three_ , but I know they don't have all _four_."

"How can you be _certain_?" Jet challenged, eyes on his daughter. The little one was slumbering peacefully in his arms, at least for the time being. She was truly mellow now, but her father was not. He was merely… curbing his emotions for now.

This question earned another sigh. "...You heard about Kath?"

Only through sheer force of will did Jet remain neutral. "Yes," he confirmed simply.

Sonic fiddled with the strap of his communicator. "Tammy forwarded me some files… maybe an hour and a half ago. Said she'd sent them to you, first, but you weren't answering her."

Jet glanced at his communicator, remembered that he'd been rather _occupied_ with his emotions earlier, and nearly winced. "Files…" he murmured. "They were Kath's?"

"Made by him," Sonic confirmed with a small nod. "To be honest, I didn't… understand most of what he'd recorded, even though Tammy translated them all for me. But, I did understand what he recorded about one of the Chaos Emeralds."

Finally, Jet looked up at him. Slowly, woodenly, he revealed, "Kath always… had an uncanny ability to track down the white emerald. If he found _any_ of them, it would be that one."

Looking down, Sonic turned on his communicator screen and opened up the file. "I really don't get most of what he was on about here, Jet, but maybe you can help me understand." Blue eyes blinked. "I genuinely have _no_ idea if this is just a bad translation error or _what_ , but he apparently wrote that the emerald could be 'anywhere'."

Instantly, Jet froze. Wave, however, spoke up. " _Anywhere_?" she demanded. There was real heat to her voice, an anger that couldn't be specifically placed. "No, that's ridiculous. Kath was an almost unparalleled _genius_. He had to have known where it was. It has to be _somewhere_!"

"No, not _anywhere_ ," Jet cut in. " _Eniwer_. It's a place, I've been there." Frowning, he added in a sullen tone, "It _sucks_." Now Jet had their full attention. He didn't want it but, for now, he decided it was probably for the best. At least this way he could just explain this _once_ and not have to repeat himself. "It is a place, Sonic… and it is very real. And... it is by no means impossible for your emerald to be there."

This made Sonic frown. _My emerald..._ "Where is this place, and why would the emerald be there?"

 _How to explain…_ "Eniwer is… a sort of storage facility, you could say," Jet eventually answered. "One man watches over everything kept there, a madman whose real name is unknown. Generally speaking, only if one is _themselves_ a madman would they trust to keep something safe there, but…" His blue eyes hardened to a steely shade. "Kath was no _madman_."

"Then why would he take the emerald to that place?" Wave asked. "You said yourself that only a madman would-"

"A madman… or a genius," Jet mumbled.

Frown deepening, Sonic stated pointedly, "That doesn't answer the question, Jet."

Jet took in a slightly shaky breath. Though mostly numb since his breakdown earlier, his emotions were starting to come back in waves. _Don't cry again,_ he silently commanded himself. _Not now, not here._ He took in another breath. "If Kath took the emerald there, then it's because he trusted that it would be safe there. Trust is something he always metted out sparingly and never on impulse. The fact that _he_ trusted it means that the emerald is safe there." He looked down, then added more quietly, "Though, that doesn't mean it will be forever."

"We should go get it, then," Wave decided. "Where is this place?"

A small shrug. "Another realm," Jet answered simply. "A very distant one."

That made Sonic's eyes widen, but Wave (curiously) seemed a lot less fazed by this news. "Are you sure?" Jet nodded. "And… can you _get_ there?"

There was no reason not to answer, so Jet nodded again. "Yes."

"Seriously?" Sonic blurted out, apparently stunned.

Jet looked away yet further. Some explanation was required here, so he gave it. "It's not as if I can do it _easily_ ," he mumbled, "and I certainly can't do it all the time. The other Immortals can do it whenever they want, but I'm _very_ far below their level."

That frown from earlier was back by the time Sonic asked, "But you _can_ get there? If only this one time?"

"I can probably make it," Jet shrugged. That little 'probably' was hardly a comfort for any of them, but it was the best he could offer.

"Will it be safe for you to go alone?" Wave questioned him, aura reflecting her concerns. He hesitated to reply, and that moment of hesitation seemed to confirm her current suspicion. "So it isn't, then," she correctly deduced. "Which means I'm not about to let you go alone."

Sonic's arms crossed. "Considering how strong our enemies are, I'd advise against anyone traveling alone regardless."

 _Taking_ _someone along… will make this far harder than it needs to be._ On the inside, Jet sighed. Arguing was probably… a bad idea right now, all things considered, so he caved for the time being. "...Fine."

"Wave," Sonic directed, "you go ahead and go. I have to stay here and take care of things."

"Alright," Wave agreed. She turned to Jet. "What will you do with your kids?"

"Tammy and Arthr may be willing to watch them," Jet responded.

"If not, Amy and I will," Sonic told him. Jet flicked him a vaguely surprised glance, and Sonic just shrugged. "We won't mind." Tossing Sonic a second glance, Jet stood and left the room. Presumably, to go put Suri and bed and then talk to his Babylonian friends. Only once he was out of earshot as far as Sonic was able to tell did the hedgehog speak again. "Listen, we probably have at least a few minutes to talk, so there's something we need to discuss."

Wave had started to stand, but upon hearing this she sat back down. "Discuss?" she echoed. Her confusion, while mild at this point, was written plainly on her face.

He noted that she looked... tired. _Just like everyone else on this godforsaken quest._ That was a matter to ponder later. For now, he focused on a more pressing concern. "Jet's upset over something," he stated, looking briefly out into the hall. "Very upset, in fact, if it's actually showing on his face."

"It's... because of Lucas," Wave murmured. "He heard the news and just... broke down once it sank in." When he gave her a look, she explained, "I only know because I searched his mind for answers when I found him like that. He was in no state to try to tell me."

A pang of hurt on his friend's behalf stabbed at Sonic's heart. "The same news mom messaged me about, I'm guessing."

"She told you?" Wave looked startled. He didn't take the time to wonder why.

"Yeah. Guess she thought I needed to know." Sonic looked away. "...Probably because of how hard the news hit Jet. She probably knew he'd struggle to deal with it."

"That makes sense," Wave agreed slowly, "but why are we discussing this, exactly?"

Sonic took in a breath. "Wave... if you had to compare Jet to _anyone_ you know, who would you compare him to? Taking into account personality, behaviors, and so on."

"Kaden," she answered immediately.

"Why?" he pressed.

"Why?" she repeated. "Because they're a lot alike. They're both calm and serious and don't smile much, but they're fierce in their loyalties and stubborn in their ways. They're unfailingly logical in most any situation, they both adore art but especially music in particular, they're creative as all get out, they both have amazing talent for signing and playing instruments..." She shrugged. "Things like that."

"New question." Looking away, he chose his next words with care. "Do you remember what conditions dad has?"

At this, she frowned in thought. "Depression, PTSD, insomnia, some anger issues, anxiety... probably some others, but why-"

"There's one other," Sonic cut in. "An important one."

This time, Wave caught on. "You mean his autism?"

He nodded. "Due to that, and how severe it is, he has a very hard time coping with his own emotions a lot of the time. Normally, mom, Locke, and I are around him almost 24/7 and we're able to help him regulate his feelings and his reactions to them. But what happens when, for whatever reason, he gets too upset and can't calm down?"

"A meltdown, usually," she answered quickly. "Complete loss of behavioral control and equally out-of-control emotions, resulting in tantrum-like displays - none of which are _actual_ tantrums - such as lashing out, crying, biting himself, and so on." She hesitated, then added, "In his case, anyway."

Sonic nodded once. "Now think for a second. Really, really think. You said that dad and Jet are a lot alike and even listed some points to prove that. But how _else_ are they alike?"

True to form, Wave caught on with incredible speed. Her eyes widened a degree. "Wait- are you saying-?"

"Yeah." He looked directly at her again. "Like I said, think about it. They both hate being touched. They both avoid eye-contact, don't smile much, and have noticeable struggles with social skills. They each have struggles with their emotions, suffer from serious anxieties and insomnia, and they both are sensitive to certain sensory stimuli. The list goes on." Without really meaning to, he let out a sigh. "What I'm getting at here is that Jet, like dad, is at risk of meltdowns. And before you say anything, I know you haven't ever _seen_ him have one. None of you guys have. That's just because he hasn't had one in _public_ , so to speak, in a really long time."

Too surprised to say much, Wave just asked, "But you've seen?"

"Yeah. You've got to remember, after he got out of Ross's house I was the only one around Jet for a long time. Over the course of all that time, I witnessed and had to try to deal with many meltdowns. I never knew that they _were_ meltdowns or anything like that, obviously, but I learned pretty damn quickly what tended to cause them and how to _properly_ deal with them. Eventually, I learned how to work on preventing them altogether." Sonic closed his eyes. " _Prevention_ is going to be a big thing with him in the coming days."

She watched him intently. "You think he might have a meltdown while we're gone because of all this?"

"Think about it this way," he answered. "You and I can self-regulate our emotions with relative ease and _we're_ stressed to the point that we've wanted to cry or lash out at people or whatever else. Jet, like Dad, has a much harder time regulating his feelings. With that in mind, imagine how high _his_ stress-levels are right now... especially with this news about Lucas weighing down on him now."

Wave's own eyes closed and she ran her hands over her face. After releasing a heavy breath, she asked him, "So what do I do?"

"Aside from the obvious of trying to help keep him from getting _more_ stressed out," Sonic responded, "that can be... complicated." His ears perked right then when footsteps began quietly approaching the room again. "I'll text you the details as soon as I can."

This appeared to be a satisfactory response for now. "Alright." She paused slightly, then made a request. "And if you can... I'd like to see a list of other symptoms and co-existing conditions as well. Whatever you know and can provide."

 _Fair enough._ "I'll send everything I have," he promised.

This seemed to satisfy her, and she stood. "I look forward to it, then." Without another word, she left the room to meet Jet in the hall.

Sighing to himself, Sonic also stood. He teleported away to his own bedroom to sit and think in silence. While Wave and Jet prepared to chase after an emerald, Sonic still had a plan to hatch to end this miserable war...

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,324 words this time. Sorry for the delay, but I sincerely hope you all enjoyed. Also, yes, I did borrow (but change a bit) a couple lines of dialogue from Marvel's _"Avengers: Infinity War"_. Anyway, until next time! Posted (at about 8:06 p.m.) 06-03-18.**


	100. Journey to Eniwer

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this journey... especially for the one who learns a bit more about her own lineage.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yup, yup it will. :P They sure are! And yes... yes, they do. :)**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Journey to Eniwer"**

 **~台風の目~**

"Okay, so talk. How does this work, exactly?"

On this inside, Jet wanted to sigh. He was ready to go, and Wave wanted to delay their departure with questions? ...Though… her curiosity hardly _surprised_ him, all things considered. This was Wave, after all. And to be fair, he'd be just as curious in her position. _Still, this is hardly the time for her to be asking me this._ That was all the more reason to be brief in his delivery of the truth, he supposed. "'It' is known as realm-slippingor realm-shifting," he told her. He paused before continuing. "I don't think there are… _adequate_ words in any mortal language to describe how it works." He didn't mean the word 'mortal' as anything derogatory in that statement, something he hoped she'd understand.

When her temper failed to flare, he knew she had indeed understood. She did frown, though, no doubt displeased with his lack of ability to explain this to her. Ever the inquiring mind, she was. "Fine," she huffed. "Let's just go, then."

He didn't need to be told twice. Gathering up his energies, he shifted them from this realm to the next. It wasn't the one he wanted them to ultimately end up in, nor was it a particularly _pleasant_ one, but there was no danger present. If only for that reason, he headed off the inevitable question he was about to be asked and said, "No, this is not Eniwer." Her mouth, which had opened in preparation to speak, shut. "I cannot shift straight to a realm so distant."

Once more, she caught on with ease. "Meaning we'll have to go from realm to realm until we reach the right one," she summed up for him. He nodded. "Will… that take a long time?"

"Unless we run into trouble," he answered with a shrug, "no." Without giving her a chance to respond, he shifted with her out of this hot and barren realm and into the next one. It was another unsavory place, chock-full of poisonous terrain and vicious flesh-eating plants and some sort of violent looking tribe off to their side… Dawdling here was a bad idea, so he wasted no time in shifting again.

The third realm they entered was much more peaceful. It was all sunshine and fields and flowers and angelic-looking people, but he knew better than to get caught up in it all. _All t_ _his " peace"... it is a facade, an illusion to hide the evil that devours this realm from the inside out._ Resisting the urge to shake his head, he shifted them into the next realm again. Already, though, he was growing a touch concerned. Realm-shifting, at his level at any rate, was hardly a _guaranteed_ way for one to quickly get from one realm to another.

Sure, he could more or less be certain that they were headed in the right direction (that is, toward Eniwer and not some other random realm), but he _couldn't_ be certain that they would get there soon through this method. If he were at a _much_ higher level, he'd be able to shift straight there. However, as he was now, that simply wasn't possible. _If I have to shift too many times, I may not be able to bring us back._ He shifted them again, landing them in another ordinary-looking realm that was most certainly _not_ Eniwer. Gritting his teeth together, he shifted yet again.

Suddenly, he was forced to avert his eyes the moment they arrived, a strong flash of light catching him off guard. The light seared his sensitive eyes, making him wince and reflexively recoil. His eyes had always been sensitive to light,and bright lights such as this never failed to cause his eyes pain. That pain was, in turn, stressful. The longer the light burned, the longer the pain lasted, and the more stressful it became. Because, of course, more stress was _just_ what he needed in his life right now. Obviously.

It wasn't until that painful, burning light died back down that he dared to open his eyes. He could feel Wave watching him the whole time, but ignored her for the moment. A white cat clad in silver armor whose Light (he realized now that it was the actual element of Light and not just normal light) was now contained glanced back at him quietly, frowning softly. "Immortal?" she questioned, seeming perplexed by his sudden appearance.

The question made him frown and, initially, he didn't intend on replying. He started to just leave, but Wave elbowed him. _She chooses now to be concerned about manners?_ Huffing, he returned his attention to the stranger and addressed her with a simple, "Yes," then shot Wave a look as though to ask, _"_ _Happy now?"_ She merely glanced at him.

Appearing amused by the exchange, the cat finally turned fully to the pair of Babylonians. "I know you are aware of the current… situation… May I address one thing before you continue on your way?"

Emerald arms crossed impatiently. "What?" Though that was all he said, inside he had several more questions than that. He wanted to know who this woman was, how she knew of the situation at hand, how _she_ knew that he specifically was an Immortal. Now was merely not the opportune time to ask these things.

The woman, whoever in the hell she was, spoke again. Her gaze was weirdly fixated on him, as though was… peering through his soul or something. God, it was creepy. Though… she herself reminded him far too much of Analia for _her_ to be creepy. Hell, her words were even just as cryptic as Analia's could oftentimes be, though perhaps a touch less-so. "Even if your path grows dark," she murmured, "never fail to see your way through it. Your will… precedes you."

Slowly, Jet's frown deepened. A part of him took the time to wonder what she was on about, but the rest was prepared to largely ignore her. _I don't have time for this,_ he reminded himself. He again prepared to shift realms.

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it, Immortal. Your kind is not above that rule. Please take care in remembering that." The cat turned to leave as well, sheathing her blade and opening a portal with her Light.

This time, Jet didn't bother to reply. He just gathered his energies (with Wave within them) and shifted to the next realm. This time, he found himself having to avoid a small mob of tiny hedgehog children laughing and running from an older green hedgehog. The hedgehog stopped what he was doing. "Birds?"

Jet's eyebrow twitched slightly in vague annoyance. _More people?_ Oh, he was so not in the mood to socialize. And, mentally, he was doing the math, trying to determine the odds of this actually _happening_. Because, really, what _were_ the odds? _More than ninety-seven percent of all realms have no life to speak of and I happen to land us in the middle of two that do._ He scoffed slightly. Figures.

Wave, who had noticed him scoff and was now watching him a bit, was the only one to actually respond to the question they had been asked. "Not in the way you're thinking," she answered briefly.

"They're _Babylonians_ , idiot, a race that you should know because of your grandpa," a black cat grumbled from the side. "Honestly, sorry you guys had to deal with that moron. What are you doing here?" she asked the pair, tilting her head softly.

"Just passing through," Wave responded, keeping vague and to the point. "We're not sticking around." Jet waited with a touch of impatience for her to finish this conversation so that they actually _could_ go. Why she was even talking to these people was beyond him. Though… she _had_ always been a lot more social than him. The vast majority of people were, granted, but still.

The cat sighed a bit at Jet's somewhat obvious impatience. "Look, if it's that important, ignore us and go. I understand. Stay safe, and happy travels."

Suppressing the urge to huff, Jet took her up on the offer, gathered up his energies, and left with Wave in tow. He had to resist a sigh when, in the next realm, they were met with yet another person. Now properly irritated, his gritted his teeth again. But, before he could even (mentally) voice his frustrations, a woman spoke to him. "Jet… I presume?"

This question earned a slightly deeper frown than normal. Pure blue eyes glanced over this stranger, taking everything in as he stiffly answered, "Why?"

She yawned, rubbing at an eye with one of her hands. "I'm curious as to where you're going. It's not often that you're found anywhere outside of your realm, let alone so suddenly." This comment didn't have much of an effect on Jet, as he knew that people like this tended to keep a fairly close eye on the Immortals and their whereabouts. The lynx looked at him. "Or with friends," she suddenly added.

He crossed his arms upon hearing that last part. _She implies…_ He allowed the thought to drift away well before it finished. "I'm traveling," he answered tersely. "Nothing more."

"It's not a full lie, but you're definitely not telling me everything. You're heading someplace important, for… some sort of relic?" the lynx prodded softly. "That much is correct, I believe."

"It is a relic," Wave agreed cautiously, "but it's hardly some fragile artifact or anything like that." To be safe, she explained nothing more. Jet remained silent.

She sighed gently, shaking her head. "I know more than you think. If you're so suddenly travelling and being secretive, there aren't many possibilities." The lynx frowned at them, but not in any negative way.

"Why do you even care?" Wave dared to question, eyes wary.

"Why?" the woman repeated. "I care because I am concerned over the wellbeing of a friend, a protector, and maybe an eventual heir to my position." The woman paused, seeming contemplative, then said something that threw the pair of former friends for a loop. "If Locke is well after this is all said and done, ask him about a woman named Sona. That should yield an interesting story or two."

For once, Jet was surprised enough that he gave vent to his curiosity openly and without hesitation. "You know Locke?"

The lynx smiled softly. "Yes. We don't speak often, but we're more… similar than you may imagine. You could say we are related by position, and nothing more." The Babylonians, without thinking, traded vaguely puzzled looks. Then Jet remembered himself and hid his reactions under his mask again. A small, almost amused sigh escaped the lynx. "I am Sona. In essence, I embody the stars." Sona looked at Jet expectantly, waiting for him.

Something in Jet's head clicked, confirming to him what he had already suspected somewhere deep down when he'd first laid eyes on her and felt her energies. _...So that's it, then…_ His eyes scanned her again. _...Hnn._ Wave gave him a questioning look, no doubt seeing that he understood something she did not. However, he didn't take the time to share it right now. In fact, he was ready to leave.

"Ever the same, sometimes for the best." Sona murmured gently, lifting her hand and creating a portal behind her. " If the emerald is what you seek, I know your destination. You must remember to remain wary in your travels, for many realms are fraught with dangers you know _nothing_ about." She took a half-step toward the portal. "I will return to my residence for now and rest. If you need my aid in the upcoming fight, you should have the sufficient knowledge to contact me." She laughed softly. "If not, then my services are still available any time in the future… after you have learned."

Jet hesitated as he watched her start to leave, then stifled a sigh and called out, "...Wait." Wave glanced at him in mild surprise.

Sona raised an eyebrow, casting her gaze back with a small smile still planted firmly on her face. "Yes?"

He had to stifle another sigh, but soon Jet spoke. "You said you know Locke through your… _position_ , but you implied that you know him other than that." He didn't directly state a question, but what he wanted to know was obvious.

"I have spoken to him as friends, particularly during times of peace. In my opinion, it's important to know your comrades more than they know about you," she answered, blinking softly as her body shone with a gentle light.

Jet turned away, now ready to leave. Seeing that he wasn't about to speak again, Wave murmured a small, "Farewell, I guess," to Sona.

Sona laughed, waving them off. "Get moving so I can sleep, you two," she joked softly, heading through her portal quietly.

Without further ado, Jet shifted with Wave to the next realm. They shifted twice more, and after that, he knew he couldn't keep it up. _I won't be able to take us home if I do this anymore._ He glanced around this dark and dreary realm, looking for an opening in the scraggly tree branches above them. The trees themselves were impossibly large and tall, each as wide as a hill and as tall mountains. It was insane how many branches there were, even way down here. Still, he could just make out some dark but open skies up above. It would have to do. If he was going to open a portal, he would need that open space, so as to ensure that nothing unwanted left this place with them. _The long way it is, then._

Wave noticed that he wasn't shifting them again and asked, "What are you doing?" Since she knew that many abilities (especially newly acquired ones) could cause fatigue or even when used too much, her next question was no surprise. "Are you getting tired?"

He chose not to answer that. Not directly. "We'll take another path. It's longer and more dangerous, but-"

"But it'll spare your energy," Wave deduced. Eventually, he nodded. "So, how do we get to this 'other path'?"

Choosing not to speak, he gestured for her to follow and leapt onto the nearest branch. There was no room to fly, and he like anyone other non-high-level-Immortal person could hardly teleport to someplace he'd never _been_ to before (namely, the tops of these trees in this nameless realm), so they would have to climb. Wave seemed to realize all of this and made a jump for the branch as well. She lacked the training he had had over the last century (a fact he intended to later remedy) and, as such, she failed to make it high enough. This was something he'd anticipated, and he snatched her arm in his hand before she could fall more than a few centimeters. Then, he hauled her up to stand beside him.

And so it went, on and on for nearly an hour. They jumped and climbed and, when the space allowed, even flew until they finally came close enough to the top of the canopy that a portal could safely be made above them. He did just that, creating as clear a portal as he knew how to (he had next to no experience doing so yet) and preparing to go through it. Wave, however, stopped him before he could jump. "Jet, you never did explain what this 'path' is," she reminded him.

Trying to explain this would prove complicated if he tried to get technical, so Jet opted to keep it simple instead. "Think of it as a bridge," he answered her. He knew that more would be required than that, so he continued and further explained, "Instead of wood or stone or anything else physical, however, it is instead comprised entirely of energies leftover from the birth of existence. It connects a _vast_ number of realms, sometimes even going through them."

She took a fair bit of time to contemplate this, which he allowed her if only because it was likely a bit difficult to take in so soon. "And… Eniwer is connect to this… bridge?" she eventually asked.

"Yes," he confirmed. "It will take time to get to it, but that realm is connected."

This seemed to more-or-less satisfy her. "Okay."

Gently, Jet took Wave by the hand and pulled her through the portal. He released her as soon as they landed and closed the portal. _This will be more time consuming than I had hoped,_ he reflected, gazing out over the scenery before them.

Wave gingerly tested the solidity of the path upon which they now stood, aura full of wonder and awe. "It's like… walking on a river of starlight," she whispered.

Indeed, he had to concede that that was the impression he had always had of this place as well. The path certainly _looked_ like a sort of slow-churning river, in a way. "It is energy," he confirmed softly, "but not starlight."

"What is it, then?" Wave asked him.

"To put it most simply, it is existential energy," Jet answered. "Though… that isn't the most accurate explanation."

She pressed on. "So what is?"

Jet hesitated. "...I don't… know how to explain," he admitted, though doing so was… difficult.

"You mean you don't know how to explain it in _mortal_ terms?" Once again, her deduction was correct. It was a bit surprising - until he realized it really wasn't, not at all.

"...Yes," he eventually answered.

He half-expected some sort of argument or something of the sort, but no. She accepted this immediately and completely. "Okay."

For now, Jet opted to drop the subject. "Come," he murmured with a gesture for her to follow. He began walking without waiting to see if she would actually follow or not.

Of course, she did, and she talked more in the process. "Hey, listen, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about." He glanced at her. "It feels like ages ago now that this happened, but it's been on my mind lately. Back in the Badlands during that fight… you let me borrow your aura gun."

That earned a blink. "Yes," he acknowledged.

She gave him a hard look. "You and Tammy both have said that only those with aura powers can use those guns."

Though normally loathe to repeat himself, Jet did so here. "Yes."

Now Wave's expression turned at once hopeful, wary, and confused. "You… think I might have those?"

"There is no ' _might_ '," Jet corrected. They approached and began to round a slow, wide bend in the path. "You do have latent aura abilities. They merely seem to be dormant."

"...Dormant powers are notoriously difficult to awaken," Wave eventually responded, "especially because no one ever knows what may trigger an individual power within an individual person to activate."

"The typical causes are powerful emotions, trauma, near-death, or intense study and or meditation and the like," Jet told her. "Though, the latter typically only works on dormant magic as opposed to anything else."

Wave nodded. "Because in that situation, you can usually just learn a spell, attempt to use it, and _bam_. If you've got dormant magic, then there you go." There was a slight lull in the conversation at that point, but it was short-lived. "What does aura energy typically respond to?"

At this, Jet's shoulders lifted in a shrug. "Nothing in particular… yet, in a way, everything."

"What?" Wave frowned, perplexed.

Jet considered how to answer, then opted for the factual route. "You're heard of so called 'cosmic energy' and the like from movies and such, correct?"

"Can't say I know many people who haven't," was the brief answer.

"It mostly appears in Sci-Fi works, but it is rather grounded in fact. That is, there _is_ a specific energy that makes up existence."

"...You mean aura energy?"

"Yes." Without warning her, Jet lightly nudged Wave away from the edge of the path. "Mind your footing. If you fall, you will vanish from existence."

The idea made Wave want to shiver, according to what he could read in her own aura, but she refrained. She also stayed on subject. "You're not kidding, are you," she murmured as though it was a statement.

"No. The first of the Immortals, known in most languages as the Faein, were themselves comprised utterly of it. So, too, was all of the vast and empty existence around them." Since he could fly and save himself should he fall, Jet took a second to put himself between Wave and the edge of the path they were walking nearest to. Then he continued, "Using that very same energy, they created our race and three others, the first of the mortals. They used it to form worlds, weapons such as my sword, Astral Babylon and the Sphere contained within it, and more. It is the very energy of Creation itself, hence my earlier statement."

"I don't… understand," Wave admitted slowly. "If that's the case, then… how do our people have it? How do people like _me_ have it? I'm no Immortal."

Jet spared Wave another brief glance. "The Faein also used their abilities to grant gifts," he explained to her. "One gift for each race, as well as for certain individuals outside of our realm. For example, they gave the da Asani race the gift to craft Planet Eggs and to then use those Eggs to bestow upon any world the gift of Life itself. Worlds such as Mobius, as you may recall." Wave nodded slowly, no doubt remembering the mess with the Metarex so long ago. "Our race was gifted with the ability to use aura, the very essence of existence itself, albeit in a far milder form than the Faein utilized."

Things grew quiet for a time. Eventually, dismayed, Wave shook her head, "How can I even learn to use these powers, Jet? I don't-"

"You will be trained," he interrupted firmly.

"But I don't know anyone who-" she tried to protest.

"You do," he cut in again, raising an eyebrow at her.

Her quick mind caught up with her and her eyes widened a small degree. "You mean… _you_ will…?"

He looked ahead again and nodded. "Yes."

Wave took in a breath. "When?"

"As soon as we have time," Jet answered.

"That may not be until the war is over," she frowned.

"Then so be it," was the reply. "You will live _more_ than long enough to see that day."

Something in his tone must have tipped her off and made her realize that he was referring to more than just her ability to survive. "...What are you talking about?" she dared to eventually ask.

He took a second to consider his response. "Your father… he is from The Lost Hex realm, is he not?"

"Yeah," she answered slowly. "But, I mean, I only learned that somewhat recently."

"And your mother, she is Babylonian?"

"Yes."

"Then that would make _you_ half-Hexan. Hexans are among the absolute longest-lived mortals in existence, due in large part to the intense magic that courses through them. You will outlive even Babylonians and hedgehogs like Sonic by many, _many_ eons." He paused for a second, then added, "And, yes, this does mean you possess latent magical abilities as well."

In the wake of this reveal, Wave was so silent that it started to seem as though she wouldn't reply at all. Eventually, however, she burst out with the most unexpected reply of this whole conversation thus far. "Is _that_ why Dad still looks like he's the same age as he was in his and mom's only wedding photo?"

"Because he likely is," Jet told her patiently, not at all bothered by her random question. He did, after all, have four kids. One always had to be prepared to _not_ be prepared when dealing with kids, and the rest of life was no different. "Hexans _age_ very slowly as well. …Though, once Sonic's Chaos ceases to affect everyone's aging any longer, you may continue to age at the normal rate for a Babylonian until your latent magic is, in a sense, unlocked."

Now Wave's eyes were wide. "But, Jet, he was _sixteen_ then. They both were. And it's been a very long time since then."

"Immensely slow aging," Jet reminded her gently. _If he is at least sixteen, though… he would have lived through the first Nocturne War roughly twenty-five to twenty-seven million years ago. He may have even witnessed it, if he was in the proper realm at the time._

Something about his demeanor apparently clued her in to the fact that he'd just had a potentially important thought. "What?"

It didn't take a genius to determine that letting her in on his thoughts could potentially yield some useful information on the subject. "Given the slow aging of his kind and how long they live, your father would have been alive during the first Nocturne War. The one that resulted in them being sealed millions of years ago." He picked up the pace a bit when a portal came into view, one that the path they were on went straight into. "Depending on when he left his home realm and entered ours... and depending in particular on when he reached Planet Babylon or Mobius, whichever he reached first… he may have even witnessed the entire thing."

Slowly, oh-so-slowly, Wave began to frown. "He's… never mentioned anything to me."

So she didn't know anything, then. Ah, well. It had been worth the try. "Hexans are notoriously secretive," Jet murmured. "It is not surprising that he has said nothing on the subject."

"Do you really believe that he's lived that long?" Wave asked him without pause. "I mean… just, are you certain?"

"I am," Jet assured her quietly. At that point, he fell silent and so did she. They were just about to the portal now. For better or for worse, the next leg of their journey was about to begin. He could only hope that there wouldn't be any fatal or otherwise… _unpleasant_ consequences to that.

They stepped into a realm of searing heat and writhing flames. Nauseating panic rose up in him, but the urge to retreat was utterly bested by his sudden inability to move at all. Wave obviously took notice of this and of the fact that they were floating (there was no ground here), but the former issue was what seemed to concern her most. Hesitantly, she called out his name. "Jet?"

That startled Jet, in a way, but that feeling helped to snap him out of his brief state of numbness. Taking in a breath, he closed his eyes and used his senses to locate the portal leading back out of this realm. Despite technically still being on the path set by the bridge, the bridge itself was not visible. It never was within realms and, in fact, it wasn't even _in_ any of the realms. Not physically, anyway. But he could feel it. He could feel where it snaked through this hellish place and where it exited back out into the space _between_ realms. He opened his eyes again once he knew where to go. Not at all eager to touch or be touched, especially not _now_ or _here_ , he simply used his aura to gently lift Wave up and carry with him as he began flying toward the distant exit.

It was everything Jet could do to stay calm right now. Encased in his aura as she was, Wave _had_ to be aware of that. But, instead of saying anything about that, she chose to ask him yet another completely random question. _Why_ , he couldn't immediately fathom. "Jet, how do you control _your_ powers?"

Moments passed before he was able to find his voice and reply. His emotions were threatening to mute him entirely. "...What?" he eventually asked, casting her an almost wary glance. Memories surged in his mind of a far darker period in his life, each threatening to drown him and make him suffer anew. Focusing on her voice was possible the only thing keeping him from succumbing to them, and to his raging emotions.

Her tone was light. Casual. Strangely calm, despite the impossible massive and powerful flames they were currently flying amidst and dodging between. This was _beyond_ dangerous, and yet she was calm. He didn't, couldn't, understand how she was so unaffected by their environment and the horrors found within it. ...But, then, he supposed that she hadn't seen what he had seen. She didn't know fire like _he_ knew it. And maybe that was for the best. "Your powers," she said again. "How do you control them?"

More time passed, but finally he questioned, "Why?"

"I'm curious," was the reply.

He suspected there was more to this than that but, for now… well, the distraction was welcome. Even if it meant more talking. God, he was doing a lot of that today… At least it was proving to be a useful passtime for once, though. "...Which ones?" he heard himself mumble, fighting not to shiver when a flame flickered within kicking distance of his person.

"All of them, really," Wave answered. "Do your emotions affect your ability to use any of them?"

"Yes." Silence reigned for a moment or longer, but eventually Jet managed to find the willpower to further explain. It was hard not to just let his emotions render him mute right now. "Anger fuels and ultimately strengthens a number of abilities," he said slowly, "such as most aspects of my storm powers." Taking in a shaky breath (he hoped she somehow didn't see it) before continuing. "Any sort of emotional upset may very well stir up winds unless I actively control them. Sadness, for whatever reason, strengthens my water powers. It goes on."

Wave's aura grew thoughtful. It seemed his shakiness had escaped her notice. Good. "I forgot you discovered new powers while you were gone," she murmured. "Water is just one of the new ones, huh?" Jet nodded. "And your existing powers grew exponentially." Another nod, this one more vague. "You know, your existing abilities always made me curious, but in particular it was your lightning that I've always wondered about." She turned her head to look at him. "How do you control that one?"

Explaining things was something Jet had never been especially great with. In fact, he outright struggled with it to this day. But, even so, he opted to try this time - if only because he did still need to be distracted. They weren't out of here yet, after all, and the longer they were here the more vivid his carefully suppressed memories started to become. Oh, this was the _last_ thing he needed to deal with in the middle of a war. "Lightning requires that the user be cold, deadly, and precise," he told her in as even a voice as he could manage. "There is no room for compassion or error, not when you are actively trying to utilize the power. Error on the user's part will often cause the lightning to fail to do adequate damage, fail to hit the target, and so on."

"And letting yourself be emotional while using it will mess it up, to put it simply?" Wave queried.

He nodded. "Yes."

"So, in a way… I supposed that it could be argued that your lack of emotional response to most things these days is a sort of tactical advantage." She looked away, suddenly falling silent and drifting into her thoughts.

Suddenly, he was okay with the silence.

They eventually exited the realm and were back on the bridge. Walking earlier had been rest enough for him to feel up to flying for a time, so he continued to fly them across the bridge. They left that fiery realm far, _far_ behind, traveling in silence through realm after realm on their way to Eniwer. First of the realms they entered after leaving the fire realm behind was what was known by those of their home realm as the "Mirror Dimension". Here, everything that was true in their realm (save for things that could never change, such as how many Immortals there were) was opposite. This included the genders of people, the colors of items such as Sonic's emeralds, and so on. However, all they witnessed of this realm was some of its version of outer space and then they left this realm behind as well.

Next was the "Sol Dimension", the realm that served as the origin for special fires such as the kind that Blaze utilized. Beautiful though some could argue it to be, it was left behind quickly. "White Space", a realm of blank white nothingness, was passed through next, closely followed by a nameless realm of dashed hopes and broken dreams. The latter location was dreary and disheartening, so it was almost a relief for both him and Wave when they entered the next realm: "The Realm of Skies". It was a realm of seemingly endless skies and equally bountiful hopes.

And, somehow, within this realm and with such an old friend by his side… he managed to fully put his experience in that first fiery realm behind him. Leaving that realm was a disappointment of its own sort, but the realm they entered after that was a beauty as well. The "Lunar Dimension" was the supposed birthplace of moons and their energies. It was suffused in, of course, moonlight. Everything was soft and peaceful here… but the next realm was anything _but_.

"Collision Chaos" was a realm of endless collisions between planets and the like, a realm of nonstop and violent collision. Supposedly, it reflected the very births of many universes themselves. He found it all fascinating, truly, but this was a _vastly_ dangerous place for mortals and inexperience Immortals (namely, him) alike. As such, he hastened through the realm with Wave in tow and got them both out of it as soon as possible.

They found themselves back on the bridge (which, he reflected, had its own name of "The Dimensional Bridge"). For now, Jet had to set Wave down, so he did. As he landed beside her, Wave eyed the portal a ways ahead of them. "What realm is that one?" she asked him softly.

"It's known as the 'Warp of Confusion'," Jet shrugged, already walking. He headed off the inevitable next question with, "I know little about it."

Wave pressed for more information regardless. "What _do_ you know?"

Another shrug. "That virtually everything to be found within the realm is illogical. I know little else." _And that one fact alone makes the prospect of seeing this place… an irritating thought._ He couldn't help it - he was a person who adored logic and structure and order and, to a point, rules (at least as they pertained to physics and the like). To think that this realm cast all of that aside and did whatever it damn-well pleased… Well, that wasn't _entirely_ accurate, he knew. Some things would remain logical there. Familiar. Comforting in their own way. For example, there would always be four Immortals. If the Chaos Emeralds existed there, there would always be seven of them. If Sonic existed, his parents would always be Kaden and Analia (and with this, similar logic applied to anyone in existence). If he existed in that realm, he would still be heir to the Babylonian throne. If Wave existed there, she would still be half-Hexan and half-Babylonian. The list did go on to a considerable length, and he found that… comforting.

That was odd. He hadn't really felt much _comfort_ over anything in a long time. He'd liked to have convinced himself that he hadn't needed to, but regardless he hadn't felt it all the same. Not since leaving his old life and friends behind to fight in a war that had stripped him of so much. In a way, he felt like he had lost so much more than just what the war had _directly_ taken from him, such as countless allies and whatnot. The sheer distance that war had put between him and Mobius had… possibly… taken from him all of his old friends, too.

Hadn't it?

Part of him wasn't so convinced.

Mostly, people treated him the same as they had before. Knuckles was a staunch and blunt ally, a person Jet knew always had his back when he needed support. Tails had been as bright and friendly of a person toward him as he'd ever been. Silver still smiled and called him "Uncle Jet". He and Shadow still didn't get along especially well when they didn't strictly _have_ to, and even then they tended to argue. Cream still talked to him as much as she ever had, coming to him for comfort and bedtime stories and the like whenever her mother was for for any reason not around - just as she had always done. The only interactions that seemed to have changed were between him and Wave… and him and Sonic.

Now, with Wave, he knew why things were the way they were. The two of them had dated. They had been as in love as two teenagers could be (which, yes, at age seventeen they were both still considered teenagers and he in particular always would be since he no longer aged). But then they had began bickering, and then outright fighting. All. The damn. Time. And that has escalated into the worst falling-out he'd ever had with any friend, ever.

It had all been behind closed doors, meaning there was no gossip and no one else knew any details, but he remembered. She remembered. More importantly, _they_ remembered. Equally. Without any errors. There were no false beliefs between them about what had happened, but neither was there any specific bad blood any more. Things were just… numb. At times, they were even awkward in a weird way. But, mostly, they were numb. Devoid of any feeling at all. And, honestly, he wasn't sure that that wasn't somehow worse in its own way.

But then there was Sonic. He knew things were tense between him and the hedgehog. He knew he was partially (probably even largely) to blame for that, what with his standoffishness and his reluctance and inability to speak about much of what Sonic wanted to hear from him. Some of the tension, he knew, also came Ythene and what she was beginning to do for Sonic's own (eventual) good.

It was just… Sonic had started to become angry since Ythene's plans had started being carried out. He had anticipated that much. Sonic did, after all, have a lot to be angry about. Jet had left. He hadn't said goodbye. He'd failed to make contact for a hundred years (despite trying numerous times, granted, but even so). He had made Sonic and everyone else worry. He had changed by the time he'd come back, and probably not in very good ways. He had a hard time seeing eye-to-eye with Sonic on some things that mattered, such whether or not Sonic should be trusting that Astra woman. He struggled to talk to Sonic about much of _anything_. He acted - and _felt_ \- cold, and he knew it. The problem was, though, that he just didn't know anymore how to fix any of it.

He just knew that he wanted to.

Maybe, in the beginning, he hadn't wanted to care. He could admit to having been afraid of it. Caring came with the risk of repercussions and pain, and he'd suffered enough _pain_ for one millenia. But, since returning and being with everyone here again… he was starting to find it in himself to be brave enough to take that risk once more. He wanted his friends back. All of them, Wave and Sonic included. He just… needed time. And maybe some help. But at least now he was willing.

Perhaps that was why Jet opted to walk with Wave toward the portal instead of striding ahead of her as he might have otherwise done. She took note of it, too, he could tell. And she had smiled. Which was… nice. _What an odd thing to be pondering,_ he mused, though he couldn't bring himself to be upset about it. Her smile had always evoked pleasant memories. Today, he chose to accept them rather than pushing them away.

"Beyond this realm," Wave piped up, "how much farther until we reach Eniwer?"

"In theory, it's just beyond this," Jet answered her as they passed through the portal. Everything they found was immediately as chaotic and illogical was he had been expecting, if not more so, and that severely grated upon his patience. He valued logic more than most things, so this place… was vexing. Colors were opposite, commonly accepted laws of physics were ignored, life was bizarre… but at least his ongoing conversation with Wave served as a good distraction. And, even better, the portal out of this realm was blissfully close by.

"'In theory'?" Wave echoed, unknowingly breaking his train of thought.

He nodded. "The man who… ' _manages_ ' the realm - and I use that term _very_ loosely - moves said real from time to time. Though, I doubt he would have done so anytime recently."

"How can you be sure?" she frowned. Already, they were at the other portal. Passing through took no time at all, and almost as soon as they emerged he began flying them toward the final portal on their journey: the portal to Eniwer.

"He's had no cause to," Jet answered truthfully. "No one's attacked it, no one's attempted to steal from it, nothing." He picked up the pace, carrying them both toward the portal at fairly high speeds. "As such, why bother moving?"

Silence. More silence. Then Wave suddenly smiled. "You know… I think that's the most casually I've heard you speak since you returned to us." She made a show of looking him over with her eyes. "You're not damaged or something, are you?"

Uncertain how else to reply but realizing that he did feel a touch lighthearted all of a sudden, Jet found himself saying something he hadn't said to her since they had been dating all those years ago. "Bite me."

In light of his joking remark, Wave stared at him for a second… and then laughed. "Don't tempt me!" she retorted.

"Brat."

"Jerk!"

And with that, they slipped through the portal and into a new reality.

 **~台風の目~**

 **7,264 words this time. My _god_ am I sorry for the delay, guys. Hope the length of this makes up for that at least somewhat. Posted (at about 8:40 p.m.) 07-04-18.**


	101. Call to Action

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this meeting... especially for the ones with all the ideas.

 **~台風の目~**

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 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yes, agreed... :( Yes, yay! ...And then I got stuck... ^-^"**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Call to Action"**

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic sat with his head in his hands besides Locke's bed. A deep frown marred his face and his eyes were closed. Thoughts raced frantically through his mind, some carrying the tentative threads of a plan but none ever sticking as he would have liked them to. He didn't know how long he had been here at this point, alone under the dimmed lights while most everyone else tried to get as much rest as they possibly could. He didn't know how long it had been since he had last spoken to anyone today or how long it had been since he himself had eaten or slept or… anything, really. All he knew was that there was a lot that needed doing. Keeping tracking of it all, though, was quite the struggle.

Taking in a breath, he tried once more to organize some of his thoughts. _Right… To-do list. Let's see…_ One of his arms dropped to rest across his knee while the opposite rubbed at his face. _I've got to get in contact with Mom and the others again and make sure they get back here as soon as possible. I should check on Espio again soon, too…_ He opened his eyes and looked up at the echidna in the bed before. _You're stable at least, but… I wish you were well enough to talk to me. I could use your advice right now, Locke. Tails's, too…_

Heart heavy, Sonic stood and quietly left the ship's medical ward to walk the halls instead. He kept quiet, not wanting to disturb anyone, on his way toward the ship's main entrance/exit. _What else… ...I told Astra that everyone's powers and abilities will need to be assessed and utilized in order to make and then carry out a final plan of action, which is true… but I'll need some help with that. Only Astra knows what she's capable of, for one thing, and Jet knows better than any of us what he and his Babylonian allies are capable of… so cooperation will be required for that. I can still take note of the things I do know, though, I suppose…_

 _We'll need to take stock of our supplies, too, come to think of it. I know we have those items I brought here from Tails's lab a while back, so those'll come in handy, but we'll also need to make sure that everyone's weapons are accounted for and ready to use… and any extras, if we have any, will need to be taken into account as well. And we'll need all of our ships to be in full working order if possible…_

 _Shit, I forgot…_ Stepping outside, Sonic turned to look in the direction of the ships his allies had resting here in this "observatory" as the Babylonians insisted on calling it. The X-Tornado, of course… was not among them. It couldn't be. It was gone, as was its pilot. He had managed to put that detail out of mind in favor of grieving over Tails specifically, but now he was forced to acknowledge the fact that they were down an entire vessel. And arguably their most versatile and powerful one, too. _Still… we have the one that Wave's parents let her borrow, and Jet supposedly has his own ship as well… so maybe we'll still be okay in that department._

Sonic turned away from the ships and resumed walking. _Numbers… Numbers are something we have to worry about still, isn't it?_ Biting his lower lip, he started making his way back to the medical ward that housed Espio. _We certainly aren't anywhere near as outmatched as before now that Jet's gotten his own armies involved, but I keep hearing rumors that Nocturnians are pulling their own kind into this timeline from others. If that's true, then… just how screwed are we?_

Only with great effort did he manage to banish that last thought. _No… No, thinking like that right now isn't going to help anyone. I can't look at this from a fatalist perspective. I just need to be…_ His thought trailed off and he searched for the proper word. Was it optimistic? Pessimistic? Idealistic? _No… Realistic,_ he decided. _I need to stay realistic no matter how grim reality might be right now… without getting pessimistic as a result._ He scoffed at himself. _Yeah, right._

Glancing down at his communicator, Sonic typed out a message and sent it out. He wasn't even sure if the recipient would receive it anytime soon, but nevertheless it needed to be sent.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Jet, whatever resources you can spare, send them this way as soon as you're done in Eniwer. Ships, weapons, medical supplies, anything. We'll need them. The Nocturnians may not be ready for a final showdown just yet, but I'm going to force one. This has gone on long enough._

Predictably, no reply came. He wasn't expecting one right now, anyway. Jet had gone into another realm, after all. There was little chance that his communicator would even pick up the message until he returned to this realm. _Upgraded with Babylonian tech or not, it's still technology and technology has limits. His communicator isn't some sort of cosmic exception to the rules. ...Probably._ He turned off his screen and refocused on walking and trying to decide what else needed doing. Right, we… we still have to track down our missing allies and get them here if at all possible. _I think the only ones still missing are Silver and Vector…_

His heart clenched a little with fear that he quickly strove to banish. Silver was a smart and capable fighter, he had to remind himself, and Vector was strong and had a good head on his shoulders. They were fine. He knew they were. They _had_ to be. And yet, he could shake that tiny nagging doubt that maybe they _weren't_. After all, Tails had been strong and intelligent, too, and he… he was dead. Kath had been among the most wise and powerful people that Sonic had ever encountered and _he_ was dead, along with his similarly gifted wolf companion. _Innocent_ people were dead, too. Untold numbers of them, in fact, including but _far_ from limited to Bokkun and Kanari. And then there was Vanilla. Poor, sweet Vanilla, destined to die slowly of illness borne from despicable magics…

 _How many others are we going to lose?_

Swallowing hard, Sonic turned to lean against a random wall. His body was suddenly weak with emotion, with fury and grief and hopelessness and fear… and that was when the tears started. He felt them prick at his eyes, but by the time he went to wipe them away it was already too late. Helpless to stop the flow, he succumbed to it instead and slid down against the wall until he was sitting on the cold metal floor. Bracing his elbows on his knees, he again put his head into his hands and closed his eyes, this time in an effort not to think - but to get ahold of himself.

As his emotions tried to work their way through him, he experienced another surge of borderline agonizing anger. Though by now this had happened several times before, the surge still failed to make any sort of sense to him. He couldn't pinpoint where the anger was coming from or even what was causing him to feel so angry. The feeling was just _there_ , coiling around his heart like some sort of a deadly serpent that just couldn't wait to make a meal of him. And the fact that he couldn't seem to get ahold of this anger and control it was… disconcerting to say the least. All-too-quickly, the anger built and grew as once more his mind raced. Thoughts whirled around like a vortex, none necessarily deeply related to one another and yet all further fueling his sudden rage.

Nocturnians killing innocent people.

Locke and Espio nearly dying.

The kids being abducted.

Everyone being afraid.

His emeralds being stolen yet again.

Kath being dead, having been _murdered_ just like Bokkun and Kanari and everyone else.

Blaze, his father, Jet, and himself, being subjected to horrific nightmares when they slept.

Jet and him fighting.

Jet refusing to trust his judgement on Astra.

Jet being so distant and uncommunicative and distrustful of everyone.

Jet _insisting_ that they had to retrieve the Master Emerald from its hiding place, thus prompting Tails to insist on coming along and resulting in the fox's death...

With a sudden small burst, black energy erupted out from Sonic in a small-ish sphere, sufficiently startling him out of his thoughts. He leapt to his feet purely on reflex, moving in just the right way at just the right instant to see his fur slowly fade from blackish-blue to straight blue again. Alarmed, he stared at the now damaged floor and walls, his other emotions and thoughts temporarily forgotten. Glancing over the space he had just been occupying, he even caught sight of a small and dying red fire filling a crack in the ground. He had called forth the Wrathfire again and tapped into his Darkness all in one go and, honestly… he wasn't even sure what to think about it right now.

A familiar cat poked her head around a corner with wide eyes, blinking a few times as if to determine what had just happened. "Hey… uh, Sonic… Is this a bad time…?" Astra asked slowly, rubbing her shoulder in an uncomfortable manner.

Fighting to reign in his anger and get some _goddamn_ control of himself, Sonic took in a breath before releasing it and answering, "...No. You're fine."

"You kinda just… ruined that part of the hallway…" she pointed out slowly, motioning vaguely in his direction. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Sonic told her. There was an edge to his tone initially, but once he took in another deep breath he was able to banish that. At least, for now. "I just… lost my cool, I guess. That's all."

At his initial tone, Astra cowered back nervously a few inches before managing to relax herself. "And the black fur…?"

This time, Sonic sighed. "A trademark, you could say, of a power from my bloodline," was the vague remark. "I don't use it intentionally for… obvious reasons." He gestured very vaguely to the damage before him.

"O-oh…" She took a breath. "If you want… we can try and talk for a few minutes. I can give you a small list of what I can do so you know before we all meet together."

"We'd talked about that before, anyway," Sonic acknowledged, crossing his arms.

Astra nodded softly, glancing at the damage. "You've calmed down, right?" she asked, if only for the assurance of her own safety.

Emerald eyes glanced away, no longer willing to acknowledge said damage. "Yes," he answered tersely. He certainly had calmed down compared to before, and he doubted he was at risk of losing it again right now, but… inwardly, he had to acknowledge that the anger was still _there_. It… _disturbed_ him for some reason.

"Alright," she replied with a sigh of relief. "Where do you want to go? I imagine this isn't the best spot for you to be hanging around right now," Astra pointed out, noting how his tone had shifted once more.

"Let's just go back to the ship," Sonic told her with another sort of sigh in his voice. "It's quieter there, at least." The cat gave a nod of approval and motioned for him to lead the way. He did that without another word for the time being, leading her back to the Typhoon. They made it there before long, of course, as he hadn't walked that far away before his little… _episode_ a couple of minutes ago. Once back in the ship, he led the way to a sitting room and claimed a chair for himself. Only once she was also seated did he speak again. "So, talk. What all are you willing to share about your abilities?"

Astra frowned in thought as she pondered where to begin. "A couple of your allies know of my… thread ability, creating threads and using them however I can think to. I can teleport, and decent distances at that. I can also fly, but you knew that one…" The cat's frown didn't fade. Her eyes wandered as she tried to remember something she was missing. Suddenly, her eyes brightened and she stood, transforming herself into a rather large white wolf with black, crystal-like markings on her back and head.

Being that he had zero experience with shape-shifters (despite knowing, however vaguely, that they existed) Sonic sat stunned for a long moment before asking, "You can do this at will? Whenever you want?"

She nodded slowly in response before shifting back, fixing her cloak. "I can do it a few times before it gets tiring. Other than that, I'm decent with a sword and a bow. Not skilled enough to say I'm a swordswoman," Astra explained, summoning her blade so Sonic could see.

From where he sat, Sonic examined her gear with a critical eye before nodding. "It's a whole hell of a lot better than what most people can do, Astra. I'll work your abilities into the eventual plan as best as I'm able to, but I may be forced to leave the bulk of the planning to Jet. ...He's that hawk, by the way. I know he doesn't trust you, but he won't do anything to put you in undue danger or anything. He's not like that."

"Why doesn't he trust me…?" she asked softly after a moment, setting her sword down and sitting once more. Her sorrowful eyes looked into his.

He sighed a little from between now slightly clenched teeth. _Hell if I know._ "Whatever his reasons are," he responded carefully, "he hasn't told me. So I don't know."

Definitely a bit torn over this news, Astra gulped softly. "If you can, talk to him. Don't argue over it, but I just want to know if it's something I did…" she murmured lowly, gaze falling to her feet.

"Doubtful, but I'll see what I can get out of him next time I see him," Sonic agreed. Then, he suddenly remembered another promise he had made to Wave earlier and began tapping away at his communicator again. "Listen, I don't know when yet and I don't know where it'll happen, but essentially we're gearing up for a final showdown here. I don't want this war to drag out any longer if I can help it. Whatever you need to do to ready yourself for that, now's the time. Understood?"

"Understood," Astra nodded, standing up once more and wiping at her face with a sleeve. "One more thing and I'll leave you alone, okay?"

Sonic looked up at her. "What?"

Astra glanced away. "I get what you're thinking with this whole war, Sonic. I respect you and all for it, but be ready for loss. This final fight you're gearing up for is no doubt gonna be costly with any choice you make. Don't dwell on the past, though you know that already…" she vaguely stated, heading for the hallway.

The metaphorical snake around his heart coiled tighter, but Sonic just nodded. "Yeah. I get it." He looked away. "But none of us can ever really be prepared."

"Then be ready, Sonic. Hell is coming directly to our front door," Astra said as she exited the room, summoning her previously discarded sword to her.

"Hell?" Sonic echoed to himself under his breath. "No… we've seen _Hell_ before. This… this is worse than even that." Shaking his head, he stood up and, after sending a veritable crap-ton of files to Wave, he sent out a mass-message to every single person with a communicator:

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Come back to the Typhoon as soon as possible. We need a plan._

Frowning quietly, Sonic teleported away.

 **~台風の目~**

In the control room of the Typhoon, everyone who could be was gathered to talk. Locke and Lucas remained in the medical ward and the children were sleeping. Jet and Wave were still gone, presumably either on their way to or by now in Eniwer. Vector remained missing and Vanilla and Keiri were resting in their respective rooms. Everyone else was together talking and trying to formulate some sort of a plan. Even Tammy and Arthr had joined the group, and Analia and those with her had recently returned via teleportation. Sonic (who had already heard the explanation of his son's disappearance by now and properly reunited with said son) just hoped that putting all of these minds together would be enough to make a viable plan.

"What are these guys even weak to?" Arthr sighed. "I mean, weapons on their own don't really seem to bother them on the whole."

Sonic, who was leaning against a wall beside a chair, answered him. "Light, definitely. I mean, given what they are… there's no way they _can't_ be." His gaze slid to Analia. "...Which means that we'll absolutely need you directly on the front lines."

Immediately, Kaden (who was sitting in the chair directly beside Sonic) looked upset by this. But, he voiced no complaint. From where she sat beside him, Analia reached over and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. "I understand. I had expected as much."

"You know," Marthal suddenly cut in, "if the Nocturnians are weak to Light, then it stands to reason that's they're also weak to Light-based magic."

"They are," Analia confirmed quietly.

 _All the more reason to have mom up front fighting… unfortunately._ Sonic frowned down at the ground. "That's all well and good, but… what else are they weak to?"

His parents traded a look. "...We believe that they are weak to at least one other type of magic," Analia responded. "Though, we do not know for certain."

"Okay, while two is a lot better than nothing," Knuckles cut in gruffly with crossed arms, "we're gonna need to do better than that if we wanna win any sort of large fight against these guys. Most of us can't use _any_ kind of magic, and Analia's the only one with any _readily accessible_ light."

Recognizing the jab at him, Sonic muttered, "Mine is readily accessible with the emeralds."

"Exactly. That's the whole damn problem." Knuckles lifted his arms up to adjust his hat a bit and added, "We're missing four of them right now, Sonic. That doesn't exactly give us a leg up on the enemy."

"Jet and Wave are after one of them right now," Sonic replied. "As for the others…" He trailed off, uncertain exactly what he had been planning to say on the matter.

Silver piped up right about then. "The way _I_ see it, so long as the Nocturnians don't have them, either, we're better off than we could be."

"It still puts us at a marked disadvantage," was Tammy's grim reminder. As she spoke, she fiddled with various pieces of tech from her bag. "Now, I admit to not knowing much about these emeralds and what they let Sonic do," she glanced at the hedgehog in question, "but from what Jet's mentioned to me in past, it seems to me that we'll _absolutely_ need that power if we're going to win."

Blaze seemed to agree with the sparrow wholeheartedly. "Especially if we are to win without any further casualties," she murmured. "Otherwise, others can… and likely will…" She trailed off, expression somber.

"Well, we certainly wouldn't want that," was Rouge's quiet remark. She seemed unusually solemn at the moment, but that was something she could hardly be blamed for. Sonic certainly didn't fault her for it.

"So what are we going to do?" Amy asked no one in particular. "I mean… do we have any sort of a plan yet?"

"Not exactly," Sonic sighed. "I called everyone here because we _need_ one, not because I have one."

Knuckles's arms crossed again. "I seem to recall you always coming up with them on your own in the past," he remarked evenly.

"Yeah, well this is different than back then," Sonic snapped at him. "This isn't mad scientists and robots anymore. It isn't even Chaos monsters and fire beasts, and they're _nothing_ that I know how to handle by myself. These guys are far more ancient than any of us can even comprehend, and they're cunning and powerful and they've _already_ kicked our asses _far_ too many times."

"And they've toyed with us more than enough, too," Marthal added. "I for one, am tired of them fucking with us."

"Agreed," Silver sighed. "I mean, they sent a bunch of us straight into the Badlands that one time and started that whole nightmare-thing with Blaze and them, too, and they kidnapped nearly everyone off of the Typhoon and sent everyone all over the place, they unleashed a wave of spiders on us that one time for almost no reason at all-"

"Stole my hearing aids, too," Marthal cut in.

Silver nodded. "Yeah. And I'm pretty sure the list goes on."

"Plus there was that time that we chased them into Kingdom Valley," Amy remembered aloud, "and they fought us terribly hard despite it just being a bunch of protected graves there. I mean, what was their goal _there_?"

Suddenly, Kaden's ears dipped down slightly… as though he was upset. However, the expression was gone as soon as it came and his voice was steady when he spoke. "They are not _just_ graves," he said softly. "The name of the area alone should reveal that."

Sonic inclined his head. "Yeah… Locke told me once that all, or at least most, of the past kings and queens of the ancient hedgehog kingdom were buried there."

"That kingdom that covered most of Mobius?" Silver asked.

"Practically all of it, but yeah," Rouge answered. "But that's pretty irrelevant now."

Suddenly, something in Sonic's head clicked and a memory all but slapped him in the face. During that fight, a single gravestone in particular had been threatened. Kaden had, with a hateful snarl, rushed at the threat in question and rather ruthlessly beat them down. That in and of itself hadn't been unusual. He was, after all, a being of Darkness and prone to deep anger and the like. He'd also never… exactly… been a _pacifist_.

But at some point Sonic had moved into earshot in time to hear Kaden say something to his opponent, using a silky-smooth tone that he only ever adopted (though his voice was always low and smooth to begin with) when he was _truly_ furious and/or about to become truly _lethal_ toward the object of his ire. And what he had said… How had Sonic forgotten it until now? Why had he never given it any ounce of _thought_ before? _What dad said then…_

 _"Do not touch my father's grave."_

Sonic's eyes closed in deep thought. _His father… a past king of Mobius. ...That's right. Locke said dad was born into an 'unbroken line of royalty', like Jet was. He was the 'Lost Prince' from all of those old legends…_ Releasing a breath, he cut into whatever conversation was currently taking place by asking, "Dad?" He felt it when that emerald gaze, so like his own, slid over to him. Though, Kaden stayed true to form and said nothing since he didn't have to or particularly _want_ to, either. "I know this is a sore spot for you, but I have a question." He opened his eyes to look at his parents. "Just know that I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important."

Although his eyebrows drew downward a fraction, Kaden soon responded, "...What?" There was a touch of wariness to his tone that Sonic was sure no one missed. He certainly didn't.

"I read in a book once - one of Locke's old books - back when I was a kid that this royal family from ancient times had a powerful line of magic running through it." Sonic noticed Kaden's ears twitch back ever-so-slightly. "An arcane magic, to be precise." There was a small pause, one that he didn't let last for too long. "It was in a book of legends, of course, but… it _is_ true, isn't it?" Even when Kaden looked away, Sonic's gaze remained unwavering. _Isn't it?_

Eventually, Kaden sighed. "Yes."

"And that family line…" Sonic let the question hang, confident at this point that it would be answered.

"My mother's," Kaden answered dully after another, lengthier pause. "It was hers."

 _The book implied the magic was around a lot longer than just one generation,_ Sonic reflected internally. _...Guess inaccuracies are bound to happen when you're getting your intel from a book of myths and shit._ Focusing on the matter at hand, he pressed, "And that magic mom mentioned earlier, is it the same?" A slow, reluctant nod. "Which means… you have it, right? Or else she wouldn't have even brought it up."

People were gaping now, but Tammy was the one to answer instead of Kaden. "Hey, hate to interrupt," the swallow said, eyes on the screen of some Babylonian device in her hands, "but I've been browsing video feeds on Mobius for a bit here -you know, to check on the situation there- and news stations all over the place are _flipping_ out over this bit of footage that may or may not answer your question…"

Nearly every gaze zeroed in on her, including Kaden's. However, once again, he was not the one to speak. This time, Knuckles was the one to do it for him. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll show you," Tammy responded matter-of-factly. Just like that, a holographic screen was projected from her device onto a wall she pointed it at. It showed, in glorious detail, _exactly_ how Kaden had used his long-hidden ability to save that endangered city from a demonic threat not even a day ago. And, as his luck would have it, the whole thing had been captured on film… by _multiple_ security cameras and amateurs with recording devices. And now he was plastered _all_ over the news. Tammy flipped from news channel to news channel, showing just a tiny fragment of what people were saying about the whole thing.

 _"-Lost Prince of legend…"_

 _"-long thought to be dead or even just a myth…"_

 _"-the truth behind a tale we all grew up hearing…"_

 _"-possibility that the royal family may yet still live on…"_

 _"-saved a city, but abandoned us for eons…"_

 _"-may be best hope to save our planet from this latest threat…"_

 _"-wondering whether or not he will reclaim the throne or let the monarchies of old stay dead…"_

 _"-seems to have disappeared again as if he never was…"_

Upon noticing how tense his father was getting, Sonic gestured for Tammy to shut it off. She did, and he closed his eyes again to reflect. _Okay… that definitely did answer my question. Proves he knows what he's doing, too. ...He must have been trained to use it, just like he was with everything else._ This prompted a new question that may have been irrelevant, but he found himself asking it regardless. "Dad, who was your sensei, again?"

"Saran," Kaden answered quietly, though without any hesitation."

"And… who was he?"

This time, Analia was actually the one to respond to him. And the answer she gave was _far_ from anything Sonic had expected. "My great-grandfather," she told him, "and a descendant of Sade the White."

Knuckles's mouth dropped open. "You can _not_ be serious."

Though just as visibly stunned, Rouge replied, "...I… think she is, Knuckie." For once, he didn't even glare at her for that.

Silver was at a loss, as were Amy, Blaze, Tammy, Arthr, Shadow, and even Sonic himself (though he thought the name seemed _familiar_ at least). In the end, though, it was only the aptly-named silver-colored hedgehog who actually pressed for more details. "Who now?"

"Remember how Knuckles found that sphere before this shitstorm happened?" Marthal asked in reply. "Remember how the Nocturne Clan was sealed away and _that_ thing was the seal, with the monument it was in acting as another layer of protection?" Everyone had heard that little story by now, so no one asked any questions about it.

"...Yeah?" Silver nodded slowly.

Marthal idly ran one of his fingers over a button on his shirt. "Well, Sade's the guy who put them there. See, there was a war against these guys back then, too, and it wound up only being a creature of Light that could stop them. Sade, like Analia is now, was at the time an incarnation of Light itself. A descendant of the first being of Light ever, in fact. A woman named Eona." His tail swished a bit. "Given the lineage alone, it's no surprise that he was damned powerful. He was the only one who _could_ end the war back then, so he did it. But… even he couldn't _kill_ the bastards, so he sealed them away instead. Gave his life to do it, too."

"It was a sacrifice he was willing to make," Analia murmured. "However… it was not without its risks."

"'Risks' meaning _exactly_ what happened," Knuckles muttered. "Namely, that sphere-thing breaking and them all being set free."

Analia sighed. "Yes."

"That was no ordinary sphere," Kaden cut in unexpectedly. "It was crafted from pure Light, and came from the very _Garden_ of Light itself. Not even Ix, Shade, and all of their generals combined possess enough Darkness to break such a thing."

Seemingly purely out of curiosity, Silver asked, "Bet you do though, right? Given that whole power-loop thing where the more Darkness you use the more your body makes to compensate or whatever." Kaden didn't answer that.

Blaze attempted to get the conversation back on track. "If it became necessary, would you be able to do what Sade did?" she asked, eyes on Analia.

"Yes," Analia replied gravely, "but not without another sphere. And they are not so easy to come by."

"Translated to, 'our chances of getting our hands on one are bupkus'," Marthal oh-so-helpfully added. Analia glanced at him without comment.

Deciding that was a fairly accurate assessment, Sonic decided to try a different route of inquiry. "So… we're descended from Sade?"

A nod. "Yes," Analia said yet again. "More importantly, however, we are descended from Eona. In theory, there is nothing she can do that we cannot… though, being born into fully mortal vessels and in a mortal realm does hinder us."

That wasn't something that Analia explained any further, though Silver's eyes burned with curiosity and Sonic himself wanted to know more. Now wasn't really the time to delve into any of that, so Sonic asked instead, "But even then, as we are now, our Light alone won't be enough… will it?"

"Likely not," was the surprisingly bland reply.

 _Well, this conversation went full circle… and we're still stuck with the same problem._ "Okay… this isn't getting us much of anywhere, so let's try a new tactic. We need to lay all of our powers, skills, and other such abilities down on the table and try to utilize each and every single one of them as much as possible. I realize we all basically know each other's abilities by now, but a refresher won't hurt." No one argued, so he gestured to Arthr (whom he just happened to glance at). "You start."

"You're not gonna get much from me," the brown hawk shrugged. "I can use aura abilities and that's it as far as powers go. That alone lets me do an assortment of things, though, such as fly, teleport, create barriers, and hurl beams and blast and the like. I can use aura guns and pilot, too, so Jet'll likely have me flying around helping lead the other ships."

Sonic nodded and gestured to Tammy. "Same goes for me, though I'm better suited to swordplay and using other blades as opposed to firing guns from a ship. ...And just in general I'm better suited to intelligence gathering and the like."

Analia was next, if only because she happened to be very close to Tammy. "I have and use Light, Light-based magic, Light-based healing, speed, and can wield a sword or bow and arrow." She glanced at Kaden, undoubtedly suspected he wouldn't speak, and thus spoke for him. "Kaden possesses blue Dragonfire that was infused with his magic at birth, speed, strength, and his magic, known in legends as 'the Magic of Lost Souls'. He can also wield most any weapon he gets his hands on, though he is particularly fond of blades. We are both able to teleport and create barriers, as well as execute minor mental abilities in order to have mental conversations."

"I have fire," Knuckles grunted. "Or maybe it's Dragonfire. Hell if I know. Whatever the hell dad has. Strength, too, and I can glide. That's it. …And I kinda know how to use a sword thanks to that Sonic from the ruined future way back when."

"I can fly," Rouge said, "turn invisible for short periods, and have strength. I can use daggers, but I've never tried any other weapons."

Next up with Blaze. "I have my fire, which is not normal, though I… do not know what it is called. All I know is it came from my mother and can combat shadows, as well as only burn what I allow it to. I also have my own shadows and some minor speed, and I am capable of wielding lightweight swords if I must."

"Obviously I have mental powers," Silver said, "telekinesis and mind reading and all that jazz. Plus I can fly and _technically_ inherited Light and Darkness… neither of which I've ever actually used or anything." He laughed sheepishly. "Oh, and I guess I inherited speed, also. And I can teleport and make barriers."

Shadow, who had been completely silent for quite some time now, was up next. Though, he only spoke when Rouge insistently nudged him… thrice. "I have speed, strength, and can shoot guns," he muttered, seeming intent on leaving it at that. Though, he soon added, "...And I used black Dragonfire once on accident." That was news to everyone but Rouge (who had been there along with Omega), but still he almost seemed to have left something out.

"...Something you're not telling us?" Rouge teased after a moment. Red eyes glared, she laughed, and the group moved on.

Next up was Marthal. "I have fire," he yawned drowsily, "but not Dragonfire. Or regular fire. Not sure what type it is, but yeah. I've got some minor speed and strength, but mostly I'll just be good for the fire and physical fighting via martial arts and the like. I'm really only trained to use traditional weapons, too, like my staff, kunai, and so on."

Amy when next. "You all know my abilities. They're pretty basic. I can heal, somehow, and I have strength and psychic abilities. And obviously my weapon of choice is my Piko-Piko Hammer."

Silver spoke up again. "And then there's dad, who has Chaos _and_ Light _and_ Darkness that he can kinda-sorta use at will and which let him do _awesome_ stuff, plus speed and strength and teleportation even when he's normal."

"More or less sums it up," Sonic murmured, too tired to even feel amused by his son's explanation of his abilities.

"And then there are Wave and Jet," Rouge cut in. "We know Wave has psychic abilities, though they're a touch… unrefined due to her never using them. I believe that may be all she has… aside from rather astounding intelligence, of course."

"Uncle Jet seems convinced that she has latent aura powers, too," Silver added with a small grin. "If she's able to unlock them, that'll unlock a whole new level of potential for her." Sonic nodded once in silent agreement.

"Okay, but what about Jet?" Knuckles asked.

"That is a good question," Blaze agreed. "We know what he used to have, but he's since unlocked new abilities, right?"

Sonic answered that. "He has, though I'll be damned if I know what most of them are. I know he still has full access to, as well as near-complete mastery over, his old abilities. Those being storm, speed, strength, flight, gravity manipulation, and that stealth ability that Babylon Rogues all seem to have. Wave included."

"He does have aura powers now," Arthr remarked. "You guys must know that by now."

"Yeah," Knuckles gruffly replied, "we do."

"Can't not," Marthal nodded.

"He mentioned once in his journal," Sonic continued, "somehow manipulating sun rays on accident when he was angry. That's most certainly a new one."

Tammy and Arthr traded a look, apparently well-familiar with the incident in question. "...Yeah… just don't count on him being able to do that _deliberately_ ," Arthr cautioned. "He never did put much effort into figuring out how to. Not sure he saw any point to."

"Regardless," Sonic shrugged. He stopped for a moment to think, then recalled the conversation he had had with Jet possibly the only time the two had ever texted at length (not to mention at all) since the hawk's return. "...He mentioned, too, that he has a pretty wide array of nature powers… though he seemed to imply that he couldn't readily access most of them. And that just included the ones he even knew about."

"Correct," Tammy helpfully supplied. "The ones he can use are fairly limited right now, but could be useful. He can manipulate water, which he may have already been able to do due to the ties water has to his storm powers, as well as create and control plants. ...Oh, and he can control earth, too. Dirt, rocks, you get the idea."

Sonic nodded once, then thought back to another instance… when Jet had been educating him on alternate realities and why one could not just carelessly manipulate them. "He showed me something else, too… some sort of Immortal ability. I'm not sure _how_ he did it, but he somehow showed me all these alternate realities in a pool of water… as though they were just… mere reflections on the surface. And the second he was done showing them to me, he made them vanish again like they had never been there."

"That's a new one," Arthr remarked, eyebrows upraised. "But, yeah, _you_ guys may have just recently learned that he's Immortal, but he's known since toddlerhood or so from what I can gather. And in the last hundred years, he was finally deemed old enough by Immortal standards to begin some training with his kin -meaning the other three Immortals-, hence him learning how to pull of stunts like that." He paused, then added with a sigh, "...Though, I'm not sure that anything he's learned thus far will be useful in battle."

"Given how vastly dangerous, to put it lightly, that most Immortal abilities undoubtedly are," Silver said, "it wouldn't make sense for them to have taught him any that _could_ be dangerous. I mean, you know, if they really do consider him to be that young by their standards."

"Yeah… that makes sense," Rouge had to agree.

"As far as a plan goes…" Amy suddenly said, "We'll need some people to stay here defending the ship and children."

Catching on to her tone, Sonic raised his eyebrows in her direction. "...You volunteering?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'll need to be able to tend to Lucas and Locke, anyway."

"Actually, that may not be necessary," Tammy interrupted. "You lot will need your ship, yes, but your wounded can stay here where it's safe. The children, too."

No one needed convincing to agree with her suggestion. "Seems like the best idea, if you ask me," Rouge replied. "The further away from the fighting all of them are, the better."

"That's all well and good," Silver interrupted, "but we'll need more than just one person guarding the ship. And we'll need people here watching the kids."

"Not necessary," Tammy answered. "That last part, I mean." Her gaze swept over the group. "If you all can trust us and our people… we'll have members of staff here watch your children. Or, if it will make you feel any better, we can send them to the palace on New Babylon where there are staff members specializing in childcare. You know, nannies and the like."

Since everyone knew about or had themselves seen the palace by now, no one questioned that part. Instead, Knuckles blinked and inquired about something else. "There are nannies at the palace?"

That earned a slight eye-roll from Arthr. "Well, yeah. Some of the people who work in the palace have children who live there with them, thus necessitating childcare workers also being there. And, besides that, our king has his own kids as you may recall. He can't exactly be the one watching them all day every day. Not with all the work he has to do."

"Well, I vote to send the kids to the palace," Silver said. "They'll have proper care and supervision, and plus the whole world is protected with those planet-wide barriers. They'll be safe."

Tammy looked at him in surprise. "You know about those?"

Sheepishly, Silver admitted, "Uncle Jet told me about them once."

Rouge interrupted. "I like this plan, too. It's the best one we've got, as far as defending them goes. Anyone disagree?"

No one argued, so Sonic spoke. "Leaving Lucas and Locke here is fine, too. I've seen the kind of care that the medics have been giving Espio, and he's healing fine. They'll be alright here." Once more, no one voiced any dissent with the decision.

Finally, Shadow spoke up again. "And what, exactly, is the plan for the actual _combat_?" he questioned pointedly, cutting right to the heart of the matter.

Blaze sort of sighed. "We will need one. Especially as our enemies remain scattered around who knows how many miles of space."

At this, Analia traded a look with Kaden and murmured, "That issue can be… resolved."

Blue ears perked. "'Resolved'?" Sonic echoed sharply. "Resolved _how_?"

"I am not completely certain that it will work," Analia answered carefully, "but with our magic your father and I _may_ be able to force all of the Nocturnians into one controlled area."

Frowning deeply, Sonic questioned. "Will that drain you two too much for you to fight?"

"Even if it does work, we will be fine," was the calm answer. "But that is _if_ it works."

"Seems like it's the best idea we've got," Knuckles grunted. "But we need to be ready before you two try it."

She inclined her head. "Of course."

 _Which means… we still need a plan. Sonic's eyes closed once again. We need a plan… we can't just wing this._

Without provocation, Kaden reached over to Marthal (who was seated on the floor near him) and nudged him with a foot. "Oi… you're supposed to be a ' _master_ tactician', aren't you?" Sonic looked over as Marthal gave his old friend a less-than-appreciative look. However, no denial came, so Kaden huffed, "So help out, then. No dozing off."

"Piss off, I'm exhausted," Marthal grumbled, "like everyone else on this miserable ship." In spite of his words, it was easy to see the gears turning in his head purely by gazing upon his face. Eventually, he spoke again. "Look, if you ask me, our best play is gonna be to strike at the leaders hard and fast. Take out Ix, Shade, and that Kethro guy you," he gestured to Kaden, "have mentioned before, and then the rest of the Nocturnians will have no one to rally behind."

Understanding rippled through the assorted people. "And no leader means no organization," Knuckles muttered.

Marthal nodded. "Yeah. Exactly."

"Who's gonna do that, though?" Silver asked. "...Besides Dad and Gramma, that is."

"We'll need Jet's help," Sonic sighed. "Regardless of who fights who, we'll have to each focus all of our attention on our individual opponents. That means, bare minimum, we need three people." His tone darkened a degree as he added, "And I plan on ending Ix myself."

Analia blinked slowly. "Kethro is a malevolent force I would rather not pit any of you against," she murmured, "but with her magical abilities, Shade may be too much for Jet to take on as he is now."

"So you will do it," Shadow summed up. He didn't seem to like the idea. But, given how close the pair had gotten over the years, that was hardly a surprise.

"I will," Analia confirmed.

"Seems to me like Jet's got something personal against this Kethro guy, anyway," Arthr added. He paused, then added with a slight wince, "...Aside from the… _incident_ … with Kath, I mean. So, it works out."

Something profoundly sad passed between him and Tammy, prompting a small recollection for Sonic. _Kath died… and Kethro is said to be the one who killed him._ He turned his head to contemplate a wall, expression grim. _Jet's not the type to seek revenge, true, but… Arthr's right. He will want to be the one to strike this guy down._

"Alright, so what about the rest of us?" Rouge interrupted. Her arms crossed, unconsciously mimicking her husband's own posture.

"Damage control, I think, is where the rest of us will be the most useful," Tammy replied. "We'll need to keep the riff-raff from interfering in the bigger fights as much as possible, as well as try to defend or ships and each other." She looked at Analia. "If your spell or whatever it is works, will it actively trap the Nocturnians in an area, or will it just send them there initially and do nothing more?"

"It can confine them if we make it do so," was the calm reply. "It will cost us more energy to actively maintain a perimeter, but it will not do so to any significant degree."

Knuckles balled his hands into fists. "Right, so we'll keep the hordes from getting out of hand. Shouldn't be as hard as usual, seeing as how we have an army of our own now."

"We'll still need to be careful, though," Amy cautioned. "Having many allies doesn't make us invincible."

Silver nodded. "Agreed. Now, on that note, maybe we should all fight in pairs as much as possible. You know, use the buddy system."

Sonic understood. _Partners… right. Who fights well together?_ "You're right. So Silver, you and Blaze stick together."

"You got it," Silver grinned. He gave a dramatic thumbs-up, which earned a tired smile from Blaze.

"Knuckles, Rouge, you two obviously stay close," Sonic continued. "Dad, I know Mom will be fighting separately from all of us, but it won't hurt for you to stick close to her. You can help out with your own magic if need be." Kaden inclined his head in agreement.

Before Knuckles could argue with this little arrangement, Rouge elbowed him, "Listen here, I'm pregnant, not defenseless. I'm not staying on the ship."

"I didn't say _anything_ ," Knuckles defended in a huff.

Not wanting to waste time, Sonic moved on. "Tammy, am I correct in assuming that you and Arthr are used to fighting together?"

"Absolutely," she smiled. "We were partners for a lot of the Syxan War. We'll be fine together."

That was perfect, and a bit of a relief. Sonic had no idea who else would have worked well with either of them. _Doesn't matter now, anyway._

Silver cut into Sonic's thoughts. "You know, I think Wave and Uncle Jet might be a good pair. They've been getting on a lot better lately, and they always worked amazingly well as partners. Kinda like Gramps does with Gramma."

 _...He has a point._ "Alright," Sonic conceded. "I'll have Wave stick close to Jet, like Dad's gonna do with Mom. If nothing else, maybe her psychic powers could help him out now and then." He turned his head to look at Marthal. "You fight with Keiri, of course. I imagine you'd wanna stick close to her."

"Damn straight," Marthal growled.

Next, Sonic looked to his half-brother. "I'm not gonna ask you not to fight, but if you're willing I want you to stay as close to Amy as possible. I don't want _anyone_ alone."

Shadow was silent for a time, thinking, but predictably (in Sonic's opinion) nodded. "Fine." Amy shot them each a small smile.

"So who's gonna fight with _you_?" Marthal frowned at Sonic.

In response, Sonic shrugged. "No one specifically. But I'll be fine."

A few people seemed to doubt that, but Silver spoke up again before anyone could say anything about it. "Oh, that reminds me, to defend the ship we'll need more than just one person onboard twiddling their thumbs. We should put up barriers, as strong as we can manage."

"True," Rouge agreed. "So who all can help with that, again?"

Silver raised his hand, prompting Kaden, Analia, Tammy, Arthr, and Sonic to do the same (though everyone, for the most part, knew that Sonic could only do so when powered up with his emeralds). "Wave can help, too," Amy helpfully added, "with her psychic powers. Like me. ...For that matter, Cream can, too, if she insists on staying behind like she tends to."

Before anyone could argue that last little point, Arthr said, "Jet, too. You know, aura abilities and all."

Sonic took in a breath. His eyes closed. "Yeah, we got it. Anyway… that plan's fine. The rest of it, too." _At the very least… it's the best we're ever gonna get._ Through his mind's eye flashed the faces of the fallen: Tails, Omega, Bokkun, Kath, his wolf companion Azerel, Kanari… and not to mention all the innocent civilians whatever Babylonian soldiers had also lost their lives… _Our plan may not be much, and we may not win, but all the efforts we're about to give to end this war… They're for you. All of you._ "As soon as Jet and Wave return," he murmured, "we'll start putting everything into action. We'll need to get the kids and injured settled first, and then we'll set out for an ideal battleground. For now, you all go rest."

As everyone gradually began filing out of the room, one last grim thought crossed Sonic's mind.

 _And into the depths of Hell we prepare to plunge..._

 **~台風の目~**

 **8,896 words this time. ...Writer's block is a pain, guys... ;_; As always, thanks to Blazing Winds for his work with his character, Astra. Posted (at about 6:50 p.m.) 08-16-18.**


	102. EotS Bonus Chapter 1: Playlist Pt 1

**A/N: Something for you all to enjoy while I get the next chapter completed ( _hopefully_ very soon here). This has been a work in progress since before "Hero" was even over, so it's a long playlist. _Very_ long. For that reason, I've broken it up into four parts that will be uploaded gradually. Also, keep in mind that these playlists are never truly complete. New songs can and often will be added. Hope you all enjoy!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Haha, glad you enjoyed it. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Playlist Part One (Main Story Themes and Character Themes)"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _EVERY SONG LISTED CAN BE FOUND ON YOUTUBE._

* = The main theme (if there are two or more of these for one character/event/whatever, it means that there's a tie, as far as which fits best).

# = Two or more characters share the same theme

Note 1: Every character/event/whatever is allowed to have _two_ songs from the actual Sonic games and whatnot (though they won't necessarily have any listed). But just two.

Note 2: Some of the battle themes work best as a sort of "this character is _about_ to fight" theme.

Hey, I'm always open to suggestions! Have a song you think works for something? Let me know! I may just add it!

 **~ 台風の目~**

 **Theme Songs for "Eye of the Storm" (The Story as a Whole):**

Our Time Is Now _(by Epic Score)_

*United We Stand, Divided We Fall _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*Strength from Pain _(by Epic Score)_

*A Game of Chance _(by C21FX)_

*Strength of a Thousand Men _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*Aratta _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

Battle Cry _(by Skillet)_

 **Characters:**

 **Kathal ("Kaden", Child of Night):**

*Lightning _(by Cash Cash ft. John Rzeznik (This is a main theme for him because it describes his relationship with Analia… nearly perfectly. Plus it just sounds like something he'd listen to when he's not in his usual serious mood. It's also his favorite song ever.))_

#The Sound of Silence _(by Disturbed, Official Cover)_

*On My Own _(by Ashes Remain)_

Centuries _(by Fall Out Boy)_

*#Gunmetal Black _(by Varien)_

 **Dark Kaden:**

Violent Storm _(by Bianca Ban)_

#*Leader of Armies _(by Epic Score)_

#*Prepare for the End _(by Epic Score)_

Anger _(from "Naruto")_

Animal I Have Become _(by Three Days Grace)_

 **Kaden (Fight):**

*In the End _(by Black Veil Brides)_

*Game Changer _(by Mykola Odnorog [Ikoliks])_

 **Kaden (Happy/Peace):**

*Can You Feel the Sunshine _(from Sonic R)_

 **Kaden (Sad):**

*Rakujitsu _("Setting Sun"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 17)_

In the Arms of the Angel _(by Sarah McLachlan)_

*Ochihabune _("Floating Dead Leaves"; from Naruto Shippuden)_

#*Kodoku _("Loneliness"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 13)_

Azaria ("Analia", Child of Light):

Only Time (by Enya)

Look Through My Eyes (by Everlife)

*Turin (by Two Steps From Hell)

*Together As One (by James Paget)

 **Analia (Fight):**

The Arena _(by Lindsey Stirling (Obviously this is a rather graceful battle theme, but it works for her. It's just not her perfect fight theme.))_

 **Analia (Happy/Peace):**

Light Never Goes Out _(from Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm - Limited Edition)_

*Flamesgrace, Guiding Light ( _from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Analia (Sad):**

#Kodoku _("Loneliness"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 13)_

*Guren _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

#*Hakubo _("Nightfall"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 14)_

 **Senno ("Seth" or "Sen"):**

-Octopath Traveler Main Theme _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Sarai ("Synthinai" or "Synthia"):**

-*The Gate of Finis _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Senzan ("Sonic"; Child of Light):**

*Heroes (We Could Be) _(by Alesso (This fits him better at the very beginning of the story))_

Dare You to Move _(by Switchfoot)_

*May It Be _(by Enya; featured in Lord of the Rings)_

*100 Years _(by Five For Fighting)_

*Live Long Enough to Become the Hero _(by YouTuber "NateWantsToBattle")_

*Believe _(by James Paget)_

 **Sonic (Fight):**

D-Technolife _(by UVERworld; from Bleach)_

His World _(Zebrahead ver. (Not every line fits, but some are perfect.))_

*Moment of Truth ( _from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Sonic (Happy/Peace):**

*Endless Possibility _(by Crush 40; from Sonic Unleashed (Just minus the darker rock part in the middle.))_

 **Sonic (Sad):**

#*Alone Under a Starry Sky _(from Inuyasha)_

#Hakubo _("Nightfall"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 14)_

 **Akina Rosari ("Amy Jenei Rose"):**

*This is the Life _(by Miley Cyrus (This suits her best in the beginning of the story.))_

 **Amy (Fight):**

*For Treasure _(Tressa's Boss Battle Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Amy (Happy/Peace):**

#*Ophilia, the Cleric _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

Amy's Hammer _(from "Sonic X"; Yep, I had to XD)_

 **Amy (Sad):**

Fragments of Tenderness _("Yasashi no Kakera"; from Inuyasha)_

*Sorrowful Demon Slayer, Sango _(from Inuyasha; Sango's Theme (Up until 2:06.))_

 **Siro ("Silver"):**

*Wake Me Up _(by Avicii)_

Best Day of My Life _(by American Authors)_

*Dreams of An Absolution (2014 Remix) _(by… SEGA…? Maybe?)_

100 Years _(by Five For Fighting)_

More Than a Band _(from "Lemonade Mouth")_

*Adventure of a Lifetime _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*Aero Chord - Mortal (Original Mix) _(not sure which is the artist and which is the song here, so…)_

#*Arsenal Pyramid Theme (Inside) _(from "Sonic Forces")_

 **Silver (Fight):**

Dragon Soul _(English ver.; from Dragon Ball Z Kai)_

*Foreboding Skies _("Shikku"; Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 14)_

Battle Theme III _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

They Who Govern Reason _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

#Decisive Battle II _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

#Decisive Battle I _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Aqua Road Theme _(from "Sonic Forces")_

 **Silver (Happy/Peace):**

*Grandport, Center of Commerce _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Back In Time Wildfire _(by Tuberz McGee)_

 **Silver (Sad):**

*H'aanit, the Hunter _(H'aanit's Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Yuen ("Blaze", Princess of the Flames):**

Stars Align _(by Lindsey Stirling)_

My Quiet Forest Home _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Fiery Blaze:**

Aang Faces Ozai _(from: "Avatar the Last Airbender")_

 **Blaze (Fight):**

Across Continents _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Blaze (Happy/Peace):**

An Affair to Remember (Piano) _(by Emile Pandolfi)_

*Affections Touching Across Time _(from "Inuyasha")_

 **Blaze (Sad):**

*Melancholy _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*As Real As You And Me _(by Rihanna, from "Home")_

 **Kimmy (nickname: "Kym" (from age 12 to adulthood), Heir to the Flames):**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

Smooooch・∀・ _(Unknown Artist)_

*Tressa, the Merchant _(Tressa's Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Shadow:**

*Angel With a Shotgun _(by The Cab)_

*Let It Die _(by Starset)_

*Halo _(by Starset (Of course, this song (as it applies to him) is not referring to a love interest but, rather, his kids. Mostly Lia, given that he's known her longer and raised her her whole life.))_

Angels _(by All Good Things)_

 **Shadow (Fight):**

Hologram _(Opening 2 from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood; by NICO Touches the Walls)_

*His World _(by Crush 40; from Sonic '06)_

Enemies _(by Shinedown)_

 **Shadow (Happy/Peace):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Shadow (Sad):**

*Sorrow _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

The Back that Fades Away _(from "Naruto")_

 **Lilei ("Lia" or "Lillian"/"Lilly")**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

Castles in the Sky _(by DJ Satomi)_

Castles in the Sky _(by Ian Van Dhal)_

*Destiny _(by N-Trance (Especially the chorus. Not necessarily the rest of the lyrics. All the instrumentals work, though.))_

The Frostlands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Awakening Love _(from "Inuyasha")_

 **Soren:**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

*Dachuur _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

Dark On Me _(by Starset)_

 **Lokal ("Locke"):**

*Baccano! Opening Theme _(Full version; unknown artist (I highly recommend watching the actual TV size opening. Once you see that, you'll get an idea of the Hero and/or Eye of the Storm anime-esque opening I picture when I hear this. XD))_

Kakashi's Theme (from Naruto _(This actually fits really well. It helps that this is for a generally laid-back but also serious character, which is what Locke essentially is.))_

*Am I Wrong _(by Nico & Vinz)_

I'm Already There _(by Lonestar)_

*Olberic, the Warrior _(Olberic's Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

#The Highlands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

Among Stately Peaks _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Blazing Locke:**

*Armada _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Locke (Fight):**

*Red Rose _("Beni Soubi"; Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 21)_

*For Redemption _(Olberic's Boss Battle Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

*All Is Hell That Ends Well _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Locke (Happy/Peace):**

*Back In Time _(feat. Lady Wildfire; from the YouTube video, Sonic Prologue)_

*Alfyn, the Apothecary _(Alfyn's Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

#The Flatlands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

Atlasdam, Seat of Learning _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Locke (Sad):**

*Hyouhaku _("Wandering"; Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 12)_

 **Korin ("Knuckles"):**

All I Know _(by Futurebound ft. Luke Bingham)_

All Star _(by Smashmouth)_

#The Highlands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Victor's Hollow, Jewel of the Forest _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Knuckles (Fight):**

*Beat Down _(by Chris Haigh)_

 **Knuckles (Happy/Peace):**

*Jubiliation _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Knuckles (Sad):**

All I Know _(by Five For Fighting)_

 **Rouge:**

Born This Way _(by Lada Gaga)_

According to You _(by Orianthi)_

*Ascend _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Rouge (Fight):**

For Master _(H'aanit's Boss Battle Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Rouge (Happy/Peace):**

*Orewell, Beneath the Crags _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Rouge (Sad):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Jason:**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Miles Prower (Nickname: "Tails"):**

*I'll Be There for You _(Full version; theme song of Friends (Especially the chorus.))_

You've Got a Friend In Me _(by Randy Newman; from Toy story)_

All Heroes Suffer _(by Efisio Cross)_

 **Tails (Fight):**

*Rinkai _("Critical State"; Naruto Shuppuden Ost 2, Track 02)_

Go To New World _(from Inception Soundtrack)_

#Decisive Battle II _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

Battle Theme II _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

#Decisive Battle I _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*For Succor _(Alfyn's Boss Battle Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Tails (Happy/Peace):**

Cobbleston, Nestled in the Hills _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Enveloped in Kindsness _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Tails (Sad):**

*Afterglow _(from "Naruto Shippuden")_

 **Kath Salone Inara ("Kash"):**

 _(Being a fairly minor character overall in this tale, at least comparatively, he's only going to have general themes.)_

-#*Apollos Triumph _(by Audiomachine)_

 **Azerel:**

 _(Being a fairly minor character overall, at least comparatively, he's only going to have general themes.)_

Against Magic _(from "Fairy Tale")_

 **Sein ("Jet", Child of Storm and Immortal of the 12th Generation):**

*I'm Still Here _(Jim's Theme; by John Rzeznik (This especially fits him at the beginning of the story.))_

The Reluctant Heroes _(Levi's Theme; from Attack on Titan)_

#*The Sound of Silence _(by Disturbed, Official Cover)_

*Thief _(by Imagine Dragons)_

 **Jet (Fight):**

Riders _(by Two Steps From Hell (This suits him when he's being epic. XD))_

*Sign _(by Flow; from Naruto Shippuden)_

*Children of The Gods _(by Position Music)_

*Impregnable _("Nankou Furaku; Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 13)_

For Freedom _(Therion's Boss Battle Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Battle at Journey's End _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Jet (Happy/Peace):**

Mission Theme 6: You're My Hero ( _from Sonic Generations)_

*On Top of the World _(by Imagine Dragons)_

#*Nakama _("Companions"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 27)_

 **Jet (Sad):**

*The Reluctant Heroes (Slow Cover) _(by YouTuber "LovelyMusicAngel" (Yes, the same one I mentioned when I showed this song in a chapter of EotS))_

Hinata vs. Neji Theme _(from Naruto)_

Behind Blue Eyes _(by Limp Bizkit)_

*Hymn For The Missing _(by Red)_

*Therion, the Thief _(Therion's Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Despair _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Elan ("Ten"):**

 **(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)**

For Truth _(Cyrus's Boss Battle Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

Amy Go _(from "Attack on Titan")_

 **Lei ("Lucas"):**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

*Shikamaru's Theme _(from Naruto OST 3)_

#Arsenal Pyramid Theme (Inside) _(from "Sonic Forces")_

 **Lucas (Death):**

 _(Or brain death initially, as it were. ;_;)_

Battle Scar _(from "One Piece")_

 **H'alia ("Hannah"):**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

*Lugia's Song-Tears of Life Mash-Up Remix by Trickywi [With Vocals] _(by YouTuber Trickywi)_

An Unwavering Heart -Vocal Cover-Trickywi- Pokémon X and Y _(by YouTuber Trickwi)_

Codeko - Crest [NCS Release] (by Codeko _(…Pretty sure that's who it's by. You can find the Song on YouTube.))_

 **Saia ("Suri"):**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

*Star Sky (Instrumental) _(by Two Steps From Hell) (The light, joyful part really suit her at all stages of her life, even when she's a baby, and the rest of it really works well for really any stage in her life where she's displaying her power and vast knowledge.)_

*Birth of a Hero _(by Soundcritters)_

 **? ("Han"):**

*#A Call To War _(by Twisted Jukebox (He doesn't often need to be a badass, but when he does, this really fits him!))_

*#The Fallen Will Rise _(by Twisted Jukebox)_

It Has Begun _(by Starset)_

 **Han (Fight):**

 _(I only included these because I found them and they fit, so… yeah. He's not actually gonna fight in this story.)_

This Will Be the Day _(by Jeff Williams)_

*Strength From Pain _(by Epic Score)_

 **Mara ("Melissa"):**

*Oasis in the Sparkling Sands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Hanai ("Wave"):**

*Miracles _(by Two Steps From Hell; from the album "Miracles")_

Stay _(by Two Steps From Hell feat. Merethe Soltvedt; from the album "Miracles")_

Unwritten _(by Natasha Bedingfield)_

*Hold My Heart _(by Lindsey Stirling feat. ZZ Ward)_

*Determination _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Bauklotze _(from "Attack on Titan")_

*Beautiful Cruel World _("Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai)_

 **Wave (Fight):**

*For Revenge _(Primrose's Boss Battle Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Battle With Zavok Theme _(from "Sonic Forces")_

 **Wave (Happy/Peace):**

*Primrose, the Dancer _(Primrose's Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

*The Sunlands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Wave (Sad):**

*Aikouhenno ("Disaster") _(from "Naruto")_

 **Tamina ("Tammy"):**

*Beneath the Surface _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

Axe or Sword _(from "The Hobbit")_

 **Arthr ("Arthur"):**

*River of Life _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Storm:**

*Himetaru Toushi _("The Hidden Will to Fight"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 15)_

 **Storm (Fight):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Storm (Happy/Peace):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Storm (Sad):**

Alone Under a Starry Sky _(from "Inuyasha")_

 **Keilin ("Kaylin"):**

 _(As a very minor character, she gets only general themes.)_

Sunshade, City of Pleasures _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Espio:**

Shadows _(by Lindsey Stirling)_

*Spread Your Wings _(by Mathilda Homer; from the movie "Yellowbird")_

*Elements _(by Lindsey Stirling)_

Awakening _(by Icon Audio)_

 **Espio (Fight):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Espio (Happy/Peace):**

*Bonds of Friendship _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Espio (Sad):**

*Reminiscence _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Kanari ("Kelly"):**

 _(As a very minor character, she gets only general themes.)_

Clearbrook, by the Pristine Waters _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Vector:**

*Benny Hill Theme _(Unknown Artist)_

 **Vector (Fight):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Vector (Happy/Peace):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Vector (Sad):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Vanilla:**

I Hope You Dance _(by Lee Ann Womack)_

 **Vanilla (Fight): N/A**

 **Vanilla (Happy/Peace):**

*Town Veiled in White _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

Always _(from "Sonic Unleashed")_

 **Vanilla (Sad):**

*Ai to Shuu ("Grief and Sorrow") _(from "Naruto")_

 **? ("Bokkun"):**

 _(He is an exception to the "only general themes for kids" rule.)_

Tranquil Days _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Bokkun (Fight): N/A**

 **Bokkun (Happy/Peace):**

*All Right _(from "Sonic X")_

 **Bokkun (Sad):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Bokkun (Death):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Cream (Child):**

 _(She is an exception to the "only general themes for kids" rule.)_

I Am _(BGM Recorder Version; from Inuyasha)_

*Believe _(by James Paget)_

*The Riverlands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Cream (Fight):**

*For Light _(Ophilia's Boss Battle Theme, from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Cream (Happy/Peace):**

#*Ophilia, the Cleric _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*Turn Up the Music _(from "Lemonade Mouth")_

The Avatar's Love _(from "Avatar: the Last Airbender")_

 **Cream (Sad):**

*Stolen Dreams, Lost Hope _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Charmy (Child):**

 _(He is an exception to the "only general themes for kids" rule.)_

How Amusing! _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Charmy (Fight): N/A**

 **Charmy (Happy/Peace):**

*A Sea Breeze Blows _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Charmy (Sad):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Mako Wilde ("Marthal"):**

Never Forget _(by Two Steps From Hell (The title of this theme is purely coincidence))_

*Beautiful Times _(Owl City feat. Lindsey Stirling)_

#Gunmetal Black _(by Varien)_

*Remember Everything _(by Five Finger Death Punch (This fits really well, just isn't quite perfect. Kind of close enough, though.))_

 **Marthal (Fight):**

*Gold-Brocaded Damask _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

Set the World On Fire _(by Black Veil Brides)_

*The Woodlands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Marthal (Happy/Peace):**

Fireflies _(by Owl City)_

The Cliftlands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

A Settlement in the Red Bluffs _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Marthal (Sad):**

*Discord _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Keiri (?):**

 _(As such a minor character, she gets only general themes.)_

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **Omega:**

Science (by Two Steps From Hell _(The title is purely coincidence and, honestly, it's the only theme I could find that even remotely fit poor Omega.)_

 **Omega (Fight): N/A**

 _(There's no theme here simply because Omega was never really shown fighting in EotS.)_

 **Omega (Happy/Peace): N/A**

 **Omega (Sad): N/A**

 **Omega ("Death"):**

(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)

 **The Immortals (As a whole group):**

*#A Call To War _(by Twisted Jukebox)_

*Age of Gods _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*The Ancients _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **The Nocturne Clan (As a whole):**

Ancient Evil _(by C21FX)_

# *Akatsuki _(Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 10)_

*Hitotsuba Chikara _("Jinchuuriki"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 12)_

Asimov _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Imperator Ix:**

He Who Brings the Night _(Two Steps From Hell)_

*On a Knife's Edge _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

Creeping Dread _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

#Pure Evil _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

Anun ("Dark Clouds") _(from "Naruto")_

 **Ix (Fight):**

#The One They Call the Witch _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

#Daughter of the Dark God _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Ix (Happy/Peace): N/A**

 **Ix (Sad): N/A**

 **Shade the Destroyer:**

*Himoji _("The Scarlet Letter"; Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 19)_

*Yogensha _("Prophet"; Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 05)_

#Pure Evil _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Shade (Fight):**

#The One They Call the Witch _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

#*Daughter of the Dark God _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Shade (Happy/Peace): N/A**

 **Shade (Sad): N/A**

 **Kethro the Malevolent:**

*Hidan _(Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 06)_

#*Prepare For The End _(by Epic Score)_

#*Pure Evil _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Kethro (Fight):**

#*The One They Call the Witch _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

#Daughter of the Dark God _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Kethro (Sad): N/A**

 **Kethro (Happy/Peace): N/A**

 **The Therians (As a whole):**

 _(They were involved so briefly that I decided to only grace them with four themes. They don't really need more.)_

#*Kaii _("Strangeness"; Naruto Shippuden Ost 1, Track 24)_

Tension _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

*An Ill Omen _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

#*Akatsuki _(Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 10)_

 **~台風の目~**

 **Hope you all enjoyed! Uploaded (at about 6:00 p.m.) 08-19-18.**


	103. Prepare for War

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this final discussion... especially for the ones who are ready to risk it all.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Haha, yeah, that's why I broke it up into parts. XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Prepare for War"**

 **~台風の目~**

"The next time you lose a priceless artifact it winds up in Eniwer, you're on your own."

Startled from his thoughts by the sound of Jet's voice, Sonic jumped a bit in his seat in the control room and opened his eyes. Just in time, he raised his hands to catch the white Chaos Emerald which had been tossed at him. Jet and Wave were entering the room, each looking haggard and more than _teensy_ bit annoyed. "What happened?" he dared to ask.

"You don't want to know," Wave groaned. "Just… it was a nightmare getting that for _all_ the wrong reasons."

He frowned. "The hell would qualify as the ' _right_ ' reasons?" he muttered. Wave just sighed.

"Doesn't matter," Jet muttered back, moving to lean back against a wall. "Point is, I'm not going there again, nor am I making _her_ do it." He gestured meaningfully at Wave, who seemed to have been pushed to her wit's end by something. Or maybe someone. Specifically, the 'madman' Jet had mentioned before who managed that realm. "Stop losing those damn Emeralds, Sonic."

Though he bristled at the comment, Sonic managed to keep a level head this time. "Whatever. Look, there are more important things to discuss."

Wave claimed a seat about midway between the two males. "We got your message a little while ago. The one about the plan you all came up with."

Pleased, Sonic nodded. "Any complaints, concerns, or whatever?"

"None from me," Wave shrugged.

"You?" Sonic looked at Jet.

Jet looked away. "None," he confirmed simply.

"You'll be fighting Kethro," Sonic reminded seriously. "You _can_ take him, can't you?"

When Jet answered, his tone was grim… and dark. "Yes."

Thinking it best to leave it at that, Sonic changed the subject. "And taking the kids to the palace, that's alright?"

Now it was Jet's turn to shrug. "I intended to take my children there, anyway." A small pause, then he added, "Vanilla can go with them. She'll be more comfortable."

 _And there's nothing the medics, here or anywhere else, can do for her, anyway._ Sonic inclined his head. "Yeah… that's probably for the best."

There was another brief pause before Jet spoke again. "The resources you requested are en route," he revealed. "They should be here within the hour."

That was an immense relief in its own right. "Good. I have some supplies from Tails's lab, too. I brought them here a while ago, but this fight seems like the best place to actually use them."

Wave looked at him. "You brought along some weapons and things, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Sonic nodded, "among other things. I don't remember everything else I grabbed, so I'll look through everything again before the night is done."

"Alright."

"In the meantime, you two should rest."

As soon as he said that, Wave turned to look pointedly at Jet. "I'm inclined to agree with that, _especially_ where you're concerned. You used a lot of power to get us to Eniwer and back. We'll need you well-rested for this fight."

Apparently disinclined to argue, Jet just shrugged again and left the room. Sonic, meanwhile, was feeling rather surprised. _She talked to him… almost exactly like she used to. Like they're still as close as they used to be, despite how things have been between them this whole time._ Shaking it off, Sonic waited until the hawk was out of earshot before asking Wave, "Hey, did you get a chance to read any of the documents and the like that I sent you?"

"No, not yet," Wave answered while she stood up. "Things were too crazy for me to. I'll give everything a thorough read before I go to sleep, though. I usually read before bed, anyway."

There was no reason to argue with her, so he didn't. "Alright."

She gave him a serious look. "For the record… you should rest, too. Just saying." Without giving him a chance to reply, she turned and walked away.

 **~台風の目~**

Lying in his bed, Jet idly ran his fingers over the impossibly soft fabric of his scarf. He was unable to sleep for a variety of reasons... chief among them being Ythene, the infamous "Voice", who had chosen now of all times to strike up a mental conversation. _"Look,"_ he mentally told her, _"I'm not in charge here. Sonic intends to end this war as soon as damn possible, and nothing I say or do is gonna change his mind."_

 _"Teyan believes he will be unable to succeed without the spear,"_ was the neutral reply.

Jet snorted. _"Then she has thoroughly underestimated him."_

 _"I do not believe so."_

 _"I didn't ask what you believe, anyway."_

 _"I am aware."_

Stifling a sigh, he closed his eyes and put an arm behind his head. _"I'm not saying things are going to go particularly well without that weapon, Ythene, but I don't think he's doomed to fail because he doesn't have it. And it isn't as though he won't gain it later. In spite of whatever you did, things aren't progressing fast enough for the spear to reveal itself, which means it's not ready. When it is ready, I'll deal with it. Now just isn't the time."_

 _"In spite of what you think on this matter, be cautious. This Darkness will not be so easy to banish."_

 _"Yeah, I got it. Thanks for yet another prophecy of doom and gloom, Ythene. Really appreciate it."_

No reply came, which he was completely fine with. Huffing, he rolled over and tried to go to sleep.

 **~台風の目~**

"Be good for Atasha, alright? I don't want to hear any new horror stories when I get home."

Kneeling before his children in the front room of the palace, Jet watched as Hannah looked up at him with big, doleful eyes. It was early morning, and he had just arrived here less than hour ago with his own kids, as well as the other kids and their parents. Skilled nannies had been assigned to the other kids (his own kids would be under the care of their usual nanny), and now all the parents were just saying the necessary goodbyes. ...Which was a bit easier said than done. "Okay, Daddy," she whispered. Dropping her gaze, she added, "We'll behave."

Ten stood beside his younger sister, expression uncharacteristically nervous. "Y-you won't be gone long, will you, dad?"

"I shouldn't be," Jet answered gently. "If things wind up taking longer than anticipated, I'll make sure someone lets you know what's going on."

"...Okay…" A second later, Ten nudged his little sister encouragingly, prompting her to launch herself into their father's arms. Ten himself soon joined the hug. "We love you, dad."

Closing his eyes, Jet tightened his hold on his kids, heart full of emotion. He loved his kids with all of his heart… and in that love, there was unspeakable pain. Especially where Lucas was concerned. But he tried not to think about that too much. There would be a time to grieve… but not now. Not until this war was done. "I love you, too... I love you so much."

"I'll miss you, daddy," Hannah sniffled into her father's shoulder. Jet just held her closer, willing himself not to get choked up as well.

Footsteps approached, and soon the voice of the kids' nany Atasha reached them. "I'm afraid this little one is up already, sir," she revealed mildly, a smile in her voice. "I think she wants to say 'bye', too."

Jet very gently removed himself from Hannah in order to stand. "I'd rather you didn't call me 'sir'," he reminded just as mildly, already reaching for the baby in the woman's arms.

"Apologies," she chuckled.

Focused on Suri as he was, Jet didn't think to reply. He stroked her tiny feathered cheeks and smiled slightly to himself as she cooed and giggled up at him. It wasn't often that he let himself be so open, but… It felt good to be so, at least with them. Not to mention for them. Given all of the fear and whatnot that these poor kids had been put through as of late, he wanted to ensure that they knew they were loved. In his experience, that alone could make such experiences easier to deal with. _It may not be enough, but it's all I can offer… at least for now._ Sighing internally, he turned back to Ten and Hannah and knelt back down. He wasn't ready to leave yet, nor were they ready for him to, clearly.

He had time for one more hug.

 **~台風の目~**

"And mommy's gonna be _awesome_ , right daddy?" Kimmy asked excitedly, practically bouncing in her father's arms. Her rapid-fire questions regarding the upcoming fight were nothing short of idealized childish fantasies of what fighting _might_ be to a little kid in a cartoon or something, but Silver had to admit that this one had real merit.

"Probably," he chuckled, trading a look with Blaze. "But, hey, don't leave your poor daddy out of it! I'll try to be awesome, too, okay?"

"Okay, daddy," Kimmy giggled. She gave him another loving, snuggly hug. "But you're better at being silly. Mommy's the awesomer one."

Now, it wasn't normally in Blaze's nature to gloat or anything, but this time Silver could have sworn that there was a smug note to that smile of hers. "I believe our kitten may have a point, Silver."

"Oh, hush, both of you," Silver laughed. "I'll prove you both wrong, and then _one_ of you is gonna have to bake me a 'sorry' cake."

"I am the only one who can cook, between the two of us," Blaze pointed out evenly. Her smile grew a touch wider.

Silver grinned. "Exactly!"

Giggling some more, Kimmy laid her head down on Silver's shoulder. " _Can_ we cake when you come back?" she begged. "I like cake. Cake is yummy."

"Sure," Silver chuckled. He gave her a gentle squeeze. "If mommy's not up to it, I'll do it. We can absolutely have some cake when this is all done."

This earned a positively angelic smile. "I love you, daddy," she sighed. "I love you, mommy."

Blaze kissed the top of her head. "We love you, too."

"With all of our hearts." Said heart swelling, Silver held their baby girl close and tried to memorize every second of this moment. He was going to need such Light in his heart and mind in order to get through whatever was coming next.

They all would.

 **~台風の目~**

Fighting back tears as she stood with her family off to one far side of the palace's huge front room, Lia stamped her foot and loudly demanded, "But when are you coming _back_ , daddy?"

"As soon as I can, Lia," Shadow responded, stifling a sigh. Nearby, Kaden and Analia were saying their own farewells to the twins. "I already told you that, more than once."

"But _daddy_ -" the young girl tried to argue.

"No but's," he calmly interrupted. She opened her mouth again, but he cut her off with a more firm, " _None_ , Lia."

Ruby eyes brimmed with fresh, thick tears that were soon angrily swiped away. Soren looked over at her in apparent surprise while she was doing this. "Are you… crying?"

It seemed that that question was worthy of quite a bit of ire being vented all at once within the confines of one stubborn word. " _No_!"

Now Shadow really did sigh. It was funny, when they were home he found himself doing that single action at least about nine _thousand_ times a day. Since leaving home, though, he couldn't recall even doing it more than once or twice. It was an odd feeling. "Lia…" he said before she could yell anymore, "...it's okay to cry."

The shock she leveled upon him with her eyes alone was probably justifiable, given how he was. Children did tend to behave like their caretakers, after all. Or, at least, he thought they did. "...But…" _God_ , that _word_. This child had taught him to _loathe_ it at the worst of times and simply hate it at the best. "But daddy…" She trailed off again, lower lip quivering, before finally getting out, "Then how come _you_ don't cry?"

Shadow looked away, weighing the idea of fully explaining that to her against the more obvious option of _not_. He went with the latter and simply told her, albeit as gently as he could manage, "I don't need to, Lia. Not everyone does."

Soren frowned at him, disagreement readily visible in his stormy grey eyes. "You're joking."

"No," Shadow replied tersely. He glanced at the teenager. "Regardless, Soren, I expect you to look after your sister. Understand?" It felt strange, very strange, to be addressing this boy as his own, but… well… he supposed that there were harder things in life he'd had to come to terms with than this. Really, compared to some of the other things he'd experienced over the years, having a son from an alternate timeline wasn't all that crazy. ...Either that, or he was finally losing it. Though, he refused to truly entertain the possibility.

"Yeah, of course," Soren nodded.

"And Lia, you _behave_ ," Shadow told his daughter sternly, yet not harshly. "If I hear you acted out in any way-"

"I'll be in trouble, I know," Lia mumbled, swiping at her eyes again. She walked over to him and gave him a tight hug. "Just don't be gone forever, okay…?"

"Hn." Sighing again (internally this time) Shadow lightly hugged her back, giving her the time she needed while also doing the same for himself.

This was going to be hard… for everyone.

 **~台風の目~**

Crossing his arms moodily, Jason plopped down onto the floor beside a wall to sulk. "I still don't see why I can't come, too," he groused. "I got a new power and everything."

"You certainly did," Rouge soothed. "But _you_ , my dear, are also only _eleven_ , and this is a war. If everything had gone just right from the beginning, you wouldn't have tagged along for _any_ of this trip."

This only made the boy sulk even further, so Knuckles added, "Besides, you don't know how to actually fight yet. _But_ ," he added meaningfully when Jason opened his mouth to protest, "once everything is all said and done… we can arrange for someone to start teaching you how to use that new ability of yours."

Jason perked up instantly. "Really?"

"Of course," Knuckles nodded once. "Why let a power like that go to waste? Besides, finding a teacher for you shouldn't be too hard. ...Heck, Jet might even be able to teach you."

The younger echidna leapt to his feet. "Really?!" he repeated, much more amped up than before.

" _After_ we end this war," Rouge reminded calmly. "But, yes, really."

"Yes!" Jason cheered. He ran off without further warning straight to Hannah and Ten (being that they were the only other kids around who were roughly his age) in order to boast about the promise he had just been given.

Knuckles and Rouge traded a tired yet amused look. "Dare I ask what we've just gotten ourselves into?" Rouge sighed, though she smiled at the same time.

"Probably best not to," Knuckles decided, adjusting his hat. Then he gestured to follow. "Come on, we'd better go retrieve him and say some proper goodbye's or we'll never hear the end of it later." Laughing despite the nervous butterflies in her stomach, Rouge went after him.

She could use another hug from her boy.

 **~台風の目~**

Cream gently tucked some blankets around her ailing mother. Vanilla had been doing well recently overall, but signs of her illness and exhaustion were showing through strongly this morning. _She hasn't been sleeping well…_ Plagued with worry, the littler bunny asked, "Are you comfortable, Mother?"

Somehow, Vanilla managed a smile that was as warm as any other she had ever given before. "Yes, dear, thank you. I'm just fine."

Flying a foot or so above the cozy palace bed was Charmy. Due to Vector still being missing and Espio being in no condition to care for him, the young bee was staying with Vanilla and Cream for now. "Are you sure?" he asked. "You don't look too good."

Vanilla's smile never wavered as she assured, "I'm sure, dear. I'll be alright in a while, once I rest."

Looking down, Cream bit her lip. _This won't make her want to rest, but…_ "Mother?" she asked softly.

Warm eyes turned to her. "Yes, dear?"

The young clairvoyant had to swallow hard before she could force any other words out. "...I… don't want to stay here." Her hands balled up into fists. "I… I want to help Mister Jet and the others. I can't just… just _stay_ here and let them do it all by themselves! I-"

"Cream, dear… you don't have to explain yourself to me." Pushing herself up onto one elbow, Vanilla murmured to her daughter, "I already knew you would want to go with them."

Startled, Cream quickly looked up. "Y-you knew?"

"I'm your mother, dear," Vanilla gently explained. "I know you and how you think about things, as well as how they make you feel. It's no surprise to me that you would want to fight again now as you have so often in the past."

Tears suddenly threatened to fill Cream's eyes. "Mother, I…"

"Aw, it's okay, Cream," Charmy suddenly cut in, landing beside her. "We'll be alright here while you go with the others. Won't we, Vanilla?"

"We will," Vanilla confirmed easily. However, there was a not of understandable worry in her face and voice as she added, "Just promise me that you won't stray from the others. Always keep close to someone, _anyone_ , who can keep you safe."

Cream wiped at her eyes. "I will, mother… I promise." Moving closer to the bed, she stood on her tiptoes and reached up to give her mother the best hug she could ever have managed. All the love in the world wasn't going to win this war, but…

It couldn't hurt to hold that love close, anyway.

 **~台風の目~**

In the later morning hours, Knuckles found himself standing beside his father's new bed in the so-called "observatory's" medical ward. Under the care of whatever crazy sci-fi medicine and tech these people had, Locke was already looking and doing much better. He'd even been awake for a short time earlier, as it turned out. Though, that made Knuckles more melancholy as opposed to happy. "I wish I'd have known you woke up," he mumbled to his sleeping father. "You and I haven't talked in what feels like ages, you know."

Sitting down in a chair, he took his hat off (Locke's old famed hat, he recalled) and ran a hand over his head. "Truth be told, dad, we could all use some of your advice. Even Kaden seems kinda lost without you nagging at him and pushing his buttons all the time." He dropped his arms down onto his knees and hung his head. "But, more importantly… we made a plan. Well, mostly it was Marthal, but others pitched in to hash out certain aspects of it. A lot's hinging on us being able to take down the three big leaders as fast as we can, but I don't know if we can even handle _doing_ that." He sighed heavily. "Especially without you."

"As it stands right now, we've only got three people who can really take on Ix, Shade, and that Kethro guy. That's Sonic, Analia, and Jet. I mean, Kaden's strong enough, too, but with him having so much Darkness _himself_ … Could he even kill these guys, dad? Wouldn't his Darkness rise up and make things worse for us, whether by making him lose control or strengthening them or something?"

Another heavy sigh. He ran a hand over his head again. "See, this is part of why we need you. You could answer questions like these easily. And, more importantly, I'd bet my life that you could help fight at least one of those guys." Pursing his lips together, he lifted his head to gaze over Locke's wounds. "I've seen you take on guys way stronger than the riff-raff we were stuck battling for so long. Kaden, Marthal, and Analia have all told stories of ancient battles, some of which involved _you_ kicking ass like a freaking god of fire or some shit like that."

Violet eyes roved over Locke's bandaged wounds, silently begging to understand. "So what the hell went wrong, dad? How did this _happen_ to you…?"

As silent as the night she had once so often stalked in search of treasure, Rouge stepped into the room. Knowing it was time to go, Knuckles stood. She placed a hand on his shoulder and, after giving one last long look at Locke, he put his hat back on and let her lead him out of the room.

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic took in a breath and glanced down, idly tugging at his right ear with two fingers. "Sorry, am I going too fast?" he asked with a sort of sigh. He was visiting Espio again for perhaps the very last time before the upcoming battle, and the chameleon was already much more coherent and, well, _awake_ than before. _Whatever they've been doing to treat him, it's damn effective._

Slowly, Espio shook his head. "...No," he eventually replied. Unable to raise his voice much, it came out scarcely above a whisper. He wasn't truly mumbling like he had been before, though, so it was still an improvement. He was much easier to understand now, truly. Besides, it wasn't as though Sonic couldn't hear him just fine, anyway.

"Okay. If you're sure." Sonic shifted in his seat. "Anyway, that's our plan… roughly. I know you won't be able to fight or anything, I just wanted to keep you informed." He gave Espio a sympathetic look. "I know, if it were me here, it would drive me crazy, not knowing."

Espio gave a slow, vague nod before asking, "You said… this will be the last fight?"

"If all goes well, yeah," Sonic confirmed. "That's my biggest goal, at any rate. I just want to end this. We all do."

His left eye remained sealed by that deep vertical scar, but Espio managed to open his right one to look at Sonic. "Who is fighting?" he asked as clearly as he could manage.

"Everyone who can," Sonic replied. "Me, my parents, Shadow, Silver and Blaze, Jet, Wave, Knuckles and Rouge, Marthal, Keiri, Amy, and Cream."

It was _painfully_ clear that a few of those names didn't ring any bells (further evidence than before that Espio had suffered serious memory loss), but one name in particular he obviously _did_ remember. In fact, he zeroed in on it, giving it his full (albeit exhausted) attention. "Cream?" he echoed.

"Yeah. She insisted, as usual, that she fight, too. Spritely little thing that she is." Sonic managed an almost-smile for a second. "Jet and I both made her swear to stay on the Typhoon with Amy, though. She'll help as best as she can by sending blasts out from there." It was hard to be sure, but Espio seemed to relax a bit when he heard this. Though, maybe Sonic was just imagining things. Espio murmured some vague reply before closing his eye again. Deciding that the chameleon was wearing out and needed to go back to sleep, Sonic moved to stand. "You rest, alright? As soon as things are over, no matter how they end, we'll come back for you guys here."

Another vague nod. Satisfied with that response, Sonic turned and left the room.

 **~台風の目~**

 _You always were destined for the role of 'troublemaker', weren't you?_ Sitting beside Lucas's bed, Jet gently brushed down some of the feather's on his son's cheek. His gaze was distant, focused as he was on his somber thoughts. _Being my kid, I suppose that was inevitable, but… I wouldn't wish this kind of trouble on nearly anyone. Least of all a child._

Bowing his head, the king of Babylon took a second to try to collect himself. He couldn't afford to lose it again, not now and not here. _There will be a time and place to mourn…_ he reminded himself, though it was hard not to do it right here. Still, he felt compelled to give his son one last bit of affection before leaving… so he did. Standing, Jet reached out a hand and smoothed down some of the feather's on the boy's head. He let his hand linger for one long, meaningful moment before turning away… And with a heavy heart, he made his leave.

A single droplet struck the floor.

 **~台風の目~**

It took a while of searching, but eventually Sonic tracked down in a random hall on the observatory Astra and called out to her. "Hey, have a second to chat? This is important."

The cat turned around, momentarily distracted from her wanderings. "Oh, Sonic. What do you need?" she asked gently, fixing her cloak and gloves.

"I mentioned before that we needed a plan," Sonic told her, arms crossed. "We made one now, but if you're going to help us, then you still need a role in it." He took a moment to lay everything out for her as briefly as possible, then waited for a reply.

Astra nodded slowly and frowned in thought. "Primarily, I would prefer to avoid the front lines. I have no doubts that the Nocturnian leaders may be upset with me."

"Given how you stormed their ships and rescued Espio, yeah," Sonic agreed easily. "But are you willing to fight at all? I understand if you don't want to, given how this isn't your war, but we could use all the help we can get."

"I'm _going_ to fight," she answered. "I have more than my fair share of _grievances_ with them. Even if I am not directly placed against Ix and Shade myself, I wish to help take this threat out before it grows more out of control." The white cat crossed her arms lightly, watching the blue hedgehog.

 _I think we're past that point already._ Sighing, Sonic said, "Maybe you can help form a defensive line with a few of the others, then. As I mentioned, Amy, Shadow, and Cream are all gonna be on or near the Blue Typhoon to help guard it. They could use an extra hand."

With a slow nod, she gave him a mild smile. "Understood. Is that all, then?"

"Should be." Sonic turned to walk away. "We're leaving soon. Rest as much as you can before then. I'll let you know when it's time."

"Alright." She turned away as well, hiding a much more sinister smile.

Already walking away, Sonic just nodded once. He disappeared around a corner and headed back to the ship. He had more things to do.

 **~台風の目~**

Everyone gathered in the control room of the Blue Typhoon discussing what supplies, weapons, and so on they had. They had gotten everything written down and were reading over it all.

 _Supplies Sonic brought from Tails's workshop:  
_ _-Prototypes of ships (2)  
_ _-Incomplete laser guns  
_ _-Battle robots  
_ _-Robots built to construct new tech on their own (probably won't be useful)  
_ _-Prototype communicators (may not be useful)  
_ _-Med scanners  
_ _-The special device used to shrink down objects for transport and later re-enlarge them at any time  
_ _-Basic weapons (normal guns, mechanically-produced swords, bows and arrows, etc., weapons for ships, planes, boats, etc., and so on)  
_ _-Unknown tool  
_ _-Unknown tool_

When they reached that part of the list, Rouge spoke up. "What are those last two, Sonic?"

Though he shrugged, Sonic had an answer for her. "Those two I brought along on accident," he said. "I didn't know what they were for initially, but there's a notecard taped to each one. Tails wrote on them."

Turning to the table that all the weapons and smaller tech items had been places on (the bigger objects were outside of the ship), Silver picked up the handle-looking tool and pulled the notecard off tape and all. "It says, 'PROTOTYPE ELECTRIC WHIP' on the front." He turned the card over. "Back here he wrote, 'Creates an electric whip of pure energy from the handle. Grants brief speed boosts after each use. In theory, safe for anyone to use if they're careful.'"

Eyebrows upraised, Knuckles asked, "What about the other one?"

In answer, Silver put the electric whip down, set the card beside it, and grabbed the red gun-like tool in question. Just like before, he pulled off the card. 'Okay, so the front says, 'PROTOTYPE FLAMETHROWER TOOL'," he turned it around, "and the back says, 'Shoots flames straight ahead. Can release small controlled blasts of fire to launch the user upward. LATTER FEATURE UNSAFE FOR ALL BUT FIRE USERS.'"

When golden eyes shifted back to Knuckles, the echidna raised his hands. "Hey, don't look at me. I don't use weapons like that."

"Blaze, what about you?" Amy asked. "You could probably handle the flamethrower."

"I will try," Blaze murmured. "It does not seem too complicated."

"What about the whip?" Silver asked no one in particular. "If no one else claims it, I wanna use it." No one spoke up, not even Jet who actually _had_ a related power (namely, lightning). Seeing this, Sonic idly gestured for Silver to have at. The younger hedgehog grinned goofily.

"Anyway, let's go over the next list," Wave interrupted. "We need to make sure we all know what's available." Nods all around, more or less, answered her and they all resumed their reading.

 _Supplies on the ship:  
_ _-Whatever remaining medical supplies we have left  
_ _-Food  
_ _-Water  
_ _-Our weapons  
_ _-Communicators_

As there was no comment to make to begin with, no one said anything. Everyone kept reading.

 _Ships we have:  
_ _Kaden's  
_ _Jet's  
_ _Wave's parents' ship (borrowed)  
_ _Shadow's  
_ _Prototype ships  
_ _Babylonian ships within the armada_

Turning his head, Sonic questioned Jet, "You _do_ have a ship, right? I thought someone mentioned before that you did."

Not even bothering to look his way, Jet just answered, "Yes."

"Arthr and I each have private ships as well," Tammy volunteered. "We'll be using them, too."

Sonic nodded. "Good." The conversation ended after that, and as soon as the next part of the list (which Jet had written out with Tammy and Arthr's help) was handed over, everyone again resumed reading.

 _Supplies brought from New Babylon:  
_ _Ships  
_ _Medical supplies  
_ _Advanced weapons  
_ _Food and water  
_ _Armor (various types)  
_ _Communication devices  
_ _Teleporters  
_ _Shields  
_ _Healing technology  
_ _Shockwave Glove (allows the user to unleash shockwaves as well as hover briefly)  
_ _Drill Tool (allows the user to attack by launching themselves forward and shooting through enemies or obstacles, as well as tunnel under the surface or briefly climb walls)  
_ _Cube Gun (allows the user to turn enemies into semi-translucent blue cubes, which break along with everything trapped within when the user smashes them, runs through them, or shoots them again; can be used to create brief, fragile platforms to stand on)  
_ _Energy Beam Tool (prototype of a new version of the aura gun)  
_ _Advanced med scanners  
_ _Advanced mechs  
_ _Basic weapons (i.e. Babylonian swords)_

"Armor?" Silver questioned in surprise.

"We're dealing with an army, ding-a-ling," Rouge teased. "Yes, they have armor, and apparently they're willing to share."

"What kinds of armor?" Sonic frowned.

"Various kinds," Jet reiterated with a small, one-shouldered shrug. "The heavy armor won't do most of you any good, but there are more lightweight types."

"One type," Tammy helpfully supplied, "is cloth armor, which is designed for magical defense. Another type is similarly made of cloth, but defends you better against blunt weapons. There are a few others, but yeah."

"We'll have to go through all of that and get everyone suited up as soon as we're done here," Knuckles muttered, crossing his arms. Shadow nodded.

"We should be done soon," Blaze responded. "There is only one more list."

"Let's read it, then," Marthal sighed, "and get it over with.

Resisting the sudden urge to roll his eyes, Sonic moved the list to where everyone could see.

 _Weapons we have:  
_ _Saika (Kaden)  
_ _Bow (Analia)  
_ _Caliburn (Sonic)  
_ _Alkarus, aura gun, etc. (Jet)  
_ _Daggers (Rouge)  
_ _Knife (Blaze)  
_ _Guns (Shadow)  
_ _Traditional wooden martial arts staff (Marthal)  
_ _Aura guns (Tammy, Arthr)  
_ _Hammer (Amy)_

At this point, Silver raised his hand. "Hey, so, I'm sure you've all heard by now where I was during all that time that I was gone, right?" Some nods and questioning looks answered him. "Well, the Jet from that timeline taught me how to use swords and stuff, so I can use one if someone has a spare or something."

Finally, Analia spoke up. "Use mine," she told him quietly. "I intend to use my bow."

People stared. " _You_ have a sword?" Amy asked in surprise.

In answer, Analia summoned an ornate blade of silver and white into her hand. The amount of Light flowing through the blade was nearly palpable. "Take this, Silver," she murmured, holding it out to her grandson. "With how much Light you inherited, I had always intended to leave it to you someday. Today has turned out to be that day."

Silver was in awe as he accepted the weapon, and he had to swallow hard before he could answer her. "Th… Thanks, Gramma."

Jet stared at the weapon. _That blade… It's one the original Immortals crafted, said to be the second most powerful of the entire collection… How did she...?_ His own blade was the most powerful when the user unlocked all of it's secrets, and that alone was a treasure to see each and every day. He had never expected to be lucky enough to see _this_ sword as well.

"You know, you have a good head on your shoulders," Arthr suddenly said to Silver. "And you're fast, too. I know you've got a couple weapons already, but with how fast you'd be able to trade them out I think you could handle a third one."

"Third one?" Silver echoed.

Already, Jet had caught on to where Arthr was going with this. "One of the cube guns," he explained. He teleported one into his hand and tossed it over. "Use it if you want. It could prove useful."

Clearly intrigued as well as feeling quite honored by these gifts, Silver nodded. "Yeah… thanks."

Sonic interrupted them in order to address Knuckles. "You mentioned remembering some of the training you got from that ruined timeline, right?"

"Yeah," Knuckles nodded, "but I'd be more comfortable using a glove weapon or something like that." Turning, he looked at Jet. "That shockwave thing…" He let the question hang.

"It's a glove," Jet confirmed.

Another nod. "Mind if I use one?" In response, Jet did as he had done before. After teleporting one into his hand, he tossed it over. Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "Just one?"

"If you want to have any ounce of control over the energies in that weapon and to not run the risk of shattering your own bones," Jet told him mildly, "then you won't _want_ two."

Taking the hint, Knuckles voiced no further complaints. Blaze, however, had a question of her own. "I would like to use a sword," she said to no one in particular, "and not just this… 'gun'." The request came as no surprise, given how extensively she had trained under Kaden over the past century.

Gesturing to the table with Tails's creations on it, Sonic said, "Take your pick. A few of them are pretty close to the katanas you learned how to use." Apparently pleased, Blaze walked over to peruse her options.

Just then, Jet had a thought. _...She'll need a weapon, too,_ he recalled, cutting a glance at Wave. Due to her past as a thief he didn't doubt that she, like he, would have no issues using a regular gun (a couple types of which she had already claimed from the table, it seemed). However… he had a better idea. He teleported a new weapon into his hand and, while others were talking, quietly called out, "Wave."

She turned to him quickly, seeming almost startled that he was addressing her, then reacted on reflex when he tossed the weapon to her. She caught it with both hands. "...Your aura gun?" she asked in confusion as soon as she recognized it. "Jet, won't you need it?"

"I have enough weapons," he told her simply. " _You_ , however, need something better than a few handguns for this battle."

Wave looked down and thought for a moment. "...You're right, I guess. Thank you."

Before he could reply, Silver's voice cut over every other. "Oh, hey, I had an idea!" he declared. "Rouge, since you use that drill kick move so easily, think you can handle that drill tool thing?"

Her eyebrows raised a degree as she considered this idea. "I suppose…" Slowly, she smiled. "It would certainly be a thrill to test it out." This time, it was Arthr who summoned the weapon in question and tossed it over.

Sonic closed his eyes in thought. _Come to think of it, Marthal probably needs a better weapon than a staff… though he likely won't use anything else._ He paused, considered, then mentally backpedaled, _hard_. _Wait, no, I take that back. He's a freaking demon with that staff thanks to his martial arts skills and whatever else. He'll be fine with just that._ He thought a bit more, mentally going over a list of people in his head.

As he thought, he cracked his eyes open to see everyone actively gathering their weapons. Kaden summoned and sheathed saika, Amy set her hammer down beside her, Silver examined his new blade, Blaze finally picked a sword of her own, Tammy and Arthr got their guns out, and Analia somehow even managed to convince Shadow to get a sword of his own from the table. Because, _apparently_ , his sparring matches with Kaden had stuck enough that he was able to wield a sword on his own just fine. _Apparently._ His eyes closed again. _So that leaves just Cream and Keiri without weapons, but… Cream won't really need one, anyway. She'll be on the ship with Amy. And Keiri… I don't think she even knows how to use anything, but Marthal's sticking close to her for the fight so it doesn't even matter._

He opened his eyes again and resumed watching everyone. Various high-tech containers were sitting in the middle of the floor now and people were going through them. They contained armor, as it turned out, and those who felt so inclined were claiming some. While they were doing that, Jet walked over to one of the containers and pulled out some heavier armor… then walked over to Sonic. Sonic's eyebrows raised. "I'm guessing you think I should wear that?"

"Yes," Jet huffed, holding it out to him. "This can defend you from heavy magical and physical blows, and you'll be fighting _Ix_."

 _...He has a point…_ "Yeah, alright, give it here," Sonic sighed, taking the proffered armor. "...Damn, never thought I'd see the day I'd actually have to wear _armor_ of all things."

"This will be no normal fight," Jet murmured, turning away. "As such, you should… learn to expect the unexpected."

"Maybe." That comment left Sonic feeling oddly grim all over again. He pursed his lips together, closed his eyes yet again, and took a second to collect himself before speaking again. When he did, he addressed the whole group. "Guys… however you need to finish getting ready, now's the time. We're heading out in twenty minutes." _And if all goes well… We'll all be home by tomorrow._ It was risky to hope for such a thing but, really, in situations like these…

What did they even have _left_ anymore, if not _hope_?

 **~台風の目~**

 **6,897 words this time. I uploaded _on time_ for once! _Yes_! XD Anyway, seriously hope you all enjoyed! Down below are some important notes.**

 **The Shadow scene was largely inspired by this fan prompt, given to me ages ago via Skype by Blazing Winds. It reads as follows: _"I imagined that one day, when Lia is crying about something serious (something that kids don't just cry about for no reason) and Shadow says, 'It's okay to cry.'_**

 _ **She'd look up at him with her teary and adorable eyes and reply, 'Why don't you?'**_

 _ **'Because I don't need to.'"**_

 **Many thanks to him for this prompt! Truly, it helped that scene a lot earlier this chapter. :) Also, on to some of the weapons here… as some as you may have noticed, I borrowed from Sonic Forces for some of them. Here's the full list of what I borrowed and the original uses for each of the tools (few of which I changed in any way).**

 _ **-Lightning Whip (based off of the wispon from Sonic Forces; game version lets you move faster when using it near any enemy)**_

 _ **-Flamethrower Tool (based off of the Burst wispon from Sonic Forces, which lets the user shoot flames straight ahead and release small controlled blasts of fire to rocket themselves upward)**_

 _ **-Shockwave Glove (based off of the Hover wispon from Sonic Forces, which lets you unleash shockwaves; makes a balloon for you to float with in the game)**_

 _ **-Drill Tool (based off of the Drill wispon from Sonic Forces, which lets the user attack by launching themselves forward and shooting through enemies or obstacles; also lets the user tunnel under the surface or briefly climb walls)**_

 _ **-Cube Gun (based off of the Cube wispon from Sonic Forces, which lets the user turn enemies into cubes of an unnamed solid substance that sort of resembles blue eyes; smashing or running through the cubes breaks them and anything trapped inside will break as well; can also be used to create platforms to stand on)**_

 _ **-Energy Beam Tool (based off of a Sonic Forces wispon tool, I don't know which one anymore, which lets you fire blue beams at an enemy)**_

 **Anyway, until next time! Posted (at about 5:45 p.m.) 08-20-18.**


	104. Nerves

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this conversation... especially for the one who suddenly has butterflies (and the one who doesn't).

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Well, I mean, if you're worried about it I always _could_ just stop telling you stuff and answering your questions. XD But, in all seriousness, I'm sorry that my writing has wounded your soul. XD But, as always, it's good to hear that the chapter was enjoyed nevertheless!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Nerves"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _This is it…_

 _It's now or never._

 _It's time for this to end._

 _One way or another..._

Taking in a deep breath, Sonic opened his eyes and adjusted his armor. It felt heavy. He felt heavy. The weight of everyone's lives was pressing down on him mercilessly. Breathing seemed altogether too difficult and, in the moment, all he wanted to do was _not_ think about _why_. However, his pounding heart and racing thoughts wouldn't let him forget. They _wouldn't_. All of the anger he had been suffering as of late had caved under the immense pressure of his new emotions and he felt like he was about to suffocate all of a sudden and-

Cursing, he moved to rip all of the cumbersome material off, only to be soft by a calm and surprisingly gentle hand on his shoulder. "Jet, help me get this off," he half-demanded, half-pled, already reaching out again to do just that. "It's too heavy and I can't b-"

"Just relax," the hawk huffed at him. He removed his hand from Sonics shoulder then and busied himself with redoing the clasps and cords that held everything together. It would seem that Sonic's attempt to do it all up himself had been unsuccessful. "You need to just breathe."

"I _can't_ ," Sonic implored softly, hoping no one else would hear.

"You can," Jet disagreed, tone firm yet… gentle. "And you will."

"I-"

"You're the one they're all looking to here as an example, Sonic." Jet tightened a cord under Sonic's arm and carefully tied it. "With a few exceptions, if they see you starting to break down and panic then they will start to feel overwhelmed by the same fear. You're their leader. You have to be succeed at keeping a level head so that they can do the same."

Sonic pursed his lips together. "I never asked to be the leader of _anyone_."

"Few do," was the murmured reply. "However… now isn't the time to start pulling back. If you want to relinquish your role and let someone else do it, then do so - after this battle is won." After fixing one final clasp, Jet stepped back and simply said, "Everyone on this ship needs you now. You owe it to them to see this through."

Taking another breath, Sonic closed his eyes. "...Why are you giving me advice?"

Slowly, Jet's head tilted just a smidge. "You looked like you needed some… for once."

That last part may or may not have been a tiny joke, but right now Sonic didn't particularly care. "People need you, too, you know," he said quietly, "but you're _always_ calm and… in control. Doesn't this - _any_ of this - ever _bother_ you?"

Jet gave Sonic a long, long look before eventually replying, "Whether it does or doesn't is irrelevant. What's _relevant_ is seeing my people through this fight and getting them back home."

A heavy sigh escaped Sonic's lips. "...You're right," he nearly whispered. "And... my job here is the same as yours, I suppose… isn't it?" Jet inclined his head. Opening his eyes, Sonic turned to look out the nearest window. Nothing but vast, empty space surrounded them now, as had been the case for the past several hours or so. They were well away from any planets or other forms of life, sentient or otherwise, for better or for worse. "...What do you think? Should we use this area, or…?"

Blue eyes shifted to the window. "It would be potentially disadvantageous for those who cannot fly."

 _Like me._ "We definitely have ships people can use," Sonic said slowly, "but... I can't fight Ix in a ship."

Beside him, Jet inclined his head again. "That is so," he murmured vaguely. It seemed as though he wanted Sonic to work this out on his own, as usual.

Sonic thought hard. _I can't fly without my emeralds, and four of them are still missing. ...No, wait, three. But even still. I'll need to be able to move around freely while fighting Ix. He can fly whenever the hell he wants to. ...Actually, I think he flies or hovers everywhere. I've never seen the bastard walk. _Shaking himself from his thoughts, which frankly were getting rather off-topic, Sonic tried again to think of an idea. Then, of course, a slight memory hit him instead. Namely, a memory of Jet having shared his flight power to some degree in the past. _I almost hate to ask, but…_ "Hey, Jet?" The hawk glanced at him. Now Sonic really did sigh. "I don't… suppose you'd be willing to help me out, here."

With a vague hum, Jet easily transferred a measure of his flight power to Sonic for temporary use. It wasn't much, but it was more than enough for Sonic to use for this one battle. "Thanks." He looked away, feeling suddenly awkward given their recent issues getting along in spite of their past closeness. Still, he pressed on. "...Really, it… means a lot, that you're willing to lend a hand." Jet didn't reply in any specific, noticeable way, so Sonic continued to do the talking for him. "You don't ever seem nervous, you know." That earned a glance. "I'm serious, Jet. I know you said your feelings or whatever are irrelevant here, but…" He sighed again. "But I just don't understand why you seem so… sure. That we won't lose, I mean."

"And here I thought _you_ were the endlessly hopeful one," Jet murmured.

In response to that, Sonic let out a bland, flavorless laugh. "Ah, no. No, not really. That's Silver."

Jet seemed to consider that for a moment before just shrugging. Then he revealed quietly, "It isn't that I believe we're destined to win, Sonic." Sonic turned to look at him. "It's more that… I don't believe anyone here is willing to _lose_."

Sonic stared at him in open surprise and confusion. A fresh memory hit him in the face, a reminder of their teenage years from so long ago. They had been fighting someone, he didn't remember who anymore or why. All he remembered was that the guy had been _strong_ compared to their younger selves and had thoroughly kicked their asses. And yet, at the time it had actually been Jet to save them for once. And just before taking the enemy out, he had said something… something that to this very _day_ explained a lot about his old friend's character.

 _"You forgot one little thing, dumbass! I don't feel like losing!"_

Almost too surprised to reply, Sonic initially just stared. _Has... he..._ Taking in Jet's calm posture and unreadable expression and eyes, it was hard to reconcile _this_ hawk with the much more vocal and energetic hawk that Sonic had once known. And yet, hearing him say something like that... why, it was almost enough to make one consider the idea that maybe - just maybe - Jet hadn't changed that completely, after all. "...What?"

Before Jet could reply, Wave walked over. "Sonic, we're all ready to go," she told him, voice made quiet by nervous anticipation. "Is this where we're going to be fighting?"

Sonic gave a small nod. "Yeah. It is."

She gave him a hard look. "Are you ready for this?"

Truth be told, he wasn't. He doubted that most of them were. However… it wasn't like they really had much of a choice now, did they? If they were going to have any chance of winning this war, they had to fight this battle. One way or another, it would end things. Of that, he was painfully sure. "As I'll ever be, I suppose." Drawing himself up, he turned to the rest of the people gathered in the room and said, in as level a voice as he could manage, "Let's do this."

 _This may be our only chance._

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,349 words this time. THE FINAL FIGHT BEGINS NEXT TIME! Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 4:12 p.m.) 8-21-18.**


	105. This Is For the Fallen

**~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yes, it's _on_ , finally! Haha, sorry it took me a couple of days, but that's way better than how things have been. XD Ha, yeah, I have been posting way more often this week than I was for ages there. Writer's block is _such_ a pain, as is work. I miss the days of daily updates. :( As for how I keep going, though... well, I don't really know. I just love to write, and I love this series and this story and everything I've created in order to build both of them up, you know?**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! YEAH, I REMEMBER THAT GAME OF CATCHUP YOU PLAYED! XD GLAD YOU'RE EXCITED, TOO, THOUGH!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"This Is For the Fallen"**

 **~台風の目~**

Everything was in order.

As magic suffused the suffocating blackness of the group's chosen battleground in an effort to force their enemies to appear, Sonic drew his sword and waited. Beside him on the roof of the Blue Typhoon stood Jet, arms crossed and sword sheathed, in a surprising show of almost nonchalant solidarity against the darkness that was soon to descend upon them. By Sonic's other side, Kaden and Analia concentrated their magic with closed eyes and tense expressions. Analia stood stoic and pure with her bow in hand, an arrow already notched as her brightly beaming white aura flared. Kaden crouched by her free side, encased in glowing blue with his sword at his hip and his body almost rigid.

Nearby, Shadow clutched at the controls of his black and red ship, which was flying like a predator waiting for a chance to lunge out at its prey. Rouge and Knuckles, with their new borrowed weapons, hovered together not terribly far from a cluster of ally ships off to the far left of the Typhoon. To the far right, Tammy and Arthr's ships flew with another cluster of allied vessels. Further Babylonian troops were spread throughout the area, leaving no space unwatched or undefended - at least for now.

Crouched on a wing of one such ship nearly a half mile from the Typhoon was Marthal, who already had his staff in one hand and a small fireball burning in the other. Keiri stood beside him, a basic gun at her hip. Silver hovered a sizeable distance away from the pair, new sword drawn and his other two weapons securely attached to his waist with a slim black cord. Blaze, with whom he was sharing his flight power, hovered right by his side with her recently acquired weapons also in hand.

Inside the Typhoon, Amy and Cream readied their minds for long-drawn-out psychic attacks while also helping to maintain several of the barriers currently surrounding the vessel. Amy had managed to put up one. Cream had erected two others. Jet, Tammy, and Arthr respectively had each put up another two layers of protective energy. Kaden, Analia, and Silver, had further added to it. It almost seemed silly, but Sonic knew it was far from being so. Because in the end, no matter how this battle went, they would need _some_ means of leaving this area and returning to a safe place. He just hoped that it would be _home_.

Using some of the flight power that Jet was also sharing with her, Wave flew over to Jet and Sonic. "It's working," she said softly, eyes on the mingling magical energies still flowing through and around everything in the area. "Look."

Neither Sonic nor Jet said anything. Both of their gazes were locked on the vague forms of people, creatures, and ships that were starting to manifest in every available space - and then some. They were almost like shadows, translucent and dark and entirely unsettling. Sonic gritted his teeth. "Where the hell are they even coming from?"

"Therius, most likely," Wave responded. "They were dead-set on fighting the Therions, remember? It wouldn't make sense for them to have given it up after only one failed attempt."

 _It doesn't matter anyway, does it?_ Gritting his teeth tighter, Sonic adjusted his grip on his sword. "It's about time. They're nearly here."

Calm as ever, Jet uncrossed his arms and, in one smooth and fluid motion, drew Alkarus. "Be ready, then."

"Yeah." As Sonic and his allies watched, the magic intensified. Agitated by the presence of the rapidly solidifying shadows, some ships moved this way and that as though in an effort to get out of the way. Screams from monsters that defied description started to emanate from all possible directions. The shadows began to move.

The second that they Nocturnians fully manifested, the fight was on.

As gunfire, explosions, maniacal laughter, flashes of light, and so on began to fill the space around him, Sonic leapt into the fray. His target was Ix. His main goal _had_ to be finding the man and taking him down. Tracking him down likely wouldn't be hard, either, as he was likely going to be rather pissed about being dragged here. _And,_ Sonic noted with a glance around, _he's not gonna be too pleased about being trapped here with us, either._ A sphere of pure magical energies and Light rapidly encased the area, massive though said area was. They could only hope that it would hold.

A beam of aura energy sailed past his cheek close enough to singe fur, striking the hull of a ship a fair distance below where he was currently flying. Seconds later, Marthal sprang into view, leaping from ship to ship to reach the damaged vessel before disappearing inside. Keiri was close behind, as were a number of Nocturnians. Not too far away from either Sonic or the Typhoon, he spied Shadow's ship screaming through the sky with a number of enemies on its tail. From within the Typhoon itself, psionic blast after psionic blast was unleashed, decimating the dense gatherings of small fry enemies surrounding the ship. A more significant distance beyond that, Knuckles and Rouge were fighting in tandem to keep a wave of Nocturnian beasts away from where a Babylonian ship had already been downed.

More explosions rocked the once still and silent space. Though Sonic didn't see it, he _heard_ with supreme ease as a lightning bolt blasted through some unlucky foe with a resounding _crack!_ Cyan and orange flashes to his left marked where Blaze and Silver were fighting, though they themselves were concealed from Sonic's viewpoint by a large ship and several monsters. To his right, an arrow of Light pierced the blackness of the space and met its mark in soe creature's head. It disintegrated as Sonic turned his head to look. His mother notched another arrow in preparation to fire while his father defended her fiercely from any who should _dare_ try to bring her harm.

Though Sonic worried, his mind was rapidly freed from having to focus on said worries when he spotted his prey. Ix hovered alone and apparently unruffled by all the chaos and destruction around them. The wreckage of a sizable Nocturnian ship surrounded the clan's dark and mysterious leader, whose only given sign of potential mild upset was loosely crossed arms. Even the magic staff he held in left hand was clutched only very loosely… as though he didn't even intend to fight. Well, Sonic _very much_ intended to do just that.

With a snarl, he lunged forward and down toward his foe and swung his blade in a powerful arc. Metal met metal with a harsh scream that had his ears flattening in an instant. With his arm casually upraised, Ix held his staff in place to block the blow without any hint of strain. He looked up at Sonic with cold disdain, eyes dark… and full of _malice_. "I suppose this little mess was your doing then…" he murmured slowly. "Was it not… _Sonic_?"

Another snarl escaped Sonic without him ever intending for it to. "This ' _little mess_ ' is going to end with you dead."

Ix's head canted. "An interesting notion… But, tell me something." Energy as black as the night itself began to crackle around his staff. Soon, it spread up through Caliburn and into Sonic, ripping a cry of pain from his lips. "Do you believe that you possess the power necessary to defeat us, hedgehog? Do you truly think that whatever little scheme you concocted since last we met will be enough to make up for just how far _lacking_ your abilities are?" He began pressing harder against Caliburn with his staff. The crackling energies intensified, making Sonic cry out a second time. "I, for one, believe that you have made a _grave_ error in judgement…"

No further warning was given. An explosion of dark magic sent Sonic hurtling backward with enough force to cause his body to crash straight through a passing ship. He was hurled through wall after wall before finally breaking out the other side, out of breath and in pain. Somewhere along the way he had lost his sword, and his now free hand clutched at a jagged wound on his side cut into him by something he had crashed through. _Wounded already… damn it…_

As unsurprising as it should have been, Ix's sudden appearance right by Sonic's side gave him a terrible start. A split second later, another blast of magic hit him and sent him flying. Not two full seconds passed before Ix was by his side again, blasting him in a new direction even harder than before. This was repeated on and on until Ix was blasting him around so quickly that Sonic felt like a pinball… and, worse, that he might pass out if this magic didn't let up soon. Only through sheer force of will did he manage to gather his energies fast enough to teleport out of range before he could be hit yet again.

Wasting no time, he teleported his sword back into his hand. He winced at the magical wounds he now possessed all over every part of his body. His borrowed armor was likely doing a lot to help defend him, and yet… _It's not enough, clearly. Without it, though, I'll probably be killed in no time flat._ He took in a breath, then turned slightly to see Ix already hovering toward him at a pace that suggested the man was in no hurry whatsoever. Which was almost… irksome. "You planning on toying with me this whole time?" he challenged brazenly. And perhaps stupidly. "Or are you _actually_ planning to fight at some point?"

Emotionless, Ix raised his staff to point at Sonic's chest. "Why would a dragon waste power," he queried slowly, "killing an _ant_?" A beam fired from the gem at the top of the spear. Sheer speed and reflexes were all that saved Sonic from a potentially lethal blow. Furious in spite of himself, Sonic gathered a great ball of fire into his free hand and hurled it at Ix. His attack was deflected by the simplest of barriers, one which was there and gone as quickly as his attack was. Fire was obviously not effective, so Sonic raced in for another physical strike. It may not have been the very best idea out there, but it was the only real option left to him already. His fire was useless and he had no other readily accessible offensive powers to even consider wielding in this fight. His sword was his only hope.

Well off in the distance to his left, Sonic caught sight for the first time of his mother locked in combat with Shade. The two traded blows in the most powerful and physical battle that he had _ever_ seen Analia in ever before in his life, nearly every blow juxtaposed with fierce blasts of white energy from her and black energy from the woman she sought to defeat. Daring to turn his head to where he could (for once) _easily_ feel Jet's aura raging, he watched as the hawk and the infinitely nightmarish Kethro squared off. The two appeared to be trading words rather than strikes, but whatever was said clearly proved enough to anger the normally unreadable king of Babylon.

When Kethro turned and took off, disappearing into the madness that continued to unfold everywhere within this sphere of death, Jet tore after him with a roar of power and fury that was _felt_ rather than heard. This, more than anything, reminded Sonic of the importance of focusing on his own battle. The others could take care of themselves. They would _have_ to, and he had to _let_ them. _Ix has to be taken down… and I have to focus._

Ix hovered closer menacingly."You appear to have a wandering eye, boy," he murmured, "and yet, unless I am mistaken, it was you who directed that woman to bring us all here. Are you incapable of even so much as _paying attention_ to your own demise?"

Sonic glared _hard_. "I won't be dying anytime soon, but thanks for the offer," he retorted. He tightened his grip on Caliburn's handle. "Now, are you actually going to _fight_ me, or am I going to have to do all the fighting by myself?"

A new voice whispered in his ear. "Oh, I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

Alarmed, he whipped around. Shade now hovered before him, arms crossed and dark grin full of triumph. Snapping a glance to the side, he saw his mother relatively where she had been before and still… fighting _Shade_. His eyes widened. _It's… not possible…_

He must have voiced that little thought aloud, because Shade leaned in close and widened her grin before whispering, "Darling, you have no _idea_ what's possible." Caliburn swung sharply with lethal intent, but she easily dodged to the side with speed that rivaled anything Sonic had once thought her capable of. "Take the fact that my clan is here at all, for example," she continued, idly examining her nails. "If not for the aid of a force beyond your tiny comprehension… why, I daresay that we might not have ever met." She turned her head back to him. "'Tis a shame, though, that you won't be more fun to kill…"

Sonic snarled at her, but Ix spoke before he could get a word in. "Save your speeches for the guardian of the afterlife, boy," he muttered, floating closer. "We are well aware of the fact that you do not _intend_ to die. However… you have never been the one in control here."

When Shade tried to sneak closer to him, dagger in hand, Sonic blasted fire her way to force her back. "And who is, then?" he snapped. "Am I supposed to believe that it's _you_?"

"My, you truly are dense, aren't you?" Shade _tsked_ with mock sympathy. She was in a positively _glorious_ mood, and all it did was make Sonic angrier. But then all at once, her smile dropped and her expression grew darkly serious. "I meant what I said before. You, little ' _hero_ ' from Mobius, know _nothing_ of what is _possible_. You think there are no evil forces greater than us… that we are the ultimate evil you must vanquish so that this existence might see _peace_?" She let out a sharp laugh. " _Fool_! If we were the strongest there is, would we be wasting time with tiny wars to gather our strength? Would we be wasting our energy on the likes of _you_?!"

The last word of her question was punctuated by a powerful blast of magic from both Shade and Ix. Sonic was struck with extreme force, but somehow managed to hold his ground. By placing his sword directly into dual beams of magic, he was just able to hold the attacks back and prevent them from hitting him again. Gritting his teeth from strain, he bit out, "What in the hell could possibly be worse than the likes of you people?! You've done nothing but murder and abduct and destroy people and their homes since the very moment you were freed! You've tried to kill everything on your own homeworld, twice! How the hell can there be anything or anyone worse than you?!"

"Have you never experienced the wrath of true Darkness, boy?!" Shade laughed, voice raised to be heard over the roar of their attacks. "Have you never heard of the God of all Demons, an evil so vast and unthinkably powerful that even it _despises_ other evil?! Have you never been taught to fear the _Night_?!"

With a powerful push, Sonic fully deflected the attacks and sent both beams veering off in random directions. Taking the opportunity as it came, he lunged again and slashed at Shade. This time his sword made contact and tore straight through her, ripping her form in half… only for it to dissolve in a wisp of shadowy energy while the real Shade continued to fight elsewhere. _Some sort of… illusion?_ There was no time to contemplate the matter, so Sonic instead turned and raised his sword just in time to block Ix's staff.

In roughly the same instant, explosions started to rock their makeshift battlefield. Beasts and people screamed. Lights of all manner of colors blinded any who dared to look. Gunfire further pierced Sonic's ears, as did the harsh screeches of grinding metal and the sickening sounds of death coming from all around. Energy crackled at the point of contact between Sonic's sword and Ix's dark staff. Looking into those dark, soulless eyes, Sonic couldn't help but feel a measure of concern.

 _"Darling, you have no idea what's possible."_

If that was true, then… did that mean that something worse than any of them had expected was about to happen here? Was that what she was implying? And if it was, how were any of them supposed to prepare for it? In truth, he supposed that the simple answer was that they _weren't_. If something new was coming, there was nothing he nor anyone else could do about it. All that he could do was try his _damnedest_ to kill this bastard before anything else _could_ happen. It was _all_ he could do.

Rearing back, Sonic gave an almighty shove and sent Ix sailing backward a couple dozen feet or so. Giving the much older and darker man no time to react, he rushed forward and slammed into his opponent with a Homing Attack. This succeeded in surprising Ix, if nothing else, so Sonic quick made us of his momentum and followed up with a roundhouse kick that again sent Ix flying. This time, it was _him_ who crashed through the side of some unfortunate passing ship and not Sonic. Without allowing himself to hesitate, the armor-clad hedgehog made chase with his sword at the ready.

Apparently driven to take this just a bit more seriously now, Ix gripped his staff and swung it hard, releasing a wave of magic out at Sonic. On reflex, the blue hero swung his sword at the oncoming attack, which released a wave of fire that miraculously blocked Ix's magic. Blue fire and black magic clashed violently in the space between them and, for the first time that Sonic had ever seen, Ix's eyes widened to a noticeable degree. The wicked man suddenly teleported away from the space they had been fighting in. Deciding it was the wisest course of action, Sonic followed suit… just in time for their attacks to create a magical explosion so massive it engulfed multiple ships.

 _If this keeps up, I won't be able to fight by the others without risking them harm,_ Sonic thought with gritted teeth. He released a wave of fire at Ix if only to impair the man's vision as he teleported to the side, slashing powerfully and channeling his inherited flames once more through his sword as he attacked. This time, Ix retaliated by blasting pure Darkness at the hedgehog from the palm of his free hand, thus preventing Sonic from getting close while also giving him a chance to almost certainly deal some real damage. Acting on reflex once more, the hedgehog teleported out of the way and performed two quick slashes which released more of his fire at Ix. There was no real telling at this point why his fire was now proving so useful, but Ix was suddenly visibly aware of it and that was good enough for Sonic for now. It was best not to question it and instead utilize it, so he blasted out yet more flames at his opponent. Ix retaliated with yet more magic, and a second explosion like the one before soon wracked the area and forced both parties to briefly flee again.

Once more taking the chance as it arrived, Sonic rushed forward once more to further increase the distance this battle was from where his allies fought their own battles. He'd already resolved within himself that he wasn't letting any more people die if he could prevent it, and this was something he felt he _could_ prevent from causing needless casualties. Once the gap was closed, Sonic unleashed the largest blast of fire he had managed to thus far, accentuating the attack with a powerful slash.

Just then, as Ix moved to counter, Kethro tore through the space between them, wiping out Sonic's attack utterly with a mere wave of his hand. Jet shot after him, sword drawn and expression for once openly full of emotion (chiefly fury). The young Immortal boldly attacked Ix on his way by, filling the man's body with raging lightning and rendering him immobile for just a moment. Then, just like that, the pair were out of sight, lost within the chaotic battlefield beyond Sonic's little spot. Sonic's attention went back fully to Ix, using his momentum to perform yet another slash.

Unable to dodge this time, Ix just glared defiantly as Sonic raced toward him. He didn't even so much as flinch when he was cut open, nor did he grimace at the sight of his own black blood spilling forth onto Sonic's sword. Instead, the instant he was able to, he merely returned the favor with a dagger suddenly manifested of his own Darkness. Stabbing it deep, he ripped it down and through Sonic's torso, then sent Sonic flying with a small explosion of magic.

As Sonic careened backward from the force of the blow, a ship shot by without warning and a voice called out to him. "Sonic!" Knuckles hollered down at him from the random ship's roof. "Get the hell up! You can't let him take you down _that_ easily!" Dark eyes glanced his way, but the ship was soon well out of range of Ix's attacks. He didn't pursue it, either.

Before Sonic could even attempt to respond, a flash of cyan and silver shot by. More cyan filled his vision as a very familiar energy encased him and shifted him upright before releasing him again. Looking up for just a second, he saw his son toss him a smile tainted with worry and fear. Then the younger hedgehog turned away and resumed his part of the battle with Blaze not far away. He watched them and managed a small smile, ignoring the pain coursing through his whole body. Sonic turned his gaze back to Ix, gripping his sword tightly. _I have to think of another way to take him on. This isn't working._

Ix suddenly twirled his staff in an almost sinister motion. Taken aback, Sonic was a touch late to react as Ix for once lunged at _him_. He swung his staff hard at the hedgehog and, while Sonic wasn't _entirely_ convinced that that would be very damaging to him, the risk was too great to take. He practically dove to the side to avoid the blow. Balls of magic immediately began to fly at him before he had a chance to turn around, and he began dodging all over the place with reckless abandon. One struck him in the abdomen in spite of his efforts, ripping a growl of pain from his lips.

Though he abhorred the idea of getting _closer_ to Ix right this moment, all things considered, there was no denying the fact that he needed to do _something_ about this ongoing attack. First, he decided to try his fire. It helped… but only briefly. The flames wiped out the balls of energy, only for more to fly toward him the second his fire died down. He sent out more flames with the same result. Evidently, they had reached an impasse here, meaning that a new tactic was required. So, speeding up to the best of his ability, Sonic appeared by Ix's side and lashed out at him. Ix retaliated with similar speed, and soon the pair had vanished in a flurry of motion and ringing metal.

Nearly a mile away, a massive explosion of energy struck the barriers surrounding the Blue Typhoon. At least three or four layers visibly shattered and fell away just as Sonic turned his head to look. At roughly the same time, a Babylonian ship had its entire tail end blown off, causing it to careen wildly before finally crashing into a larger Nocturnian ship. The Babylonian vessel was utterly wrecked by the impact. Nearby, Marthal took Keiri by the hand and leapt out a window on the same Nocturnian ship, which was now drifting listlessly to the side as though there was no longer anyone onboard to steer it. The pair were rapidly swept away by a series of violent and frankly vibrant attacks for which Sonic had no name.

It was then that Sonic took notice of how the others were faring all around him. Silver and Blaze still fought together, but Silver was sporting a deep wound to his side now and Blaze's right eye (as well as some of her head) had been viciously slashed by wicked claws. Knuckles and Rouge were separated, the former's position marked only by where occasional blasts of fire or fierce shockwaves disrupted the hordes surrounding him. Rouge was making full use of her borrowed drill tool in order to traverse her environment, surrounded as she was by the ruins of numerous ships. However… she was being pursued, and all of her attackers were much more heavily armed than she.

Elsewhere, Shadow's continued to fight from within his ship, raining down hell in the form of bullets at every available opportunity. A monster managed to escape his wrath, however, and latched onto the side of his ship, sending it careening. Soon, more beasts jumped onto it as well, and then the lot of them moved out of sight behind a cluster of battling people. Within that cluster were several Babylonian ships, including Tammy and Arthr's. Each was heavily damaged, and it looked as though nearly all of them were about ready to shut down because of it.

Much farther away, emerald eyes spied Shade and Analia still battling each other violently. Shade squared off against his mother boldly, her abrasive and sinister aura nearly palpable to Sonic even across such a distance. The pair traded just as many physical blows as they did magical one, each seeming fiercer than the last. He had _never_ seen his mother so close to true anger before… nor had he ever once seen he truly fight as though her life genuinely _depended_ on it. And it wasn't just her. His father fought similarly from where he was close to the dueling pair. Every inch of his face betrayed his fury and concern. But, though both fought valiantly like the true warriors they were… even _they_ were injured.

The only ones Sonic hadn't been able to spot thus far were Jet, Kethro, and Wave. Worry pinched his brow. _Where are they?_

As seemed his habit on this day, Ix suddenly appeared by Sonic's side. "You need not worry about the Immortal and his friend," he murmured, tone shifting in some abysmal attempt at pretending to care. "I'm sure the woman is _quite_ dead by now. And the Immortal… well, there are ways to deal with his ilk."

Sonic rounded on the man. "She's _not_ dead, and Kethro won't lay a hand on Jet!"

"Won't he?" Ix countered. He made a slow gesture in a vague direction, prompting Sonic to look. For just a moment, Jet and Kethro both were visible beyond a field of debris and floating corpses. As Ix had implied, Jet certainly was wounded it seemed, but… so was Kethro. "I will admit that I had underestimated your ally," Ix told him softly. "However… that is a mistake that won't be repeated. And," his head turned so that he could look directly into Sonic's eyes, "he will suffer for interfering… as will you all."

Though he never meant for it to, a snarl bubbled forth from Sonic's lips. _Even if the rest of us die… Jet will survive. He can't not. If we all fail here today, he'll be the final hope for stopping them._ "You won't defeat him," Sonic muttered lowly. "You won't even _kill_ him. And even if you _did_ , it won't change anything. You'll still be the one to die _permanently_ in the end."

Ix's arms crossed. "I don't believe you understand fully your own situation… _Sonic_." He said the name slowly, pronouncing each syllable as though the letters themselves were somehow distasteful. "Our armies may fall on this day, perhaps, but we will not die here. One could say… that it simply isn't our _fate_ to."

"You're not Immortal," Sonic spat. "That means you can die, and you _will_."

"Oh?" Ix challenged, eyes sparking darkly. "And I suppose you intend to be the one to make that happen?" Sonic opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off. "You can't even grasp the truth behind my words, boy… You cannot hope to stop us, let alone that which brought us here to begin with."

"Oh, you mean that dramatically nicknamed ' _Night_ ' you people keep spouting off about?" Sonic rolled his eyes expressively, more than a little irritated. "Because I'm so sure that that's a real fucking _thing_."

"There is a reason why Shade is my right-hand," Ix murmured, head shaking. "Among other things… she is seldom wrong."

With no further warning, he attacked.

 **~台風の目~**

A _crack_ of an electric whip, and a ship's entire wing was shorn clean off. Psychokinetic sickles further tore the metal, closely followed by blasts of orange fire. Attacks ranging from balls of energy to gunfire from stolen Mobian weapons erupted from the newfound openings in the ship, forcing both Silver and Blaze to beat a hasty retreat in different directions.

One ball of energy struck Silver and knocked him back, prompting some of the gunfire to become focused on him in an effort to wound or even kill him. However, he caught each and every individual bullet with the power of his own mind. Seeing that their guns had been rendered useless, the Nocturnians on the ship began attacking in other ways, only to stop abruptly when Silver hurled the captured bullets back at them… all at the same time. What few passengers survived that assault were rapidly killed by Blaze's fiery attacks, both from her new weapon and from her own body.

With the ship now empty and thus no longer much of a threat, the pair traded a solemn look and moved on.

 **~台風の目~**

Vicious punch after vicious punch unleashed powerful shockwaves that exploded outward from Knuckles's position. Each shockwave sent enemies hurling into the distance, often dead of wounded with horribly broken bones and open injuries. However, the hordes surrounding them weren't the only ones wearing down. Every movement made him ache down to his very core. His breaths came in short, harsh gusts. He trembled with exertion and building fatigue. But though he was losing stamina and the odds were stacked against him, one glance in the direction he had lost sight of Rouge in was more than enough to get him moving again. None of them could afford to lose here, and he certainly wasn't about to start… Not when he had a son to get home to, a wife to protect, and a new child on the way. His eyes hardened. _Out of my way, you bastards…_

A fresh shockwave blew apart the area.

 **~台風の目~**

Using her newly acquired drill weapon on a living thing was a truly gory affair. Rouge had never before _tunneled through_ a monster, and now she wished it had stayed that way. She could have lived her entire life _quite_ happily without ever knowing what portions of the insides of Nocturnian beasts looked like. Certainly once this fight was done, she was _never_ going to use this weapon again on another living thing, ever. However, now was no time to shy away from the blood and detritus that were flying about. If she was ever going to make it out of here alive, if her still-growing baby was to ever have a chance at life to begin with, she _had_ to fight. So, expression hard and unforgiving, she activated her drill again and shot forward.

 **~台風の目~**

Fire surged over and through Nocturnians, monsters, and ships alike, wreaking fiery havoc on all who failed to get out of the way. Those who fled and dared to race at the source of the flames rapidly met their end by way of claws, blunt-force injuries from a staff, and long-perfected martial arts moves. Marthal's eyes flashed with determination. For every three enemies he killed, ten more came at him with lethal intentions clearly written across their faces.

Had he been alone, his odds of survival here would have dropped starkly. However, he wasn't alone… and he hadn't been in years. Using her basic and yet still rather effective magic, Keiri was defending both herself and him with remarkable success for someone so inexperienced and ill-qualified for combat. Her ability to achieve greatness even when and where she couldn't be reasonably expected to was one of the reasons why he loved her… and trusted her with his life.

Confident in the knowledge that she wouldn't let him down, nor he her, he leapt for his closest opponent.

 **~台風の目~**

When his ship decided it had had enough and exploded, Arthr bailed by hastily teleporting himself straight to Tammy's ship and hitching a ride on the top of it. The pair traded equally surprised and concerned glances, then refocused on the fight. While Tammy fired all manner of aura weapons at their enemies from within the cockpit, Arthr began hurling blasts of the same energy from his hands. Working together, the pair had soon cleared a decent path through the battlefield toward some downed ally ships. Intent on lending a hand, they sped on through.

 **~台風の目~**

When even a fierce barrel-roll wasn't enough to rid his ship of the monsters clinging to it, Shadow decided on a risky move to try to save himself. Cursing under his breath, he accelerated to break-neck speeds and slammed his finger into a button. This released the cockpit in its entirety, sending it hurling off to who-knew-where behind him. The beast on it was thrown away as well, its claws screeching on the sides of his ship as it was wrenched free.

Three somewhat smaller creatures continued to cling to either side of his ship, as well as the upper back part of it. Seeing what they were coming up on, Shadow relinquished the controls and all but ripped his seatbelt off. Getting up, he crouched tensely on his seat and twisted around to look at the creatures that were slowly yet surely clawing their way toward him. Whipping his head back around, he gathered the strength in his legs and silently counted down the seconds until impending doom, then all at once leapt clear of his beloved ship.

The moment of impact was deafening and painfully bright, and the shockwaves sent him hurling backward in an uncontrolled series of dizzying backflips. His ship had collided head-on with a much larger Nocturnian one, ensuring that it and the creatures that had been clinging to it were both utterly destroyed. The Nocturnian ship had quite the sizable hole in it now, too. While inwardly cursing the loss of his favorite mode of transportation aside from running, Shadow turned and used a Homing Attack to propel himself back toward the Blue Typhoon.

 **~台風の目~**

Working together, the psionic blasts that Cream and Amy were formidable both in strength and size. They emanated from within the Blue Typhoon, of course, but exploded into violent existence wherever the girls wanted them to, be it on the left side of the ship or on top of a cluster of enemies well above the ship, or wherever else. These attacks alone were generally more than enough to keep the enemies back and away from them and the barriers that kept them safe, but every now and then they had to get… _creative_.

Using sheer mental power and nothing else, Cream ensnared and lifted a hefty Nocturnian monster and began slinging it around violently like some sort of living, breathing, horrible wrecking ball. When this rapidly ceased to be effective, she relinquished her hold on it and grabbed a passing enemy's ship instead. With violent force, she slammed into into a much larger approaching ship over and over and over again until both were left little more than smoking ruins.

Compelled to also do more to fight, Amy concentrated and gathered her energies before unleashing them in a vibrant pink wave that exploded out from all sides of the ship. Every single living Nocturnian or Nocturnian creature that was struck both were sent flying and had their minds utterly shut down to the point of not being able to recover. The troubles and fearful look in Cream's eyes reflected Amy's own heart as the pair traded a glance, but neither let up their attacks. Seven layers of their defenses had already fallen… and they couldn't let anyone reach this ship.

 **~台風の目~**

 _"Pain._

 _Pain is all that is there for you._

 _Don't you see, Kathal, rightful king of Mobius_?

 _Your future awaits._

 _He lies in wait for the arrival of your soul._

 _Can you feel it yet?"_

 _"Analia…_

 _Poor, sweet Analia._

 _The flower of Light and purity…_

 _You, too, shall learn how it feels to wilt…_

 _To suffer and die as you never have before._

 _And, someday, even you will cease to wear that smile."_

Shade's voice burned in the minds of both Kaden and Analia as they fought. Surrounded as they were by innumerable powerful clones of the woman and her leader, they knew they had to do _something_ to save themselves before it was too late. Bright green eyes met emerald ones. A decision was made without words. Each knew what was necessary for them to do, for the best way to combat magic was opposing magic… and the best method to defeat Darkness was to drive it into the Light.

Unchaining the power within himself, Kaden let loose. A near heavenly-blue aura of magic exploded into existence around him, rocking the battlefield and changing his eyes to the very same color. Gritting his teeth, he let the power further explode outward from his body, allowing it to swirl and twist and writhe until it began to take shape. Soon, it had formed a protective shell around him, one that continued to morph as Ix and Shade both stared, frozen.

At the same time, Analia closed her eyes so that she could focus her own energies. Fingers together and pointed, she made an 'X' across her chest with her arms. Light suffused the blackness of space all around her as her power rose, teasing tendrils of her long hair up in lazy, delicate waves. Leaning her head back, she brought her arms and hands up as though praising the sky. Surging forth from the very Light of her soul emerged a Phoenix-like bird that shrilly vocalized its righteous fury as it enveloped her body.

As she was engulfed, Kaden's own creation finished taking shape, leaving him within the very core of a translucent four-legged dragon comprised wholly of his long-unused magic. From within both of these, Kaden and Analia could control their respective creations utterly… and they prepared to unleash pure and utter _hell_ upon their enemies for all that they had done. Light and Magic began tearing through the numerous clones and even began wreaking havok well beyond their ranks. Explosion after explosion, beam after beam, wave after wave after wave of sheer, raw _power_ devastated the battlefield and all those evil forces within it. And yet, the duo were far from unopposed during their onslaught.

For every attack Kaden and Analia unleashed, countless were fired back in retaliation. Every attack that met met its mark blew away parts of the massive energy-based creatures that the couple were controlling. Each time the damage was repaired, but such intensive outputs of energy could only be maintained for so long. If they were going to turn the tide of this fight to any meaningful degree, then they would have to do something _now_ , before they were no longer capable of it.

The pair gathered up their energies in preparation for the release of a combined devastating attack. As they did so, the many clones of Ix and Shade did the same, for while the clones of those two most certainly were not real… the power that they shared _was_. Trading a deep and meaningful glance, the ancient couple closed their eyes and let everything go.

 **~台風の目~**

 **7,129 words this time. _Whew_! Sorry this took so long to type up, guys! This ends part one of the final showdown for this story and, trust me, things are _not_ gonna go the way y'all might think! Hope everyone enjoyed!**

 **Now, for an important note. From this line: "With a powerful push, Sonic fully deflected the attacks and sent both beams veering off in random directions." To this line: " _I have to think of another way to take him on. This isn't working." _Blazing Winds was the one writing all the lines for Sonic (as I'd gotten stuck and needed help). So, many thanks for that!**

 **Also, part of Shade and Sonic's earlier dialogue was inspired by this little exchange in _Thor: Ragnarok_ : ****Thor: "It's… not possible."**

 **Hella (or whatever her name was): "Darling, you have no _idea_ what's possible."**

 **Sooooo… one last little thing. The wrecking ball idea in the Cream and Amy scene was Blazing Winds's. Just saying.**

 **Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! I'll try to do some more writing tomorrow, but I can nearly guarantee I won't be posting again for another day or two. Gonna be busy (seeing my dad tomorrow and I work Sundays), and plus writing big fight scenes is always hard for me and so takes forever. But I won't dilly-dally, I promise! Part two will be up as _soon_ as possible. Until then, bye! Posted (at about 7:00 p.m.) 08-24-18.**


	106. The One They Call the Night

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this conflict of views... especially for the one who hates.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! I'M SORRY, OKAY?! DX**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! No... no it is not... Their enemies certainly are very powerful, and that's the whole point... it's why the stakes have been so high for this entire war so far. And it's not gonna be getting much better anytime soon. :( Anyway, here's the update you were awaiting, up in decent time for once! Hope you enjoy!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The One They Call the Night"**

 **~台風の目~**

In silence, deep purple eyes regarded pure blue ones. A grin split a dark face, the simpleness of the expression belying the true malice to be found within it. Each of the opponents gathered in this small area had a weapon drawn. The Immortal carried his beloved sword. His mortal friend clutched tightly to the handle of a gun. Their enemy held a sword of his own, and each time he toyed with the variety of ways to make use of the weapon his smile inevitably grew.

The swallow opened her mouth to say something, but one darkly joyous glance from him was enough to change her mind. Truthfully, Kethro could not blame the woman for her impatience. True, he and Jet had only ceased their struggle against one another mere moments ago, but it certainly felt like far more time had passed. After all, they weren't having fun anymore. Though… that was soon to change.

It seemed that the elusive king of the Babylonians deigned to speak now. "Does the chaos of this war truly bring you so much joy," he inquired softly, "that you cannot tolerate to watch the passing of mere seconds without participating?"

Ah, now there was a question that could prove interesting to answer, should he desire to. "Chaos?" Kethro echoed instead. His smile grew, perhaps now making him look a touch crazed. " _Chaos_? You think _this_ is _chaos_ , Immortal? _Ha_!" He barked out a sharp laugh, and the swallow finally showed some intelligence by backing off a foot or so. " _I_ am chaos, boy! I am a sea of _madness_ beneath your raft of sanity, poised to devour you whole!" Sword raised, he surged toward the hawk before him. " _Now come and meet your fate_!"

Not wasting a second, Jet also lunged. Metal screamed against metal. Sparks flew. Teeth gritted, he gathered his strength and threw Kethro back and pursued him. The wound he had received to his right side earlier sang with pain, but he ignored it in favor of focusing on how he swung his sword. Finding his attack blocked and the swords struggling against one another again, he decided to give vent to a question that had entered his mind. "What could you _possibly_ know of fate…?" he muttered.

"More than an Immortal who is barely growing into his feathers," Kethro grinned. "And on that note, allow me to impart some information…" Leaning in close, the dark man whispered, "True horror is the coming undone of something good, is it not?"

That wasn't a question Jet felt like answering. Instead, he gathered the energy within himself as subtly as possible. _Talkative though he is right now, he is far from unaware… Even the slightest mistake will set him off._

"I, for one," Kethro murmured slowly, "am quite interested to know just how far you both will fall…"

Before Jet could even wonder what in the hell the man was on about, Kethro blasted him backward and away. He righted himself to the best of his ability the second he was able to and shot several large bolts of lightning at his opponent. Though one met its mark, it seemed to do little to no damage at all. The other two were somehow deflected by the dark metal of Kethro's blade. Each struck a somewhat distant ship, blasting dual holes in it and setting the affected areas ablaze. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Wave abandon her current fight and get onboard the vessel via one of those blazing holes.

Whether she intended to capture the ship or destroy it or merely empty it out wasn't a matter he could sit and contemplate at the moment, so he opted to merely attack again. Creating a ball of aura energy in his hand, he hurled it at Kethro with all due force and then some. When Kethro predictably dodged to the side, Jet blurred into motion and reappeared directly behind him. A forceful release of aura energy was more than enough to hurl the much darker man a large distance ahead of him. However, in absolutely no time at all, Kethro had recovered and was again upon Jet with his sword at the ready.

Moving too quickly for most to comprehend, the pair swung their swords. The instant their blades collided, there was a deafening explosion of conflicting energies. The barrier Kethro was now within seemed to absorb what little of the blast that actually hit him once he dodged. Jet managed to get fully clear of the danger zone and, deciding to take advantage of how clear the area now was due to the shockwave a second ago, blurred forward without worry of debris in his path. He slashed at Kethro's barrier, pressing against it with supreme force, until it finally gave way and Alkarus finally tasted blood again.

For some absurd reason, this earned little more than a laugh from Kethro before he suddenly called forth black magic and yelled out a brief spell. Jet had no time to prepare himself for what was about to come. One second he was fine, and the next he was rendered utterly immobile and unable to do anything more than blink and look around with his eyes. All manner of thoughts raced through his mind in that moment, chief of which was just how goddamned _cocky_ Kethro suddenly looked. It pissed him off, not that he could have even given vent to that feeling at the moment had he wanted to.

The abuse he suffered for the next passing minutes was extreme. His mind remained abuzz with thoughts as he was knocked around, hacked at, stabbed, punched, kicked, hit with debris, literally thrown like a fucking _baseball_ into the side of a ship (because of _course_ Kethro would choose to make this humiliating and painful at the same time), and once even slapped for seemingly no reason at all. Oh, he was so pissed and so ready to kill this man… just as soon as he figured out how to free himself.

His abysmal treatment came to an end somewhere around a minute later when a psionic blast struck Kethro out of nowhere, disrupting his concentration and preventing him from further maintaining his little spell. Freed, Jet immediately leapt clear using some nearby debris and turned his head to see Wave flying nearby. Her aura was filled with fear he felt compelled to somehow allay, but all he did for now was nod his thanks. She returned the nod just slightly after a second, then focused on where she was going again before she could accidentally run into something in her path.

There was no doubt in his mind that Kethro was now going to be rather pissed at well, with Wave being the focus of his ire. As the Nocturnian recovered, Jet shifted his plan around in his mind to accommodate for the heightened danger Wave was now certainly in. _I'll need to focus more on defending her as well…_ In his hand, Alkarus shifted from a sword to to a bow with a single ornate metal arrow in a shimmering cluster of light. _For our goals to be meaningfully accomplished, that would be necessary, anyway… Further casualties are the last thing anyone needs._

His focus went back to Kethro. That focus was so intense that time itself seemed to nearly slide to a total standstill. Notching his arrow, he drew the bow and took aim. Aura and storm energy together both encased and utterly filled the arrow as he decided upon his mark. Expression unreadable and mind clear of any concern that might ruin his aim or his concentration, Jet took in a slow, calm breath, let it out, and released the arrow. It flew straight and true, twirling with deadly intent right toward Kethro's heart. Everything went in slow motion.

Then the arrow struck and his intense concentration lifted as yet another explosion lit up the battlefield. Heavenly blue aura energy flowed both with and against devastating winds, streams of lighting, pulses of extreme heat and cold temperatures, ebbing and flowing ice, and even slicing currents of water, all coexisting in a combined sphere of energy that he had seldom ever successfully pulled off in the past. However, it wouldn't be enough. He knew it wouldn't. It wasn't reasonable to hope that it _would_ be. The only _reasonable_ hope was that maybe, just maybe, such an attack would _help_. Though… that had never been a guarantee.

Slowly, the explosion died down. Kethro hovered there, beaten to all hell as Jet was (though his wounds were undeniably different in nature). In accordance to his strange and vaguely disconcerting personality, the man just laughed yet again. "Impressive," he chuckled when his harsher fit of laughter ebbed off enough for him to talk. Whether or not he was being sarcastic was lost on Jet, who struggled to read tones of voice. Kethro shifted to examine one of his injuries, a deep gash to his left arm. "You managed to wound me, I see… A feat few have ever accomplished. ...Heh. I almost feel as though I should hold you accountable for every bruise, make you suffer every wound tenfold." He chuckled, almost as though to himself.

As his other arrow had been destroyed in the blast, a new one formed in Jet's free hand. He didn't notch it, didn't even so much as lift his bow. Instead, he shifted the bow back into a sword, causing the arrow to vanish. "And what, exactly, strikes you as so amusing about that?"

"Oh, it's nothing much," Kethro admitted casually. He tossed a grin at Jet, every ounce of his aura filled with a madness for which Jet had no words. "Simply put… I just knew that there was a reason why I ached to fight you. You have hardly given me a taste of what you can do, and yet…" Again, he lost himself to a fit of laughter. "Indeed, your method of fighting is in and of itself amusing! You do everything you can to try to determine the minimum amount of power necessary to grant you victory, and then you do not use any more power than that unless dire circumstances force your hand…" His grin grew painfully large. "Why... it's almost as if you enjoy fighting in much the same manner as I do."

Jet's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do not include me in your lowly group of Felorn filth," he all but growled, expression suddenly thunderous.

In response, Kethro lunged for him. Jet parried the oncoming blow. Brilliant arcs of energy surged from the point of contact between their struggling blades. "And tell me, where do you and I differ?" Kethro challenged, almost accusatory. His eyes were alight with wild, wild insanity and malice. Untold amounts of power accumulated in the space between them, intensifying more and more with each passing second as they clashed. "To find the greatest joy in fighting… to feel most alive with risking death in our efforts to kill… to desire nothing more than to spill the lifeblood of those we despise… Tell me, _Immortal_ , when will you acknowledge that you and I are one and the same?"

Despite Jet's efforts to reign himself in, his fury spilled forth, impossible to quell. "I am _nothing_ like you!" he roared, sending all of his built-up power in a mighty wave upon Kethro. The threat his attack posed finally succeeded in wiping that accursed smile from the man's face, but he did not sit idly by and let the wave come. He retaliated in just the same way, hurling his own power back at Jet as well. Each struck the other with perfect accuracy and, though Jet was more than accustomed to pain, this was an attack he was unprepared to deal with. Even he had to acknowledge that this pain was… unbearable.

It had been quite a number of years since Jet had been rendered frozen from pain alone. He had acquired such a high threshold for pain that seldom did it ever bother him too much anymore. And yet, this pain he felt throughout his entire body, vibrating through his flesh, rattling his bones, ripping at his soul… He felt it across the entirety of his being. It was a novel experience, but… one he wished to end, now. And yet, he found that his sheer _hatred_ for this man was enough for him to get over it. _I said I would kill him if I ever saw him again… and I will._

In spite of the ongoing agony in his body, Jet forced himself to move. In a series of acrobatic leaps, using floating debris as his stepping stones, he moved backward and away from Kethro before waving his hand and hurling a barrage of aura spears across the distance separating him from Kethro. His attack seemed to for once catch Kethro by surprise. So much so, in fact, that the man didn't even think to teleport out of the way. Instead, he tried his damnedest to dodge, causing more than one spear to slice their way through his flesh on their way by. Now no longer smiling, Kethro summoned forth a barrage of his own (spears, just as Jet had done) and returned fire.

Not eager to be stabbed anymore than he already had been, Jet unleashed a hellish current of lightning that proved _just_ enough to make the energy in Kethro's spears die down until they faded away into nothing. In the next instant, just as Jet was considering how to adapt his fighting style to better go against this man, Kethro threw his sword in its entirety. It stabbed into a floating husk of what was once a ship, mere millimeters from the side of Jet's face. He glanced at it for a mere instant just as it struck the metal behind him, but that instant was time enough for Kethro to move in.

"I see more in you than you know," the man murmured as Jet dodged blow after blow that Kethro attempted to rain down on him with magically charged-fists. "I can see how your hatred for me burns in your heart, how that storm in your eyes builds the longer you and I battle…"

A stray attack from some nearby fight sailed past them, striking some unfortunate corpse that had been set adrift after death who even knew how long ago. Casting a near impassive glance to the side, Jet spied Sonic and Ix brawling violently, each oblivious to the fact that one of them had just very nearly struck himself or his own opponent. It was advantageous not to even attempt to call their attention to it, however (not that he even wanted to), so he simply looked back at Kethro and dodged yet again. This time he hit back, attempting to kick the Nocturnian in the stomach, but his foot was grabbed and he was swung around until he slammed into the very same ship that Kethro's sword had been stabbed into before.

"I see," Kethro continued softly, "how very averse you are to the idea of truly letting yourself go… of giving into the blackness of your hatred and fighting me as you truly desire to. I have met - and fought - Immortals far superior to you… _dark_ beings who wished nothing more than to destroy all that is 'good' in the eyes of so many." As Jet picked himself up, standing on the ruined wing of the ship, Kethro's dark eyes shifted elsewhere. "That woman who lingers near you… perhaps it is your affiliation with her and her kind that softens you so?

Stepping off the wing, Jet flew into Kethro's line of sight, effectively blocking his view of Wave's not-so-distant fight. "Those Immortals you hold in such high regard no longer live," he murmured, "because they were too weak to save themselves from those Immortals who still knew who they were and what purpose they were there to serve. They are _nothing_ to admire, even for someone like _you_."

Slowly, the man's grin returned. "Aren't they, though…? It is, after all, due in large part to Immortals like them that I am able to exist outside of that seal, now…"

He failed to elaborate on his meaning there, and Jet didn't _care_. He would ask his kin about it later, when this battle was done. Without warning, he hurled more spears from his hand at Kethro, prompting Kethro to reply in kind. Just as many spears slammed into one another as did not, forcing Jet and Kethro both to dodge quickly before they raced toward one another again. Kethro ripped his sword free as he passed by its resting place, then said a spell as he again threw it straight at Jet. Suddenly, that one sword became hundreds and Jet had no hope of escaping them if not for a quick teleport.

Another shouted spell, and suddenly he was frozen again. Cursing, he could only watch as Kethro's stunt from a few seconds ago was repeated. Hundreds of swords were flung at him once more, but this time Jet managed to call forth a barrier just in time to save himself. Only the last few dozen swords or so managed to break it, and of those only two struck him. One stabbed clean through his abdomen while another sliced deeply through his side, just missing the slash wound he had already been nursing there since much earlier into this confrontation. Pain made him tense, but there was little else he could do.

Apparently sensing the trouble, Wave flew back into view and again used her underdeveloped psychic powers to attack Kethro's mind and forcefully break his concentration. And this time, even once Jet was free, she didn't heed his earlier warning and back off. No, she stayed… and he didn't have the time to reprimand her. He barely even had the luxury of ripping the sword out of himself before he was being set upon by at least a half-dozen copies of Kethro, all of which were brandishing different weapons and were totally indiscernible from the original. Meaning that any of the other copies that were now rushing at Wave could very well have been the original. Or the real Kethro could have just as easily been sitting back somewhere, enjoying the show as the two Babylonians tried to fight their way free of their current predicaments.

Shaking himself free of his thoughts, Jet focused on the battle. As he fought, however, he couldn't help but notice a sudden intense buildup of energy in the distance. Gazing ahead, he couldn't help but stare as a massive dragon and phoenix exploded to life around the very locations where he knew Kaden and Analia to be based upon their auras. The pair rapidly began raining down hell upon their enemies, providing a distraction for many spectators all across the battlefield… even Kethro. Enough of the clones turned to look that Jet was able to shoot them full of lightning and leap clear of the circle the lot of them had formed around him. Summoning his bow again, he notched and released his arrow in under a second, creating an explosion smaller in scale but otherwise not unlike the one he had unleashed earlier.

With his clone enemies defeated or at the very least preoccupied for the moment, Jet teleported to Wave and grabbed her by the arm, ripping her from her position forcefully and teleporting away with her before any of the surrounding foes was able to do her any significant harm. Though she started to protest the loss of his gun, which she had at some point dropped after she'd been surrounded, Jet silenced her with a harsh look. Her life was not worth the risk it would take to get the gun back. And, besides that, there were untold millions of them in circulation on New Babylon right at that very moment. It could be replaced - she couldn't.

The real Kethro chose to appear before them. "I had suspected you two shared a certain… _bond_ ," he commented slowly, eyes on the hand that Jet still used to firmly grip Wave's arm. "Though, I cannot say I commend myself for being correct."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Wave shot back, her infamous temper flaring. Though he couldn't be certain, Jet thought that this was possible the first time he had really seen it since the last time the pair had fought during their breakup oh-so long ago. But that was old history now, and something he very much wished to move past and not think about.

Kethro shot her a surprisingly irritated look. "Bonds constitute care… _compassion_." He sniffed derisively. "Weakness, though hardly an incurable one. We have corrupted those with worse flaws."

The mention of the word "corruption" brought memories of the attempted corruption of Suri, and Jet's fury returned instantly - and far more powerfully than before. He had no desire to ask Kethro what in the _hell_ he was trying to get at. Instead, he chose to lunge for the man, though his movement was undoubtedly anticipated. The pair traded blows far too quickly for most to follow. Explosions popped up all over the battlefield, marking each point of violent conflict where the pair collided. Several ships blew up utterly when Jet slammed Kethro through them. The massive barriers encasing the battlefield and keeping everyone here rippled expressively from the impact when Jet was blasted into them.

More explosions appeared one after another, leaving a very visible path of destruction from one end of the battlefield to the next, and from that end of the battlefield to yet another. Making good on his earlier promise, Kethro paid Jet back for some of the damage he had done to the older man by sending Jet flying through multiple ships just as Jet had done to Kethro before. He gave the hawk no time to recover, slamming into him with enough force and such raw, unchained, intense energy to create an explosion unlike any other seen on this horrific day. What had at first seemed to be a standard energy-based attack almost instantly proved itself to be anything but. Both Jet and Kethro vanished within its dark light.

When his senses finally returned to him, the first thing Jet was aware of was spitting up blood. The next thing he noticed was how difficult it was to breathe and just how numb from pain much of his body was starting to feel. The rest of his body was in such extreme agony that even with all of his willpower he couldn't make himself move. No matter how much his mind _willed_ it to, his body just wouldn't respond. It wasn't until he felt a cold hand on his head that he even managed to open his eyes. Only then did he realize that he was laying on his side on… _something_ (probably yet another wrecked ship), and Kethro was kneeling before him.

Dark eyes seemed to stare deep into Jet's soul. "You did the impossible... survived power channeled straight from Malevolence itself…" Kethro murmured. "...Your potential is vast…" His head canted slowly. "I will enjoy seeing it... and you… _transcend_ even my expectations someday…" He removed his hand and stood up before turning and walking a short distance away to contemplate the still raging battle auras of Sonic, Kaden, and Analia in the distance.

Arms trembling with effort, Jet gradually forced himself into a sitting position. Belatedly, his pain-fogged mind registered the presence of Wave, who rushed to him without provocation. She hit her knees with likely painful force, checking his wounds fearfully and putting her back to their seemingly distracted enemy. He tried to find the strength to stand up, but barely even managed to blink at her dazedly when she shook him. Vaguely, he wondered what in the hell had been in that attack… but then her voice, sounding far more distant and faint than it should have, called his attention back somewhat.

 _"Jet."_ Another shake. _"Jet, can you hear me?"_ He couldn't respond even if he'd had the energy to. His eyes drifted back to the one who had brought his current condition upon him, the one whom he had been so intent on killing… only to now wind up too exhausted to do anything at all.

The man moved.

Too late, Jet started to understand what was happening. He attempted to say something to warn her, to do _anything_ to bring to her attention the oncoming threat. No sounds or actions were forthcoming, but despite this she seemed to realized somehow that something was amiss. She started to turn and stand all at once, eyes wide, but it was too late for them now. Hand raised, Kethro released a beam from his palm. It tore through Wave's heart and struck Jet in the head…

And then there was nothing.

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,237 words this time. TO ALL YOU READERS WHO LIKE OR LOVE WAVE, JUST KNOW THAT I'M _SORRY_! I ONLY DID THIS BECAUSE I _HAD_ TO! I'M ESPECIALLY APOLOGIZING TO YOU, STAR, WHENEVER YOU READ THIS! DX**

 **So, on a lighter note… (*sniffle*) I used a few quote prompts for this chapter. They are: 1.) "What is horror? Horror is the coming undone of something good." -Stephen King**

 **2.) "I AM CHAOS. I AM THE SEA OF MADNESS BENEATH YOUR RAFT OF SANITY, POISED TO DEVOUR YOU WHOLE." –Shenanigansen (A Tapastic Creator)**

 **Also, I wrote this in one sitting, so please forgive any typos. And finally, one last little reminder: "Felorn", as established very early on into this tale, is Babylonian for "Nocturnian".**

 **Anyway... That's all for now… hope you all enjoyed this rather dark twist in the final fight. Part three will be up as soon as possible. ;_; Posted (at about 8:47 p.m.) 08-25-18.**


	107. Decision

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this teary farewell... especially for the one who runs.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, quite possible. And things are only gonna get worse from here... ;_;**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Decision"**

 **~台風の目~**

Exhausted, Kaden had no choice but to allow the magic around him to dissipate. He knelt atop a large floating corpse from some monster, heedless of its stench and blood. Eyes still blue from the residual magic flowing through him, he bent over and braced his hands on his knees, panting harshly in an effort to catch his breath. Soon enough, he'd sunk down into a sitting position, unable to remain standing anymore. He and Analia both had spent too much power, going all out in an effort to take down their foes.

Sucking in another breath, he looked around at the carnage surrounding them. So many people were dead… and though most of the bodies in this area were Nocturnian, not all of them were. That fact alone bothered him greatly. Then there was the simple fact that, while they had laid waste to the battlefield and positively _decimated_ much of the enemy's forces, Shade yet lived… as did Ix and Kethro. Alone, each of these three posed unspeakable threats. All the proof one needed of this was…

 _Her._

Few had failed to witness Wave's bloody demise. Even know, familiar faces here and there continued to remain frozen where they were, staring in shock at the place where her body now rested. Sonic was among them, his emerald eyes wide as could be as he took in the sight of Wave - and Jet - laying there… lifeless. There was nothing else anyone could do for her now, save for end this battle and get her home. At least, then, they could give her the dignity of a proper burial. It was much more than so many others during this war could ever be afforded.

Moments later, Jet awoke with a pained cough and shifted as though in an effort to stand, body still tense as his life returned from the cold clutches of death's hand. His expression strained, Sonic started to move toward him, only for his attention and Kaden's both to be ruthlessly dragged back to Ix. The robed man was hovering near Shade, both wounded and yet neither weakened. They appeared to be watching the two hedgehogs and Jet all very closely, only for their focus to suddenly and inexplicably snap to the side.

His heart already sinking, Kaden followed their gaze… right to Analia. She, like Kaden, was struggling to regain her breath and energy after everything they had done earlier. They had each hoped their efforts would be enough, but they hadn't been. Now, as a result of that, they were both in such a sorry state that even _she_ of all people didn't seem to be aware of being watched. But Kaden knew. He _knew_ that something was about to happen. Something… _horrific_.

Ix's warning was dire and nearly went unheard.

 _"You have made a grave mistake."_

Those six words, aimed though they were seemingly more at Sonic than anyone else, spurred Kaden into motion before his mind had even fully registered what was happening. There was no more energy left in his body to teleport or to even use his flames to achieve flight. All he could do was run as fast as possible across the debris and corpses in his path, fighting to reach _her_ before it was all to late and he lost her yet again…

Light blinded him well before he even managed to take hold of Analia. Understanding now that there was simply no escape for either of them, he drug his beloved into his arms and squeezed his eyes shut. Even as his senses were robbed from him and even as his pain became the focal point for nearly the entirety of his existence, he was still aware of arms wrapping around his body. She held him as tightly as he did her, each clinging to the other in desperation…

For the first time in many, many years, Kaden was aware of tears sliding down his face. Though he wanted nothing more than to deny what was undoubtedly happening, he was helpless to stop the faces of those he cared for most from flashing through his mind. Sonic, Shadow, the twins, Locke, Marthal, Amy, Silver… the names went on and on, entirely outside of his control. The lump in his throat grew nearly too painful to bear.

He couldn't leave them all, his friends, his family, his _children_...

Not again.

 _Not again…_

Analia shifted in his arms, connecting her mind seamlessly to his own and to those of Sonic and Shadow. He didn't doubt that if she'd had the time or the strength, she'd have connected them to everyone else as well, but as things stood now he understood what she intended to do… and just how little time they had.

In his mind, he could feel the shock and horror radiating from their sons, as well as the disbelief and the fear. There was nothing he could do to alleviate it… Not even Analia could do that. _"We're so sorry,_ " she thought to them quietly, her voice drowning in sorrow even from within her mind. _"We're so, so sorry, both of you…"_ The light surrounding them intensified, and Kaden was aware of growing weaker. Forcing his eyes to open, he saw that their bodies were starting to disintegrate. There was no telling how much longer they had.

 _"Y-You can't-"_ Sonic choked in reply. " _Mom, dad, y-you-"_

More tears slid down Kaden's cheeks. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried like this. He wasn't sobbing, not exactly, but he couldn't see anymore past the water in his eyes and his heart felt like it was about to shatter all over again. It had already done that not once but twice before, first when he had been forced to leave his infant son on Angel Island with the knowledge that he himself was going to face Dark Gaia and die there… and again when Analia, too, had perished in the fight. He gritted his teeth.

Things weren't supposed to have gone this way.

Shadow finally found his voice, internal though it was. _"...Father-"_

Kaden cut him off. He had too. There was no more time. He had to say something to them, _something_ before he was ripped away from them for good and the chance was forever gone. _"We love you,"_ he choked out, holding Analia ever closer. _"We love all of you… so much."_

Sonic seemed to be rushing toward them, but it was no use. Their time was up, and they were fading away. By the time Sonic reached where they had been, the light was fading… and they were gone. All that was left behind was the gold ring Kaden had once used to pull his hair back and the wedding ring Analia had worn for the entirety of the last century. Numb, Sonic knelt down and picked each item up in his hands… then collapsed to his knees and sobbed.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,190 words this time. FOR THE RECORD, I'M SORRY AND I'M CRYING AND I'M DEAD INSIDE BUT THIS WAS PLANNED SINCE WELL BEFORE THE END OF HERO AND THERE'S A LEGITIMATE REASON FOR WHY IT HAD TO HAPPEN BUT I'M SORRY AND AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. T^T Posted (at about 5:30 p.m.) 08-16-18.**


	108. They Who Govern Reason

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this time of tension and loss... especially for the one who suddenly learns the truth.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **(The one in italics was written by Blazing Winds)**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! I knooooooooooow, I'm _sorry_! DX**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! There is a reason for it, I swear... though you may not like it when the answer eventually comes to light... ;_;**

 _ **Hello, MelGamingPlays: Oh, yeahhh… That chapter ripped a part of my soul out, but have no fear. Things happen here that will punish everything for hurting us so.**_

 **~台風の目~**

 **"They Who Govern Reason"**

 **~台風の目~**

There was a flash.

Light suffused the area, starting off dim and listless but rapidly growing vibrant and agonizing. Seven colors made themselves known to all who were watching, three from the depths of the distant Nocturnian mothership. Green, white, light blue, yellow, dark blue, red, and purple lights seared everyone's eyes. Soon, all of the emeralds were hovering together in space high above Sonic's head, each burning with far more light and energy than ever before. They began to spin around rapidly, their colors blurring together until they were nearly indecipherable from one another. When they lowered to surround the grieving hedgehog, he was lifted from where he had been kneeling to float within the circle of power and light. Another flash, and he was enveloped in the light.

An explosion of raw, emotional power marked his transformation. Only… this was no transformation that anyone gathered here had ever seen before. Rather than the golden glow that everyone was so used to, Sonic's fur was blinding silvery-white light and energy. His eyes glowed with the color of pure, molten gold. As he hovered there, expression tight, the two rings vanished from his hands. Turning, he focused his intense gaze on Ix and Shade… then, leaving his sword behind, he lunged for them both. He blazed forward, leaving a trail of light behind himself with each unfathomably fast movement.

As the fight began, memories from times long since past struck him hard.

 _In that moment, a voice quite suddenly broke into the silence that had once been filling Sonic's room, infiltrating his thoughts. "Enjoying my journal?"_

 _With a start, Sonic jumped and whipped around. Kaden, who was leaning casually sideways against the doorframe with arms crossed, raised a silent eyebrow at his son. Knowing he was caught and that he had no escape, Sonic could only offer the older (but still young) man a sheepish grin. "Um... sorry?"_

 _Kaden's eyes betrayed a flicker of amusement. "I do not believe you."_

His emotions running high, Sonic unleashed a blinding wave of pure rainbow-colored Chaos upon both Ix and Shade. They were swept under, looking surprised, and he forced the energy to constrict around them with lethal force. In the distance, Jet forced himself up onto his hands and knees while most of the others wisely fled from the building conflict. Sonic paid them no mind, focused wholly as he was on his fight.

 _Despite it being early February (the twelfth, to be precise), the day wasn't too terribly cold, nor was fresh snow being contributed to the thick layer already coating the ground. This was fairly ideal weather for a winter sparring match, hence the reason why this random day was chosen for Sonic and Analia's equally random "fight". They clashed for over an hour before the match finally ended when one of Analia's attacks knocked Sonic back and into a snowdrift, chilling him to the bone near-instantly. She smiled at him. "You fight well, my son," she told him warmly. Then she unexpectedly winked, turned, and began walking away. "But not quite well enough, it would seem."_

 _Though initially surprised and even a bit speechless, Sonic slowly began to smile as he sat up in the snow. 'Now that was just cold._'

Shade and Ix fought back fiercely, ripping apart his attack and bursting out into the open. When their magic surged toward him, he stopped it with a barrier made of Chaos. He dropped it the second he was able to and flew forward, diving in close for a more personal attack.

 _After blinking once, then twice, Sonic smiled a little again, set the book on the bed, and hurried after his father's retreating form. "Hey, you gonna make me anything?" he asked as they stepped out into the hall._

 _"That depends," Kaden replied lightly. "What do I get out of it?"_

 _"The satisfaction of knowing that you didn't let your poor eldest child starve to death?" Sonic offered._

 _Kaden uncharacteristically rolled his eyes, feeling amused. "I do not think that you would starve to death just because I did not make you dinner."_

 _"So?" Sonic challenged with a grin._

 _Now smirking due to his amusement, Kaden reached a hand up and ruffled his son's hair. As Sonic fixed his ruined hair, Kaden walked into the kitchen._

Chaos spears fired from both of Sonic's hands, peppering the battlefield and forcing Ix and Shade to dodge. The second they did, Sonic summoned another spear into his hand and used it to slash deeply into Shade's abdomen. She hissed and swung her weapon at him, but simple wave of his hand sent her hurtling away.

 _He knew the moment they spotted the bruises wrapped around his neck. Analia brought a hand up to cover her mouth, and she stared at the bruises in obvious concern. Kaden's reaction, however, was less gentle and quiet. He jumped down off the wing of the ship, marched over, and proceeded to hit Sonic on the top of the head with his fist, much like he often did with Locke. This greatly startled Sonic, as Kaden had never done this to him before. Even gentle thumps atop the head were something Kaden simply never did to him. But this wasn't an act of irritability or any sort of genuine anger. It was a sort of fear, one hidden under a veil anger. "Don't ever do something stupid like that again!" Kaden snapped at him, emerald eyes flashing._

 _Sonic rubbed at the top of his head, guilt tearing away at his heart. Again, there was an apology on his tongue, but he never had a chance to voice it before Locke spoke up. "That wasn't very bright of you," he commented, arms crossed. The disapproval in his eyes was painful, in a way, much like the fear his parents felt for him._

Ix let loose a wave of his magic, only for Sonic to dispel it with a blast of chaos. The hedgehog collided with Ix, throwing him back powerfully and sending forth countless numbers of chaos spears to force Shade back when she tried to intervene.

 _"You've grown and accomplished so much…" Kaden suddenly murmured, something genuine shining in his eyes. "You took all the terrible things that life threw at you and made them into something beautiful. You've changed the world more times than anyone may ever know, and you did it all for the sake of others, never for just yourself." He paused then and gave Sonic one of his rare, small but truly warm smiles. "I couldn't be more proud of you, Sonic," he said aloud for the first time ever. "I am proud of everything that you are, everything that you have become, everything that you have done, and everything that you have yet to do." At Sonic's expression, Kaden's smile grew a bit and he repeated, "I'm proud of you."_

 _Sonic slowly began to smile, bit by bit, then soon began outright beaming at his father. Without thinking, he reached forward and initiated only about the third or so hug he and his father had ever shared. There was no hesitation this time, and Kaden hugged him back. Now, there was only silence. But, this time... it was okay. Each one knew without words that the other was happy, and that was all that mattered._

Ix and Shade recovered and lashed out with their magic, forcing him to produce another barrier that deflected the attacks. He shot forward at Shade and grabbed her, generating a blast of chaos to propel her into Ix and send them both flying through one of their own ships.

 _December thirty-first was a rather joyous occasion, as it was the first Christmas celebration (late though it was) they had all spent together as one giant group. Many gifts were shared, gingerbread and milk flowed, wrapping paper and ribbons and bows littered the floors... Kaden and Analia's home had never looked messier, but no one really cared (not even Kaden himself). This day was far too good to spoil by complaining over such little things, so no one did it. Instead, they all just focused on the happy things and continued to share their joy with everyone else. No one wanted this day to end._

Sonic teleported his sword into his hand and parried a blow from Shade, driving his foot into her wounded abdomen and clashing against yet another wave of magic with a chaos-infused slash.

 _Sitting with his mother, Sonic smiled and listened as she played an old melody on her husband's piano. "I never knew you could play," he commented when she had finished._

 _"You never asked," she replied lightly. Tossing him a smile, she stood up and went to go fix herself some tea. Feeling genuinely peaceful and also wanting to spend some more time with his mother, Sonic stood up and walked after her. Who knew, maybe she could even teach him how to make his own tea._

The hedgehog deflected more magical attacks into the surrounding Nocturnian forces, diminishing their numbers as his clash with two of their leaders continued to rage on. Shade slashed at him again, only for him to catch the blade with his hand and wrench it free from her grip. He grabbed the handle and sent it flying into Ix with yet another blast of chaos.

 _On October tenth, a little bit more than a month after the end of the war, Kaden, Sonic, and Silver all embarked on a race through miles and miles of wilderness, ending with none of them actually winning. Silver was to blame for the collision that ended the race, but their spirits were all too high for any of them to be upset about it. To "celebrate" their shared humorous failure on this day, the trio went out to lunch together. Sonic and Silver quickly proved themselves to be too loud and wound up for the management's liking, however, which got them all in trouble. It was the first time Kaden had ever been kicked out of a restaurant. To teach the boys a little lesson, he chased them around a bit._

Sonic appeared by Ix and drove the sword in further with a roundhouse kick, practically burying the weapon in his adversary. The much darker man appeared to feel no pain, but Sonic was in no state to care. All he wanted was for Ix to die… and to die _now_.

 _Sighing, Sonic took a seat. "I don't know, mom, I guess I just worry about him. I mean, I know he's not a kid anymore, but he still feels like it to me. You know?" 'My kid.'_

 _The smile Analia gave him was full of warmth and understanding. "It is natural for us, as parents, to worry for our children... even when they have grown up."_

 _Sonic managed a small chuckle. "Heh... I don't suppose you're speaking from experience."_

 _"Aren't I?" Analia teased lightly, using a rare contraction in her sentence. "I do seem to recall you giving your father and I plenty of reasons to worry day and night over your safety."_

 _Now feeling a tad sheepish, Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah... about that..."_

 _"Do not apologize," his mother smiled. "You are your father's child - we had expected this from the very start."_

 _"Oh." A pause, then Sonic really thought about what she had said. Now laughing, he admitted, "I guess I hadn't thought about it that way."_

 _With a soft laugh of her own, Analia stood up. "Of course not..." she teased lightly, "...because you are your father's child."_

 _She started to walk away. Sonic stared after her a moment before practically leaping to his feet. "Oi, what's that supposed to mean?" Somewhat desperate for an answer, he chased after her down the hall._

Ix and Shade floated on either side of him, as though trying to determine how best to combat the threat he now posed. Sonic cast a sidelong glance at Ix, then appeared in front of the wicked man and shoved him away before raining down yet more spears on him. He turned and caught Shade by the wrist, preventing her use of magic directly before he simply blasted her away.

 _"You know," Kaden murmured thoughtfully, eyes on the clouds outside the window, "there is another way to tell a 'bad' person from a 'good' one."_

 _Sonic glanced to his father. One blue eyebrow raised slightly at the older hedgehog, who was still sitting in his chair holding his acoustic guitar and his pick. "Is there, now?" he inquired lightly._

 _"Yes." Slowly, Kaden smirked. He turned his head to look at his eldest son. "Bad people make bad music."_

 _In spite of himself, Sonic laughed out loud. "Do they, really?"_

 _"Absolutely terrible," Kaden chuckled._

 _"You can't be serious."_

 _"Very."_

 _Still chuckling, Sonic asked thoughtfully, "And amazing people make amazing music, right?"_

 _Kaden let out a small hum. "What do you think?" he questioned in return._

 _"I think…" Sonic murmured slowly, "that I'm right."_

 _Another chuckle. "You learn well."_

 _Laughing some more, Sonic picked up his own guitar and started lightly strumming. When Kaden joined in a few moments later, a beautiful harmony was made. The blue blur smiled to himself. He supposed his father's joke had… some merit, after all._

Sonic appeared in front of Ix once more, slashing directly at the staff the man held and temporarily forcing it out of Ix's hold. He deftly slashed two deep wounds into Ix's chest before Shade stole his attention away once more.

 _Stifling a yawn, Sonic cracked open his eyes and sat up a little on the couch. "Mom...?" he murmured drowsily, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes._

 _Offering him one of her usual smiles, Analia finished laying a blanket over him. "Hush," she whispered gently. "Go back to sleep. I will see you in the morning."_

 _Too tired to argue, Sonic laid his head back down and closed his eyes. "M'kay," he mumbled. He felt a hand smooth down his hair before he drifted back off to sleep._

The hedgehog and female Nocturnian leader clashed fiercely against one another, Sonic's chaos rapidly overtaking Shade's magic and throwing her back yet another time.

 _Wandering outside, Sonic finally located his mother sitting in the grass a fair distance away from the others. She was busily plucking flowers of particular colors and sizes and weaving their stems together to form surprisingly ornate crowns. Smiling, he walked over to her. "Did Cream put you up to this?" he joked, kneeling down._

 _As per usual, Analia readily returned his smile. "She did not," she revealed simply.  
_

 _"So how come you're making these?" Sonic queried._

 _"For the children, mostly."_

 _"Mostly?"_

 _Analia finished putting together a crown of delicate blue and white flowers. Smiling an almost secretive sort of smile, she handed it to him. "Give these to your father... he will not admit it, but he rather likes flowers."_

 _Shocked, Sonic turned to look at his father... then back down to the flowers at his hand... then took a moment to question everything he had once thought he'd known about his parents._

Shade and Ix attacked at the same time, slamming into either side of a hastily thrown up barrier with their magic furiously lashing out at him while he fought to hold them back. He closed his eyes for no longer than a second, and when they opened, an explosion of chaos interrupted the attackers and flung them back.

 _As his parents vanished within the dark light of Ix and Shade's attack, Sonic stared in mute horror. Time seemed to slow to a standstill, even as his mother connected her mind to his own, Shadow's and Kaden's. He heard her voice in his head, full of tears that he could not see._

 _"We're so sorry," she thought to them softly. "We're so, so sorry, both of you…"_

 _He was nearly too numb with shock to reply. When words finally forced themselves past his lips, they had come out stuttered and weak. "Y-You can't-" he choked in reply. "Mom, dad, y-you-"_

 _Silence had answered him initially, but it had only lasted for a few tiny instances in time before Shadow's voice, surprisingly quiet with its own emotion, had disrupted it. "...Father-"_

 _In that moment, Kaden finally spoke, interrupting Shadow before the younger hedgehog could say what he was thinking. Their father's voice was unlike how Sonic had ever heard it, thick with raw emotion and full of unseen tears._

 _Sonic had never before heard his father cry._

 _"We love you," Kaden told them. "We love all of you… so much."_

 _And then they were gone._

His emotions surging, Sonic hurled himself at Ix and Shade… only for everything around him to vanish. Surprised to the point of ceasing all motion, he let the attack that had been building up within him slowly die down until it was no longer there. A voice, _the_ Voice, echoed into his mind, whispering to him. _"Be at ease, young one. Time does not pass as you understand it in this place. Your war will not continue without you."_

Frowning Sonic looked around. His surroundings were nothing but white and white and white all around. There were no objects, no landmarks, no people, nothing. There wasn't even any definable source for all of the light around him. It reminded him rather vividly of how the interior to the Master Emerald had once been before he had recreated Green Hill there. _But this place… it feels similar, and yet… utterly different._

 _"You are at the edge of our realm, young one,"_ the Voice deigned to explain. _"The Realm of Chaos is largely sealed, but this place remained accessible."_

Though he normally never spoke when transformed (he normally never wanted to speak when in such states), Sonic opened his mouth to reply. "...'Our'?" he repeated slowly, as though the word was foreign to him. In reality, he was merely giving vent to his building confusion and curiosity.

 _"You are not the only being of Chaos to exist,"_ the Voice murmured. _"You are but one of three, the youngest of us all."_

He caught on to the implications easily. "And you're another one…"

 _"I am Ythene,"_ she introduced, finally giving herself a name for him to call her. _"I am the Voice of Chaos, speaker of the will of the Goddess and Queen of Chaos herself, Teyan. This realm and all that lie within it are her domain and you, son of both Darkness and Light, have a task laid before you."_

Somehow, he didn't like the sound of that. Maybe it was just because his emotions were still raging within him (though his rage had simmered down into a sort of calm fury the moment he had transformed). Maybe it was because he hated being told what to do. Or maybe it was just because he was tired. Tired of this war, tired of the deaths it brought, tired of losing… "A task?" he questioned, arms crossing.

Her voice as impassive as ever, Ythene commanded, _"The Spear of Chaos exists deep within you. Channel your grief and your fury. Lay claim to your weapon. Mend the bond that has been torn by time. And when you are able… bring an end to this clan of Darkness… forever."_

With no further explanation, Sonic was stripped of his emerald and his powers and thrust into a whole new reality.

 **~台風の目~**

Despite the orders of the medical personnel that had been assigned to him, Locke pushed himself up in his bed. As soon as he felt well enough to, he stood up. One of the medics started to snap at him over it, but one withering glance from violet eyes was enough to silence them. Throwing their hands up, the medic in question stormed out of the room. The other medic, some sort of underling, followed more uncertainly and apologetically. Ignoring them both, Locke limped to a window and gazed out of it. His eyes scanned the innumerable stars outside in utter silence. _...They're on the move… but why now of all times?_ He closed his eyes after a long moment, a pained frown marring his face as he tried to organize his thoughts.

The people he was sensing were… far from ordinary, to say the very least. They were people of extraordinary power and knowledge, people filling roles that had existed since times immemorial. The Immortals were the ones for creating existence and maintaining order, yes, but it was the _Gods_ and _Goddesses_ whom they trusted most to aid them in the latter ordeal. There were nineteen such roles in total and seventeen people filling those roles due to a couple of them filling two roles each. Every individual filling said roles was granted special abilities granted to no other, save for the Immortals, and each was a semi-Immortal (though there were other semi-Immortals in existence who _weren't_ Gods or Goddesses). This meant that, while they were capable of permanent death like mortals, like _Immortals_ not just anything could kill them. Semi-Immortals could permanently kill other semi-Immortals, as could certain varying weaknesses for each individual.

But, more importantly, each role (even the one that was beyond evil and thus not among the people he was currently sensing) served a powerful purpose in maintaining order and balance in existence. _If they're on the move now… then what in the hell is going on out there?_ All in all, Locke was largely in the dark as to what had been happening as of late. The majority of what he knew he had merely overheard from the people here. It was thanks to them that he knew what Sonic and the others were up to, wherever they were. _Something must have gone wrong, if even Finis is deigning to make an appearance…_ His frown deepened again as he recalled, one by one, the name and role of each God and Goddess he was currently sensing.

 _Althea, the Goddess of the Sun…_

 _Sona, the Goddess of Stars…_

 _Therin, the God of Thieves…_

 _Saethrim, the God of Mythical Beasts…_

 _Cere, the Goddess of Judgement…_

 _Finis, the God of Night…_

 _Nier, the God of Runes…_

They were all on the move, all presumably heading straight toward wherever this supposed final showdown was taking place. His lips pursed together. Concern burned like a fire within him. Just what were Sonic and the others _doing_ out there?

A flash of Sunfire heated up the air behind him momentarily. Still moving slowly and painfully, he sort of limped in an awkward circle until he had managed to turn fully around. Clad in almost Egyptian-looking attire and holding the Staff of the Sun in her hands, Althea stood before him in all her ancient glory. In recognition of his long-time teacher, Locke respectfully bowed his head and murmured a greeting. Exhausted though he was, he always remembered his manners.

The ancient orange-furred echidna woman considered him for a long moment with silvery-white eyes. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft, as though in consideration for the migraine he was nursing. He had managed to mostly ignore it so far, but even her low tones aggravated it. "I had heard you were wounded." Her head tilted ever-so-slightly. "I had not anticipated your injuries would be this grievous. What led to this?"

He stopped, pondered, but came up empty. "I don't… know, exactly. I only remember bits and pieces of that day before waking up here."

She inclined her head. "...I see."

Shifting to lean a bit more heavily against the wall at his back, Locke clutched at one of his wounds. "Something's happened, hasn't it? You all don't typically gather for no reason, and something's convinced even _Finis_ to come out and socialize."

Suddenly, Althea's tone became grave. "We have lost two of our own, Locke." The implications of that struck deeply, and Locke froze. "We do not yet know if the deaths they suffered permanent deaths, but if they have… the consequences are dire."

"Who… who did you lose?" he asked her, breathless with fear.

She held his gaze, unflinching and yet… subtly sympathetic. "The God of Death and Darkness, and the Goddess of Light… formerly the Goddess of Light and Life."

Locke felt like he had just been punched right in the gut.

He was given no time to try to process what he had just learned. "Given your condition, I will not ask for your assistance." Althea turned as though to walk out of the door, then paused. After a small moment, she promised softly, "I will… keep you apprised of what we learn." Without another word, she vanished in another flash of fire.

Too numb to feel anything anymore, Locke fell to his knees.

 **~台風の目~**

Heedless of the powerful barriers that were still surrounding the battlefield for now (she was certain that they would fail soon, given the fact that the pair who had crafted them were no longer alive to maintain them), Althea appeared. Still holding her staff in her right hand, she surveyed the carnage surrounding her and waited for the others to arrive.

Cere, the Goddess of Judgement and among the eldest of the Gods and Goddesses in existence, appeared beside her. In her left hand, she held a shield while in her right hand she wielded a halberd. The black Hexan observed everything happening, and frowned, straightening her stance as her red-eyed gaze flicked to the next of their allies to arrive.

Next to arrive was Therin, the elusive God of Thieves. He appeared in a dangerous crouch atop the corpse of a huge beast that had long since been mercilessly killed. The grey-furred cat's tail lashed irritably and he scented the air, hazel eyes darting around in an effort to take in every tiny detail of every little thing that was occurring. On each hip was sheathed a dagger that glowed subtly with almost silver energy.

Following Therin was the God of Mythical Beasts, Saethrim. The pure white da Asani watched with an impassive expression on his face while amber eyes watched a particular part of the battle. He clutched his quarterstaff tensely.

Immediately after Saethrim's arrival, the mysterious and almost unfathomably ancient God of Night arrived. Finis, a black and dark purple Babylonian with deep purple eyes, hovered without expression a fair distance away from the others with his sword in hand. The sword was black as the night itself, and his expression slowly turned… _dark_.

A burst of blue and red flames accentuating her appearance, the Goddess of the Stars, Sona, appeared and stood in empty space and looked upon the battle with a noticeable scowl and anger building behind her starry yellow eyes. The white cat unsheathed her rapier and it glowed in response to the anger she kept contained within herself.

Last to arrive was Nier, the God of Runes. He, like Finis, was a Babylonian, though his feathers were greyish-blue and color and his eyes, also blue, were rather… _electric_ and vibrant. In his hand he carried the Runesword. He was quick to scan the battlefield before murmuring to the others, "Teyan is doing something." The Goddess of Chaos herself was no here, however, nor was the woman who served as her Voice. Their realm had been sealed since a time immemorial to even most of the oldest of the Gods and Goddesses, meaning the pair could not leave. And there was only so much they could do to help from afar.

Althea glanced his way. "Yes… I sense it as well. She is likely attempting to aid her prodigy, as she has been wont to do as of late."

"I see. Either way, though, this isn't going well even with her help," Sona murmured, crossing her arms quietly.

"She's frozen time here," Therin noted tensely. "She can't maintain that forever. Whatever in the hell she's up to probably won't last long."

Finis glanced over the lot of them in silence before finally saying, "She intends to pass down her Spear onto him. That will take time - time that will not pass out here. Time will unfreeze here regardless, but it will not affect him."

"Chances are, given how time passes in that realm, it's already been a long time," Nier observed. "He might show back up again at any time." A long pause, and he looked around some more. "...Hey, where's the Immortal? There was one here. I _know_ there was. I could sense his energies from half a realm away."

"That is irrelevant," Althea murmured. "Focus on being ready. The moment the Nocturnians are free, we will need to move. Even Teyan's Time Stop can only last for so long."

Saethrim spoke up, surprising Sona to some noticeable degree. "Of course. The objective remains clear. Divert the enemy's attention long enough for the Child of Light and Immortal to return."

"I see no reason to not rain hell upon these bastards for all they've done. If it were possible, I'd love to watch them-"

Cere was cut off by a cough from Sona. "Oi. Don't start that crap. You start getting all dark and angry. Save it for when we fight them."

Finis levelled them all with a quelling look, effectively shutting them all up for the moment. "Do not waste your breath with petty disagreements. Pay attention to the battlefield." He paused for just a second before adding, "And keep your senses open. We don't know yet if they died permanently or not. They may yet revive."

It was obvious whom he was referring to, so no questions were raised. Nier simply nodded while Therin huffed and muttered, "Yeah, we get it."

"He's right," Cere stated, shrugging softly. "If they return, we need to be aware of it."

Just as Althea opened her mouth to say something, the space around them shuddered palpably and time began to inch forward ever-so-slightly. Her eyes narrowed. _The time is now, it would seem..._

Saethrim spoke once more, twirling his quarterstaff. "I presume everyone is ready?" Nods all around answered him, save for in the case of Finis (who didn't really acknowledge the question). He nodded in response and nudged Sona forward. "Go ahead. I for one would rather not get caught up in your aptly nicknamed attack."

She rolled her eyes and stepped forward, leading the charge into battle as her flames built up in a violent manner. Glancing back, she gave a small nod and launched herself forward, effectively spurring them all into motion right as time unfroze and the battle began anew. With a collective roar of power, they summoned forth their energies and together unleashed the full force of their fury.

 **~台風の目~**

 **5,249 words this time around. So, time for some important notes. First, pronunciation aids. 1.) Althea: "Al (short "a" as in cat)-thae (soft "th" as in thought)-uh")**

 **2.) Sona: "Soe-nuh"**

 **3.) Therin: "Ther (soft "th" as in thought)-in"**

 **4.) Saeth: "Sae-th (soft "th" as in thought)-rim)**

 **5.) Cere: "Sae-rae"**

 **6.) Finis: "Fin-iss" or, less commonly, "Fin-eess"**

 **7.) Nier: "Neer"**

 **Next up, Blazing Winds helped me with some of the Sonic vs. Ix and Shade fight scenes (not the memories) earlier. He helped from this line: "Ix let loose a wave of his magic, only for Sonic to dispel it with a blast of chaos." To this line: "He closed his eyes for no longer than a second, and when they opened, an explosion of chaos interrupted the attackers and flung them back." He also wrote all the parts for Cere, Saethrim, and Sona, as (though the roles for all the Gods and Goddesses are my creation) those three are his characters.** **Many thanks to him, as always, for his help!**

 **The next chapter (which will explain everything that's happening with Sonic, I promise!) will be up ASAP, everyone. I hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 8:44 p.m.) 08-27-18.**


	109. Clash! Fire vs Lightning

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this conflict... especially for the one who normally keeps himself so tightly under control.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Glad you enjoyed! And yes, I'm well aware. XD**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yes, it does, but you are correct. There is more to come. Yes, go Sonikku! XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Clash! Fire vs. Lightning"**

 **~台風の目~**

When the light surrounding him died away, Sonic found himself standing within a strange forest. The trees had at least four to six feet of space between each of their trunks and the ground was nothing both loose rocks. The sky overhead was so overcast that, while there was certainly sunlight, the source of it couldn't clearly be seen. There were no animals around, no people, no signs of life other than these trees. There wasn't even so much as a bush or a single blade of grass anywhere in sight.

Frowning, Sonic started to turn to examine his surroundings more thoroughly, only to pause when there was a flash just visible out of the corner of the corner of his eye. He turned back around just in time to see Jet dropped onto the rocks. He landed in a neat crouch, eyes briefly flashing with some indefinable emotion as he took in the area. However, Sonic barely noticed. Something about Jet's presence here made his jaw clench. The hand that still clutched to his sword tightened almost painfully.

Now, normally Sonic wasn't an irrational person. Yes, his emotions were sometimes volatile and he had lashed out at people now and then in the past, but overall he was skilled at keep a level head and being rational about this. _This_ , however, was no ordinary circumstance. People were _dead_ , people he _loved_ , and while a tiny voice argued in the back of his mind that no one else but Ix and his ilk were to blame, a much louder and more insistent voice screamed that they weren't the only ones at fault.

Even before Jet had so unexpectedly returned to them, he had already known that the Nocturnians were coming. _How_ he'd known was yet be revealed, but Sonic _knew_ that Jet had known. And yet, he'd chosen not to say anything to anyone, had chosen to continue to avoid them and let them worry and make them think he might be _dead_ or worse. And then the Nocturnians had shown up and Sonic and Amy had encountered both them and Jet, and yet even _then_ Jet hadn't explained anything to them.

That had been just one of numerous secrets, secrets that _should_ have been shared straight away. Like how Jet had become a freaking _king_ and had an entire army, and the fact that he knew and was allied with _Kath_ of all people, the very same guy who had saved their _asses_ during the war against the Meterex, and the fact that he was a goddamned _Immortal_ who therefore couldn't actually _die_. And then there was the lack of trust he'd shown toward everyone for so long, and his lack of interest in rekindling or otherwise maintaining his past friendships, and his almost cold treatment of everyone right from the very start…

A part of Sonic _wanted_ right now to hate Jet for these things, but even in his current emotional state he acknowledged that he could never do that. He was angry, yes, and he was hurt, but he couldn't hate his old friend, and certainly not over things like this. Hell, he couldn't even hate the hawk for what had happened with Tails… no matter how soul-wrenching that had been. But it hadn't been Jet's fault, or Sonic's, or Tails's. Tails had exercised his free will and decided to come along, yes, but ultimately it had been the Nocturnians who had ended his journey so abruptly.

No, Sonic didn't, and couldn't, hate Jet.

He _hated_ the Nocturnians.

With Jet, what he needed was to _understand_ …

And right now, he knew no better way to do that then to fall back on one of his father's favorite methods of reading people: by clashing blades with them.

Ythene had told Sonic to channel his anger and "mend the bond torn by time". He suspected that the intention _was_ , in fact, for Sonic and Jet to fight. But if she and Teyan or whoever she was thought that he would be doing this out of anger at Jet, then they were wrong. His anger toward the hawk had been lessening more and more with each passing day and with each new thing he learned about his friend's life during this past century. And yet, he was still willing to do this… and not because of some damn spear. He wanted to understand, but more importantly…

He wanted his friend back.

If this was the only way to do that, then fine. He would fight Jet… just this once… and then never again. They had fought once before, many years ago, and even that had been one time too many. _After this… never again._ With his silent promise ringing loudly in his ears, Sonic resigned himself to what was about to his lips together, he turned to fully face the young hawk, who was still crouching precisely where he had been when he'd first appeared mere moments ago. He was watching Sonic, gaze oddly intense and yet still otherwise unreadable. Sonic clutched Caliburn even tighter in his hand. "Draw your sword, Jet."

Something in those blue eyes flashed and, slowly, Jet stood. He watched Sonic for another long and very tense moment before finally murmuring, "...Have it your way, then." His tone was… strangely tired. As though he had been waiting for a long time for something and the wait itself had somehow exhausted him. It crossed Sonic's mind that, perhaps, Jet had seen this coming. It possibly would explain some of the hawk's tension as of late, but there was no time to ponder that. In one smooth and fluid motion, Jet had drawn Alkarus and shifted into a defensive position.

Knowing he would never find the closure he needed until this was done, Sonic gritted his teeth and lunged. Metal scraped against metal for the barest of seconds before Jet leapt away. Using a tree as leverage, he leapt back toward Sonic and slashed at him, forcing Sonic to block just as Jet had done before. However, there was a surprising amount of force behind the blow, and Sonic was sent skidding backward across the rocks. He had forgotten, somehow, for just a moment that this fight wasn't _like_ the last one he and Jet had had. Jet knew how to fight now, too. He had his own weapons, he was fast, he was _powerful_. This wouldn't be an easy quarrel to end… nor would Jet _make_ it easy.

Now was no time to play around, so Sonic blurred into motion. Jet did the same, and soon the pair were clashing with such sheer speed that only the strongest and fastest people they knew would have been able to follow the brawl… had anyone else even been here to watch to begin with. Within seconds of them beginning to move, all that could be seen were vague blurs of motion through the trees, each brief flash of movement closely followed by explosions (and the fires they caused), trees falling, rocks being blasted into the air, and so on. There was a huge blast of blue fire, and then for a moment… silence.

When Sonic blasted more fire at Jet moments later, Jet took cover behind the thick trunk of a very tall tree. The instant the fires died down, he whipped around and shot several bolts of lightning at Sonic from his small point of refuge. Though Sonic couldn't be sure, largely because he was dodging so fast, he thought he had seen flashes of emotion in Jet's eyes… signs of wariness, perhaps? But they were there and gone too quickly for Sonic to be able to fully read them, and as soon as they were Sonic was forced to refocus on the fight.

Jet gave him no time to recover from the searing bolts of lightning that had nearly hit him before suddenly and quite unexpectedly taking control of the many rocks underneath their feet and hurling them at the hedgehog. Unable to dodge in time and not reacting fast enough to teleport, Sonic was pummeled quite thoroughly for a few seconds before managing to roll away. Curling into a tight ball, he shot himself at Jet using a Homing Attack. Jet stopped the blow with the flat of his blade, but only managed to hold his position for a few seconds before being thrown back. He slammed forcefully into the trunk of a tree, leaving cracks in the wood.

Taking advantage of the seconds-long window of opportunity, Sonic threw Caliburn straight at Jet. Jet ducked and rolled out of the way just in time for the blade to stab deeply into the tree. With a small " _Tch_!" the hawk fired another bolt of lightning at Sonic before dodging further away from the hedgehog. Sonic dove to the side, then ran forward and ripped his sword free of its narrow confines. Within the span of just of few tiny instances in time, Sonic had lunged forward and swung his sword at Jet. Their blades slammed into one another with so much force that sparks flew in the space between them.

Unable to remain silent any longer, Sonic snapped, "Why the hell did you leave without _telling_ us, Jet?! We thought you were _dead_! _I_ thought you were dead! Do you have _any_ idea what the _fuck_ you put us all through, making us _worry_ like that?!"

As had happened earlier, something flashed in Jet's eyes, but it vanished too quickly for Sonic to make sense of what he was seeing. "There was no _time_!" Jet snapped back just as fiercely. Suddenly, he was venting his own anger just as openly as Sonic was. "I _never_ had _time_! And even when I _did_ , I was too far away for any calls to ever even go through!"

The implications that Jet had _tried_ to call struck Sonic deeply, but it wasn't enough. There was still so much more to understand… so much more he had to know. "You _left_ our entire _planet_ behind and didn't say anything to _any_ of us!" he nearly snarled. "You should have called someone _then_ , _anyone_ , and told them where in the hell you were _going_ , Jet! For fuck's sake, we could have _helped_ you!"

More sparks flew, and suddenly it was much harder for Sonic to hold his ground. " _No_!" Jet thundered, the blue in his eyes intensifying with emotion. "That was _not_ your war!" Sonic started pressing back even harder, but Jet wasn't letting up. "People already _died_ , Sonic, _far_ more than have in this conflict! What do you think would have happened if I'd called you all in, huh?! Do you think everyone would have _survived_?!"

" _Yes_!" Sonic shouted over the steadily increasing roar of building energy between them. His teeth gritted and bared in an instinctual display of aggression, he added, "We would have lived, and we would have _won_ \- and _you_ wouldn't have become so cold and fucking distant that you can't even trust your own _friends_ anymore!"

 _That_ , more than anything else Sonic had previously said or done, caused an open flash of anger in Jet's eyes and face. Catching Sonic completely by surprise, Jet all but roared, " _I never stopped trusting you_!" With no further explanation - let alone warning - he broke their stalemate and threw Sonic back, thus unleashing all the pent-up energy that had gathered between their swords. The ensuing explosion was so fierce that Sonic was hurled across the landscape, his body barreling straight through tree trunks and digging a deep gouge straight into the ground. When he finally came to a stop, he got up with a cough and was surprised to see the green emerald sitting beside him in such a position that suggested he'd dropped it… meaning he had been left with one emerald after all.

Gritting his teeth, he scooped up the emerald and made it vanish from his hand before teleporting back to Jet and kicking him squarely in the chest. This sent Jet through the trunk of a tree, too, though Sonic wasn't very sympathetic since the same thing had just happened to him. "If you never stopped trusting us, then why the hell did you never tell us _anything_?!" he snapped as Jet picked himself up off the ground. "You didn't even so much as mention the fact that you had kids until we had to go fucking save them from the Nocturnians, whom you _also_ never bothered to mention!"

"My _children_ ," Jet bit out as he stood, "never came _up_ at that moment. In case you don't recall, we were _already_ under attack at the time." He brushed a bit of debris off of himself and coolly questioned, "And why mention an enemy to you when you were already _fighting_ them yourself?"

Irritated anew, Sonic sent a burst of flame at Jet, spurring the hawk into motion in an instant. Sonic's sharp ears were nearly certain that they picked up on the sound of a sharp intake of breath, but whether that was due to alarm or something entirely different Sonic had no idea. He had no time to contemplate it, either, before rocks were again being hurled at him from all over. This time, though, he countered the attack before any stones could touch him. A single Chaos Blast took care of them, turning each stone into mere dust.

Reacting quickly before Jet could try anything else, Sonic called forth a large barrage of Chaos Spears and unleashed them upon his old friend. Jet dodged what few he could before the spears simply became too close together to get away from. It seemed he was too tired to teleport at the moment, perhaps due to how much power he had been putting out to deal with Kethro earlier. So, instead, he called forth a small barrier in an effort to defend himself. It held right up until the last dozen or so spears hit it, and then it fell. Three spears struck him, all slicing him open as they tore past.

In retaliation, Jet sent out a torrent of slicing wind at Sonic with an almost idle sweep of his hand. As a result, Sonic was soon sporting deep gashes of his own. Deciding he was done toying around, Sonic again ran toward Jet at speeds nearly too high to comprehend. Jet not only matched that speed, however, but he also matched the _power_ Sonic started to unleash as the pair resumed their earlier fierce brawl. In a scene reminiscent to Jet's conflict with Kethro before, the two fighters vanished from sight as they moved about, fierce explosions and bursts of energy marking each and every point of conflict between them.

At one point, Sonic slammed Jet back-first into the ground in a somewhat open space with a powerful downward kick. From where he still was up in the air, Sonic again let loose a wave of fire at Jet, surprising even himself when it came out red. Jet had already leapt to his feet by this time, but for just a second he seemed to utterly freeze as he watched the flames come toward him. However, a split second later he recovered and blasted the fire apart with aura energy before Sonic (who had landed on the ground by now) could even wonder about what he had just witnessed. It didn't matter at the moment, anyway. Enough was enough. If they were going to truly settle this, then it was going to happen now and on Sonic's terms… and Jet wasn't going to get away with any half-answers or vague truths. Not this time.

It seemed that Jet sensed Sonic's intentions to end this here and now. As red flames roared to life around Sonic, lightning began to crackle lethally around the hawk. So much power began to flow out of the two of them that the ground itself began to shake. Wasting no more time with mere words, the pair lunged for one another… and in a climactic _flash_ it all seemed to disappear.

In that moment, they could feel it.

Maybe it was just due to the pure Chaos energies that comprised this place, but each one could _feel_ the other's every thought, emotion, motivation, desire… There was a lot of pain, a lot of fear, a lot of hopelessness and grief and loneliness and regret… And yet, Sonic found that Jet hadn't been lying before… because he could _feel_ the hawk's trust. In spite of all the other emotions swirling around inside of Jet right now, Sonic could _truly feel_ that Jet did trust him. He trusted Sonic to do what was necessary to end this war… to avenge those who had fallen. He trusted enough to be willing to let Sonic pour out all of his anger on him, despite the fact that Jet wasn't even the genuine focus for most of that anger and Jet knew it. He trusted Sonic with his _own_ life. And… even now, in this violent struggle where Jet was experiencing so much fear that Sonic couldn't at all account for…

Even now, he trusted Sonic not to truly hurt him... and not just physically.

Things slowly began to die down after that point. As the light faded, Sonic gradually became aware of his surroundings again. He didn't know when or how, but he had apparently at some point been tossed into the ground again, this time beside some sort of lake. His every nerve ending seemed abuzz with lingering energy, but the more that energy tapered off the more he started to feel the pain he had been ignoring before. He was beaten to all hell because of this little fight, all banged up and bruised and cut… hell, he was even sporting some electrical burns now, and those truly _hurt_.

However… his wounds could wait. His more immediate concerns were twofold. One, he felt… better, somehow. Things weren't suddenly perfect and happy and without lingering pain, but he felt that they had finally reached that point of understanding between himself and Jet. And, given enough time… he was now sure that they could go back to truly being friends. Which… led into his other concern at the moment. Namely, Jet himself. Now that Sonic's head was clear again, he was starting to understand some of the emotions he had picked up from Jet before, and that had him very, _very_ concerned indeed. Sitting up, he started to scan the area in search of the hawk… only to discover that Jet was gone.

He had left.

Pursing his lips together, Sonic turned his head to look into the water by his side. Even to his own eyes, his reflection looked deeply troubled and upset. He certainly _felt_ that way now that his burning anger had finally receded. Suddenly, he also felt like he had made a terrible mistake. _We shouldn't have fought..._ Truth be told, he knew that that thought wasn't wholly correct. Yes, the fight most certainly had its downsides, but at the same time… it had _needed_ to happen. He hadn't known what else to _do_ anymore to get through to his old friend and get some of the answers that he'd needed. He just… wished it hadn't started - or ended - on such a raw, painful note of anger. He hated anger.

Sighing softly, he turned his gaze up to the gray, cloud-covered sky. Emerald eyes searched the heavens as though they had the answer, then he averted his gaze, almost ashamed with himself and his own actions. Now looking down at his right hand, which was lightly clenched in his lap, his frown deepened. After a minute or two, he opened his hand and summoned his Dragonfire, encasing his hand in a bright blue glow of warmth and deadly beauty. The fire slowly began to turn red as he unintentionally called forth his Wrathfire again.

As he clenched his hand, the fire was extinguished. The anger remained, though. However, he wasn't angry at anyone else this time. His anger was directed toward solely himself now. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fist tighter and glared at the water as though it had wronged him. _If I'd known beforehand... If I'd known he was afraid of fire now..._ He squeezed his eyes shut. _I wouldn't have used... I wouldn't have..._ Clenching his eyes shut tighter, he fought against the random urge to cry.

 **~台風の目~**

It seemed as though hours had passed since their fight had ended. Sonic still sat by the lakeside alone, idly plopping round, smooth-edged stones into the water in the early evening light. He still felt much the same was as he had before, angry with himself and the Nocturnians and grief-stricken over the loss of his parents (and, of course, his friends)... but now he also felt sad - sad over everything he had picked up on when his and Jet's hearts and minds had so suddenly connected earlier. And… he was also… lonely. Very, very lonely… and so, _so_ regretful.

Another stone plopped into the water, but before it could be followed by yet another Sonic suddenly heard a cluster of other stones shift softly beside him. Turning his head quickly, he watched as Jet took a seat by his side, leaving a few respectful inches between them and yet still… close. Close enough to prove that he wasn't angry or afraid. Not anymore. Still, though, Sonic looked away. "...I'm sorry," he eventually mumbled. "About… all of this."

A moment of quiet passed before Jet replied, his voice soft. "Don't be."

More silence. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?" Sonic questioned after a while, fingers rubbing against the smooth surface of the stone he still held in his hand. "You knew we would fight… and that the V- I mean, Ythene and whoever wanted it to happen." _All over some goddamned spear…_

Jet seemed to take in a breath before replying, "I knew they were freeing up your emotions, allowing them to flow however they needed to without you being able to block them," he admitted carefully. "I knew they wanted you to channel your anger, specifically, and why. And… I knew that this would be the result."

Finally, Sonic turned his head to look at Jet again. "How?"

Though he initially shrugged, Jet soon explained, "In the past… whenever we had a hard time understanding one another… we always fought. Even if only verbally. It made sense, to me, that things would go similarly this time."

Sonic huffed, but… he had to admit that Jet was right. _Seems he usually is… huh?_ "...Still," he murmured, "I've never liked being the reason people are afraid, Jet. _Especially_ when the people in question are my friends. The next time we're fighting or sparring or whatever and something comes up that scares you… _say_ something, alright?" When Jet didn't answer, Sonic gave him a hard look and nudged his shoulder. "Seriously, Jet. Don't keep shit like that to yourself." Now wasn't the time to question Jet about the reasons behind his fear... he just wanted Jet to know that Sonic wouldn't subject him to it anymore.

It was hard to be sure, but Jet seemed to sigh. Still, he nodded vaguely in agreement, and that was good enough for now. "Are you ready to go back?" he questioned quietly after another brief moment of silence.

"I don't know that I'll ever be, but…" Sonic let out a sigh of his own. "It's not like I have much choice in the matter." He started to stand but stopped and thought a moment. "Wait, what about that spear-thing?"

"The Spear of Chaos rests within you," Jet explained calmly. He shifted and stood. "Can you not feel it?"

A brief self-assessment seemed to suggest that some new source of power was, in fact, there, and Sonic's eyes widened slightly. "Actually… I think I _do_."

"Then let's go," Jet murmured without further explanation… as though he simply trusted Sonic to know what to do when they returned. That alone meant more than Sonic felt he could express at the moment.

Expression turning more serious, Sonic looked down at the emerald in his other hand. "...Yeah… let's get this done."

As if on cue, the world turned to blinding light again. Sonic felt his power surge straight back to where it had been before, almost as though he had never been stripped of it or his other emeralds in the first place. The second the light died down, the two of them reappeared together on the battlefield… And just like that, the fight was back on.

 **~台風の目~**

 **4,217 words this time. Yet another chapter that was planned even before "Hero" ended... heh. Hope it turned out well and you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 12:35 p.m.) 08-28-18.**


	110. The Guts to Never Give Up

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this truly final fight... especially for the one who awakens.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Yeah, I know. ;_;**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! I _know_ , right? I'm so glad that they're finally on decent terms again, though nothing will be _fully_ healed for a time yet. Yes, let's end this, everyone! And yeah, rest in peace, those who have fallen... :(**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"The Guts to Never Give Up"**

 **~台風の目~**

As Sonic looked around in an effort to take in everything that was occurring around him, he noticed Jet vanish once again… undoubtedly hell-bent on ending Kethro once in for all. Elsewhere, Silver, Amy, Knuckles, and the others continued to fight their hardest to both contain and defeat all the small-fry enemies still populating the battlefield. Silver's barriers seemed, at first, to be the only things now maintaining the perimeter that Kaden and Analia had established before, but… a closer look seemed to show that there were new layers above and below that _one_ , each further trapping their enemies here. No sooner than Sonic had started to wonder who these new and foreign energies even _belonged_ to, he spotted them. _New fighters… seven of them._

Calm eyes watched with quiet intensity as these newcomers fought, each utilizing powers he had never before in his life seen… but though their abilities and specific identities were new, Sonic knew _precisely_ who he was looking at. It wasn't for nothing, after all, that he had spent so many hours over the years talking with his parents and Locke, picking their brains about everything from Mobian history to their past experiences to their old allies and adventures and more. He had had those conversations precisely for the purpose of _learning_ … and learn he had. Though Sonic had no way of knowing the individuals themselves, he knew who each person _was_. Each was a God or a Goddess, and purely by watching _how_ they fought and seeing what weapons they used and paying attention to how they each looked he could recalled from his parents' and Locke's descriptions just who each one was.

One was the Goddess of the Sun, utilizing powerful attacks of Sunfire and Sun Magic to lay waste to massive swaths of the battlefield while she herself barely had to lift a finger. The next one he saw was the Goddess of Stars, who made full use of her intense attack, the "Stellar Inferno" (or so Locke had once said she called it) to rain down absolute hell on the opposing forces. After seeing her, his focus shifted to the God of Thieves, who fought with vicious determination using daggers that glowed with energy leftover from the birth of all of existence.

Then there was the God of Mythical Beasts (who transformed into a serpentine creature and coated many of the Nocturnians in acid) and the Goddess of Judgement nearby (who was practically dropping every beast and foe with mighty blows from her halberd without using any actual powers). The dark and mysterious God of Night, whom Kaden had specifically mentioned once being close allies with, fought apart from most of the rest of the group using only a sword, one that was essentially a solidified blade of his power. A fair distance from him was the last individual making up this little collection of surprising allies, the God of Runes, who used energy to put (of course) runes onto his blade and grant it incredible and varying properties, abilities, and affects (including but not limited to elemental properties, power boosts, and so on) as he fought.

In the middle of this chaotic battlefield, the Nocturnians began attempting to surround various clusters of their enemies. All manner of attacks flew about, colliding, exploding, and clashing powerfully all around. However, all of this was interrupted without warning mere seconds after Sonic took it all in… and all because of a huge buildup of energy that unexpectedly made itself known amidst the madness. The battle as a whole seemed to pause for a long moment and many turned to watch as a swirling combination of beams of Light and Darkness blew through the area, eradicating waves upon waves of Nocturnian soldiers. It rocketed for Shade and Ix, whom Sonic had been trying to spot this whole time, then suddenly veered off at the second-in-command. At the absolute last second, she angrily put up a barrier and deflected the attack at more of the small-fry. Despite her effort at defense, however, it struck a glancing blow on her, thus pulling her attention away just long enough for the heroes near her to redouble their efforts at fending off their attackers. In the distance, a golden portal opened, then closed, disappearing along with the mystery attacker as though neither had ever existed.

Utterly confused though Sonic was, now was not the time to question it. With his targets now in sight, he pursed his lips together and streaked across the battlefield with his sword raised. In his other hand, he attempted to call forth his newfound spear. It appeared there seamlessly, all rainbowy-white energy as the rest of his Chaos had been since he'd transformed into this state… whatever it was. It was much larger than a normal Chaos spear, being roughly as tall as Caliburn itself, and somehow bore much more intricate detail to it despite being comprised purely of, of course, _energy_. And… contrary to what he had originally thought… the spear in and of _itself_ was not powerful. No… Rather, _his_ power was flowing within and around the weapon. This power was all his… and he was going to use every last drop of it if that was what it took to end this bloody war.

No matter how terrible the losses he and his allies had suffered, no matter how _deeply_ he hurt, no matter how _horribly_ all of this would leave him and others scarred, no one else he cared for was going to fall. Not today, and certainly not by the hands of of the Nocturnians. They were never going to claim another life… not _ever_ again. Of _that_ , he would make absolutely certain.

This war was going to _end_.

As he soared across the blackness of space toward what he very much intended to be his _final_ confrontation with Ix and Shade, the rest of the battle raged on. Saethrim had changed forms into a Roc, fending off large beasts and ripping them to shreds with talons. Not too terribly far away fought Therin, who was now channeling the ancient energy of his daggers into himself to boost his speed immensely. Blazing across the battlefield, he slashed and hacked through any enemy in his way with relentless force and a certain unique precision most thieves could only dream of possessing. Each attack left a burst of energy in its wake, further ensuring that every enemy he cut failed to survive the onslaught.

Sona laid waste with massive beasts that appeared to come from the stars themselves. A bear, a lion, and even a crab relentlessly crushed, maimed, and sliced their Nocturnian foes as the Goddess herself battled hordes with a flaming sword in hand. Nier was some distance from her, similarly wreaking havoc. Placing a new rune on his sword, he slashed through the arm of a large creature. The rune immediately slowed the beasts's speed to a mere crawl, allowing him ample time to replace that rune with another. A second slash, and an explosion of lightning blew apart the creature and everything and everyone around it.

Pure red blades and spears of energy shot at Nocturnians from Cere's outstretched hand, her eyes glowing with that color as she spoke. Nearly every Nocturnian froze in place and many writhed in agony for a long moment. This was shortly followed by a large number of them falling dead. Althea and Finis worked in tandem to her left, her practically smiting anything in sight and him cutting down what few foes managed to escape her wrath. Then, nearby, a new fighter arrived. A white cat who looked similar to Astra teleported in and began firing off arrows purely comprised of Light, never missing even once while her targets shifted around.

Elsewhere, Marthal used his fire alongside Keiri's somewhat weak and very basic magic to break apart ships, torch enemies, and defend each other from all forms of harm possible. Marthal broke his way into yet another ship, blasted apart the insides of it, and directed all survivors out toward Keiri. Still using her magic, she took out each and every enemy as they came. Knuckles and Rouge had finally regrouped and were relentlessly pummeling their foes with brute force and next to nothing else. When necessary, however, he let loose blasts of fire from his hands or shockwaves from his glove, and she went invisible and used her drill tool as she needed to.

Across the battlefield, Shadow fired mercilessly into crowds of Nocturnians that were _still_ trying to get at the Blue Typhoon (whose roof he was now crouching on). From within the same ship, Cream and Amy continued to unleash psionic blast after psionic blast upon the Nocturnian forces outside, absolutely decimating their ranks without any physical exertion. Tammy and Arthr soon shot by the trio in a ship of their own, firing into the crowds with aura weapons as they tore across the battlefield. Soon, they passed Silver and Blaze who, by combining their powers, laid waste to the hordes that had once been surrounding them.

Concerned more than every for everyone's well being though he was, Sonic made himself focus. Sheer unfettered power flowed through him as he surged toward Ix and Shade. The pair sensed him coming and readied themselves for the fight of their lives, but they never had a chance in _hell_ of surviving _this_. Sonic raised his spear and hurled it at them. It tore through Ix first, ablaze light as it ripped through his body. Less than a single instant later, the spear struck and them tore through Shade as well. An explosion pure, raw Chaos followed the strike, lighting up the battlefield and bringing everything all around them to a standstill. It lasted for mere seconds at most, but the light seemed to linger for what felt like hours following its arrival. But just as suddenly as it had begun, it was just… over. His foes had been vaporized… just as his parents had been.

There was nothing left.

Feeling less _victorious_ and more painfully numb, Sonic turned to see how everyone else was faring. All the rest of the fighting was winding down as well, he discovered. Out of all the many thousands of Nocturnians that had once fought here, mere stragglers now remained. There were so few left, in fact, that the Gods and Goddesses that had once been here helping to defeat them were now starting to leave. It seemed that they believed that Sonic's allies could handle the rest on their own, and he was inclined to agree.

As he watched, Silver and Blaze both used their powers to take out a trio of Nocturnians Rouge gave an enemy of hers one final kick at the same time that Knuckles punched the life out of a foe of his own. Marthal drove a sharp piece of metal through a Nocturnian like a sword while Keiri kicked a small creature into a stray explosion that promptly finished it off. Tammy and Arthr, together in the same ship, shot down some large creatures alongside several other Babylonian soldiers and their ships. Amy and Cream together used their mental powers to take out the last remaining Nocturnian ship. Shadow shot down what few Nocturnians still lingered near the Blue Typhoon. Things went on like this for mere minutes, and then… and then everything was just… done. Everything grew oddly quiet. Silent, even. Sonic closed his eyes and took a moment to collect himself, his thoughts, his emotions, his Light… _I have to make a choice._

He had enough Light for only one person… one revival. He had been gathering Light within himself for the entire last century, yes, but his recent anger and grief had diminished that Light significantly. Such emotions were, after all, negative and thus more apt to power _Darkness_ rather than Light. He was lucky he had even this much left in him, and yet… he didn't feel lucky. _So many people are dead… and I can only bring back one._ His expression tightened with pain. _Who am I to choose who will and won't be brought back? I… I'm not…_

A tear slid down one glowing cheek. _I want so badly to bring back Mom and Dad, but… I can't bring them both back, and… More tears started to flow. Neither one could ever live without the other…_ A sob nearly ripped itself from Sonic's throat as more faces flashed through his mind, though one was vague due to his overall lack of familiarity with it. _Bokkun, Kath, Tails, Wave…_ That wasn't even everyone. Sonic knew it wasn't. There was also Kanari, and Kath's wolf companion Azerel, and who even knew how many Mobian civilians and Babylonian soldiers that he couldn't even revive because he didn't even _know_ them… The casualties were immeasurable. _And I can only bring back one…!_

He knew that bringing Kath back would mean the world or maybe even more to Jet, who had grown unspeakably close to the much older Babylonian over the years. Bringing back Bokkun would give the poor child another chance at life and give Cream, Cheese, and Charmy their close friend back. Bringing back Wave or Tails would mean more than Sonic could ever guess at to just about everyone he knew. The idea of having to choose just one of these people over all of the others… he didn't know if he could have done it… were it not for the calm, quiet voice of his mother in his mind. Maybe it was just a memory or his imagination, but he _swore_ he could hear her voice in his mind, encouraging and reassuring him. And in his imagination or not, that voice was urging him to act now while he still could. He was running out of time.

Quietly sobbing, Sonic made the best choice he felt he could and tried to restore life to young Bokkun, only to face a startling surprise when he felt his efforts gently rebuffed... by Bokkun himself. A second attempt resulted in the same thing and his energies within the Master Emerald were noticeably pushed away from Bokkun's spirit entirely. Though he was unable to grasp why he was being resisted, he also knew that he didn't have the luxury of trying to sit here and figure it out. Instead, heart heavy with sorrow, he shifted his energies further away from Bokkun and to the next spirit he was able to find: Kath's.

Another rebuff, this one more firm and lacking in room for any disagreement. Time was running out, so Sonic was forced to move on. There were at least two more people his heart was tearing itself apart over, but… something both shocking and confusing quickly became apparent. Tails and Wave were both supposed to be within the emerald now… but he could only sense _one_ of them.

There was absolutely no more time, and Sonic there was no choice left to make. Choking back his tears as best as he was able to given the circumstances, he gathered the Light within himself and focused the energies on one single purpose: revival. Then, with what little power he had left in his body, he sent the seven Chaos Emeralds back to Mobius before they could scatter through the depths of space yet again. Left normal all over again, albeit with his wounds fully healed due to his Chaos energy, Sonic gritted his teeth and swiped at his eyes before turning around slowly flying back toward the others.

Across the battlefield, Wave awoke.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,646 words this time. So, the scene with a golden portal was actually written by Blazing Winds ages ago and was meant to be used as a vision a similarly long time ago. Well, I wound up using it here instead, and I did tweak some things as needed. Here is the original version, though, for those who are curious: "In the middle of a chaotic battlefield, the Nocturnians surrounded the heroes. All manner of attacks flew about, colliding, exploding, and clashing powerfully all around. The battle seemed to pause for a long moment and many turned to watch as a swirling combination of beams of Light and Darkness blew through the area, eradicating waves of Nocturnian soldiers. It rocketed for Shade and Ix, then suddenly veered off at the female. At the absolute last second, she put up a barrier and deflected the attack at more of the small fry. Despite her attempts, it struck a glancing blow on her and pulled her attention away just long enough for the heroes to redouble their efforts. In the distance, a golden portal opened, then closed, disappearing as if it had never existed."**

 **Also, as before, Sona (Goddess of Stars), Saethrim (God of Mythical Beasts), and Cere (Goddess of Judgement) were written by Blazing Winds. Many thanks to him both for the scene above (which is actually a nod to the eventual OC story, which still needs a proper title) and for his help in writing in these awesome characters. Oh, and he also wrote in the mysterious white cat (who's not Astra, by the way), as well. So, thanks for that as well!**

 **Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this end to the final fight of this story! The peace arc shall begin in due time now. Until next time! Posted (at about 8:20 p.m.) 08-29-18.**


	111. Mobius Sings

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this solemn start to the ensuing peaceful era... especially for the ones who finally return home.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! YES! Hey, no vagueness, for once! Yay! XD Yeah... that it was. That it was. :( Really? The first time? Yeesh, I remember that, too. That was... sad. To put it mildly. Yeah, agreed. Glad the war is over and we can finally see some peace for these guys again!**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yep, almost at the end! :D Heh, I dunno if it was "breathtaking", but I certainly did the best I could and I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it so much. :) Actually, I know of quite a few authors who regularly write stories a lot longer than this, haha. But, anyway, I seriously am glad that you enjoyed this so much! Well, now we're getting into the peace arc, just as we did at the end of Hero (as you may or may not recall). The story will end after the peace arc, and then it'll be on to the third (thankfully much shorter) installment to the series!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Mobius Sings"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _"You don't seem to understand your own situation," Jet murmured as he almost casually examined the lethal edge to his sword. In the distance, Sonic was busy ending his own confrontation with Ix and Shade. This conflict, however… this one was only beginning. Blue eyes flashed up to look directly at Kethro. "I don't intend to sit idly by while you try to slip away."_

 _Slowly, ever-so-slowly, Kethro started to grin. "And how, pray tell, do you intend to stop me?"_

 _Eyes narrowing, Jet uncrossed his arms and asked coolly, "You're about to learn, now aren't you?" Without any further warning, he called forth one of his fledgeling Immortal powers and vanished… taking Kethro with him._

 **~台風の目~**

"No one saw where he went?" Sonic looked around earnestly from face to face, hoping for someone to disagree with him. Everyone had gathered within the Blue Typhoon, save for Tammy, Arthr, and Jet. Tammy and Arthr were merely on their own ship helping to regroup their fellow Babylonians for the journey home. Jet, however, had disappeared… once again. _Of all the times to pull a stunt like this…!_

People traded looks. "...No… none of us did," Amy eventually answered. Her troubled look closely mirrored his own, right down to that worry shine to her eyes.

When Sonic didn't immediately reply, Cream spoke up. "How is Miss Wave?"

Emerald eyes glanced toward the hallway. "She's… okay. ...As much as she can be, anyway. She's resting right now."

"I gave her some medicine to help with the shock," Amy sighed, "but I can't do anything for the trauma. We'll need to keep an eye on her for a while to make sure she really is alright."

The news came as no surprise to Sonic. _Some people, and not just Jet, die but aren't terribly affected overall when they're brought back. It's easy to try to assume that that'll be the case with Wave, but we have no way of knowing yet. Amy's right. We should monitor her for a while._ "Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Yeah, we should." He looked at his wife, too tired and grief-stricken to try to abate her concerns right now… as much as he wanted to try. Instead he just asked, "Would you mind doing that for now, Ames?"

"Sure, Sonic." Placing a hand on his arm, Amy leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Then, with a small smile that was full of sorrow and understanding, she pulled away and walked into the hall.

It was quiet for a few moments before Silver asked, "So… what now? Do we just… go home?"

Turning his head, Sonic looked out the nearest window. The Babylonians had finished gathering together and were busy using beams of energy that Sonic didn't recognize to collect the bodies of their dead. There were surprisingly few. Before Sonic could take in anything more, though, he received a message on his communicator.

 ** _Tammy:_**

 _Hey, Jet sent me a message a few minutes ago. He wants Arthr and I to take our people home, then help you guys gather up your friends and whatnot. We'll be back in just a few minutes, okay?_

So Jet was fine, wherever he was, it seemed. That was enough to take the edge off of Sonic's stabbing concern, but it wasn't enough to abate it entirely. Still, he was in no position to argue right now.

 ** _Senzan:_**

 _Yeah… okay. Thanks._

Letting out a heavy breath, Sonic returned his attention to Silver and the others. "Yeah," he finally said in response to the original question. "Yeah… I guess we do."

 **~台風の目~**

Knuckles couldn't resist the urge to yank his father into a hug when the group returned to the Watcher's Observatory to retrieve Locke and Espio. Though Locke winced, he readily returned the hug with strong arms. No words were shared, though Knuckles was tempted to yell, to vent his frustration and his fear and his exhaustion with harsh words. In the end, however, he settled for silence and allowed relief to gradually settle over him. Locke was not yet fully healed, but he was awake and alive… and that was enough.

When they eventually let each other go, Knuckles attempted to cover up his concern by crossing his arms and giving a heavy huff. "The next time you think to yourself, 'Hey, I can stop a mini army by myself!', do me a favor and _don't_."

Somehow, Locke managed to crack a slight smile, despite having already learned of the deaths of his two closest friends. He had lost them… _again_ … and his grief couldn't be more palpable. "I'll do my best," he promised.

"Good." A small pause, then Knuckles fixed his hat. "Anyway… come on. We came here to pick up you and Espio. Everyone's ready to go home."

"Yeah… I think we could all use a bit of _home_ for a while."

"Yeah." With a gesture of his hand, Knuckles slowly started to lead the way out of the room with Locke following behind.

 **~台風の目~**

When Espio staggered, Sonic was quick to steady him. "Easy, easy. Just take it slow, alright? I know they healed your legs, but you're still wounded. You need to pace yourself." Espio tossed Sonic a glance that was curiously devoid of emotion, but said nothing in protest or otherwise as Sonic took hold of the chameleon's good arm. "Come on, I'll help you walk. The ship's not far."

Whether or not he wanted to, Espio never had a chance to reply before a small hand unexpectedly slipped into his own. "I'll help, too," promised an unfailingly sweet voice. Looking down, both Espio and Sonic saw Cream smiling tiredly up at them. "Let's go back to the ship, Mister Espio, okay? Charmy will want to see you, and so will everyone else."

Whatever stubbornness Espio had been starting to show before with Sonic seemed to ebb away when he was faced with Cream. "...Alright," he eventually agreed, making no further effort to resist the help he was being offered. Sonic suspected the ninja just couldn't say "no" to that pleading young face. And, really, Sonic couldn't blame him for that. He himself had fallen prey to that same face far too many times to count.

Managing a smile for the first time in what felt like years, he went ahead and began walking with the pair out of the room.

 **~台風の目~**

There were many sweet kisses and snuggly hugs to be shared when Cream entered her mother's borrow room in the palace of new Babylon. Her mother (with Cheese on her shoulder) stood from the bed and lifted her daughter up, holding her close and smothering her with love and affection that Cream very readily soaked up. Smiling, Cream made all of her own love and adoration known with some hugs and kisses of her own while Vanilla walked out of the room.

 **~台風の目~**

The moment he realized his friends were back, Charmy buzzed from the room he had been playing in and headed toward the outside. Flying over many people's heads, he sped through various doorways, down several halls and a flight of stairs, then out the palace's front doors. The Blue Typhoon was carefully hovering not terribly far from the palace hangar close to a mile away. Flying as fast as he could, he shot across the many courtyards and whatnot and soon up into the open air.

Soon, he found a means of entry, a window that was just loose enough for him to slide open. Charmy slipped inside and shut the window again, then hurried out of the room he was in and out into the hall. Once he had his bearings, he turned and flew to one room in particular. He opened the door without knocking and slammed into the familiar arms (well, _arm_ ) of Espio. Although disconcerted by the cast and sling protecting the ninja's left arm, the bandages still covering other areas of his body, and the scar that sealed his left eye shut, Charmy was just happy to see the man again… and he most certainly did _not_ cry about it.

 **~台風の目~**

When he heard the news, Shadow wasn't sure what to think or what to feel. Frowning slowly, he echoed, "Gone?"

"Uh-huh," Lia answered with wide, solemn eyes and a nod. "A portal opened up while we were playing, and Soren said it went to his home."

Given what little he knew of the boy's home timeline, Shadow was honestly surprised. Maybe even a bit concerned. Or… maybe a little more than a _bit_. "...And he went through it?"

"Uh-huh," Lia repeated.

Shadow took in a breath and let it out. "Did he say why?"

Now Lia's eyes turned sad. "He said… he wanted to save his version of Mobius. Like you guys did here. Or at least… he wanted to try."

Upon hearing this, Shadow was silent. Strange though it was, he found himself only able to think of one thing in this situation. _He could be killed._ That thought played on repeat, almost like a flashing warning signal in his mind's eye. It was only when Lia hugged him and spoke again that he was able to shake himself from it.

"Don't worry, daddy," she murmured, snuggling closer. "He said he'd come back and see us, too, whenever he could. I made him pinky-promise."

After a few seconds, the corner of Shadow's mouth twitched upward. "...I see." He stood, using one arm to lift her with him.

Looping her arms around his neck and laying her head down, Lia fully relaxed against him. "Are we going home now, daddy?"

More than satisfied that he had some good news to share today, Shadow nodded. He refused to mention the deaths of his parents to her… just yet, if only because he was far from ready to have that conversation. And… speaking about it meant accepting that it had happened. Truth be told, he wasn't sure he was ready to do that, either. So, instead, he merely began walking. "Yes, Lia," he sighed. "We're going home."

 **~台風の目~**

Seeing their baby girl sound asleep all curled up in a tiny ball in a chair in her borrowed room, Silver and Blaze couldn't help but trade loving smiled. Sad though this day undoubtedly was, seeing Kimmy's little face so angelic as she slept… there was just no way that either of them could manage not to feel some amount of happiness. Reaching forward, Silver very, very gently smoothed his hand over their daughter's head. A slow, peaceful smile spread over her face and a purr erupted from her small body.

Their smiles growing, the young couple worked together to carefully lift Kimmy out of the bed without waking her. Once she was situated in her mother's arms, they quietly left the room. They, like everyone else here, were more than eager to get their little girl home. And, of course, some cuddles and proper playtime were well in order as well. Silver, for one, just couldn't wait.

 **~台風の目~**

The sheer devastation Sonic was faced with was understandable and yet… absolutely soul-wrenching. He had located Sen and Sarai within the palace and they had, of course, immediately wanted to know where their parents were. He'd had no choice but to kneel down and tell his young siblings the truth… that their parents had fought like the true heroes they were and yet weren't ever… ever coming home.

Now the twins sobbed into his shoulders as he held them each close, fighting not to shed anymore tears of his own as a result of bearing witness to theirs. He had to be strong for their sakes, a tall order in and of itself, but… he couldn't not be here for them. These were his kid siblings. They needed him, and he would be here for them… until the very end of time if that was what it took. His promises to care for them and never, ever let anything else happen to them ever again may well have fallen on deaf ears now, but he meant each and every word he said. He could only hope that one day… somehow… they might prove to be enough.

 **~台風の目~**

"Look, as much as I'd _love_ to regale you with tales of the fight," Knuckles huffed, albeit with an amused smirk, "your mom and I are wiped right now."

Realizing what that meant, Jason immediately whined. " _Aw_! But _Da-a-ad_!"

Knuckles ruffled their son's hair. "We'll tell you later, alright? Promise."

"The _appropriate_ parts," Rouge cautioned, images of her gory struggles with her drill tool immediately coming to mind. "But, yes, we do promise to tell you - later."

Jason started to whine some more, but Knuckles headed off the string of complaints with a small bit of information that made all the difference. "By the way, your grandfather is awake now, if you wanna go and see him with me."

The child all but leapt out of the chair he had been occupying in the sitting room they were in. "Really?!" he exclaimed, clearly thrilled. For all the attitude he gave people, Locke included, there was no denying the fact that he loved his grandfather very much.

A smile spread across Knuckles's face. "Yeah, really. Just go easy on him, alright? He's still hurt."

"Okay, fine, let's just go!" Jason replied energetically, already running for the door. Knuckles rolled his eyes toward Rouge and the pair traded amused smiled before following at more sedate pace. They really were tired… but seeing their son able to find so much energy and excitement on this day somehow made up for that.

 **~台風の目~**

Over and over and over again in her mind, Wave saw it happen. Jet being struck down. Her rushing to his aid without even thinking about the danger. Him being too dazed to reply to her. Him gradually coming to enough to try to warn her of what was coming. Her realizing, too late, what was about to happen… Her turning around and then an attack striking her through the heart and then nothing…

A hand on her shoulder was enough to jolt her awake. Sitting up in her bed onboard the Blue Typhoon, Wave twisted around to see Amy there, watching her with eyes full of immense concern. Before the hedgehog could even say anything, however, Wave fully turned over and said, "Don't. I'm okay, Amy." Seeing the lingering concern, the doubt, the uncertainty, Wave lifted her chin and stated firmly, "I will _be_ okay. I won't let this break me. Not now, and not ever."

Slowly, Amy seemed to allow herself to relax. She even let out a sigh. "Now that sounds like the Wave I know," she murmured with a smile.

While she busied herself with tending to what few scrapes and bruises and whatnot that Wave had left, Wave found herself gradually beginning to ask, "...Amy, is Jet-"

This time, it was Amy who cut in. "Don't kill the messenger, but… we're not sure where he is right now or _how_ he is, though we have an idea of what he's doing. ...Or, at least, what he was doing at one time. Whether or not he's still doing the same thing is anyone's guess at this point, but…"

She trailed off, so Wave spoke. "He's gone?" she frowned, her tone betraying more of her concern than she would have really liked.

"Yes," Amy confirmed apologetically, as though it was somehow her own fault that she didn't have better news to share. "Sonic thinks that, because Kethro vanished as well, Jet took off with him somewhere to fight - away from the rest of us. Honestly, since this _is_ Jet we're talking about, I'm sort of inclined to agree. He's never liked needlessly endangering people, and fighting a person like that around others… well…"

Again, she trailed off. Too concerned to even speak now, Wave let the conversation die off. Fear for her very old friend tied painful knots in her stomach. The knots tightened rapidly and to the point where she honestly wanted to throw up as a result of them. Logically, she knew that he would be fine (he couldn't _not_ be, because he was an Immortal and she _knew_ that), but the idea of further harm coming to him just… it made her want to cry, among other things.

Still, when Amy insisted she lay back down and try to rest some more, she did so. She had said she would be okay, and she had meant it. She may not have been fully okay yet, but she would be damned if it took her very long to get to that point. _I have to be okay, so that if he's not when he returns… I can be there for him._ That was, after all, what friends did… and for the first time in a long time, she felt confident that they were, in fact, still friends. Yes, he was reticent and not always the friendliest of people but, then, he had _always_ been that way - if only to a lesser degree before. But they were friends, and she was going to be there for him if and when he needed her.

Her mind made and her heart as settled as it could be for the moment, Wave closed her eyes.

 **~台風の目~**

"So what's gonna happen with his kids?"

Tammy stood with Sonic just below where the Blue Typhoon was hovering. Everyone else but him was boarded up and ready for the journey home. She offered him a reassuring smile and reminded, "They have a nanny, remember, and Arthr and I are also here. They'll be taken care of until Jet returns. I doubt he'll be gone long, anyway, _because_ of them."

Sonic had to admit, that was pretty sound logic. _She's definitely right about that last part, too… He won't stay away from them longer than is necessary._ Relaxing somewhat, Sonic returned the smile as best as he could… despite feeling so emotionally drained. "Mind calling me or even just shooting me a quick little message when he does come back?"

"Of course," the sparrow promised readily. "And in the meantime, if anyone manages to locate him or find out specifically what he's up to or anything, I'll let you know."

His once small smile managed to grow. "Thanks, Tammy. ...For _all_ your help."

The depth of meaning in his tone was not lost on the young inventor, and she nodded happily. "Of course. It was my pleasure - really. Well, maybe not _pleasure_ in some cases, but you get the idea."

"Yeah." Sonic turned slightly and looked up at the ship. "So that warp-drive you installed… it'll get us all the way back home?"

"Absolutely," Tammy nodded. "It's not a one-time-use sort of system, either. So, whenever you all need or want to all come back here… you can."

The idea was more than a little pleasing, prompting Sonic's smile to grow yet a little wider. "That's perfect. Thank you."

Tammy nodded, then gestured vaguely upward. "You'd better get going. I'm sure everyone's eager to head home."

"Yeah, probably." He gave her a small wave. "See you around, then."

She returned the wave. "Definitely."

With that, Sonic teleported onto the Blue Typhoon and straight into the control room. Seconds later, the ship started to slowly turn away. After mere moments, it had warped away and was gone.

~台風の目~

It came as no surprise that, after his speech to the masses via holographic projection what felt like years ago that people would more or less begin to remember Sonic and his allies. Likewise, it wasn't that surprising either that people mostly seemed to recognize the Blue Typhoon from way back during the days of the end of the Meterex War. The arrival of the same ship that had on that day so long ago flew home victorious to share the good news of their planet's saving, coupled with the very obvious fact that the Nocturnians and their beasts were gone, had a profound impact over all the areas the ship happened to fly over.

Though many places were in ruins, or at least partially so, people ran under the Typhoon for miles, waving energetically, cheering, shouting, celebrating, savoring their victorious defense of their humble world… However, just as many people in just as many areas remained dark and devoid of joy, filled instead with packs of mourners, people wailing, hugging each other for comfort, picking through the rubble in search of remnants of homes and buried loved ones and friends, staring blankly at the results of the horrors that had so recently unfolded across the globe…

On this day, Mobius sung its victory to the heavens… but also wailed its grief right to the very depths of people's souls. For, while they had no doubt won the war and saved their world from oblivion… what had been the cost? Sonic didn't know and, for once, he didn't try to find the answer. Instead, he just looked to the future as best as he could… and clung to the Light of Hope that still burned within his heart.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,684 words this time. Though we're kicking it off on a sad note, the Peace Arc has officially begun! And things will get happier, I promise. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 9:25 p.m.) 08-30-18.**


	112. Rain from a Cloudless Sky

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this sad couple of days... especially for the one who remembers how things used to be.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yep, peace at long last! :) Well, this one is the sequel, technically. XD But, yes, there are absolutely going to be other stories in this series! If you want more details, check out my profile! :D**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Rain from a Cloudless Sky"**

 **~台風の目~**

Mere hours after the return of the Blue Typhoon to Mobius, Storm stood alongside heaps of rubble with eyes trained on the sky. _The little bastard really must have done it, huh?_ Around him, Empire City lay largely in shambles. People wailed, people cheered, emotions ran high… but right now, the albatross was simply feeling quite smug. _Knew he had it in him. Just had to focus on not trying to defend everyone for once in his damn life. 'Bout time he learned that not everyone needs his help all the damn time._

A fist bumped his arm and his girlfriend, Keiri, interrupted his thoughts. "I'm off to go see if the apartment is still standing. You coming, or would you rather stay here and die of smoke inhalation?"

"Yeah, I'm comin'," was the gruff reply. With a final glance at the sky and the setting sun, he began walking.

 **~台風の目~**

She had gone missing, he realized with a jolt.

That woman, Astra… Sonic hadn't seen her since before the final fight had taken place, back when he'd discussed the plan with her. He hadn't seen her since, hadn't even spared her a second thought in light of all the danger his friends and family had been in and the deaths that had wound up taking place. Now, as he, Amy, and the twins - the last people to depart from the Blue Typhoon - walked into the young couple's home home (how it was lucky enough to still be standing, he had no idea), he felt a stab of guilt and confusion.

For all he knew, she might very well have been wounded somewhere or outright dead and he hadn't even once thought to worry about her. And yet… somehow he didn't think she _was_. It wasn't instinct or certainty or even really logical, he just… he had a feeling of some kind. Usually, those never led him astray. So why would they now? And did that actually mean she was alive and unharmed? He had no way of knowing, and right now all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and go to sleep.

So, with his wife and kid siblings in tow, Sonic unlocked the door to their house and walked inside.

 **~台風の目~**

Their home was trashed. Truth be told, Silver and Blaze had expected as much, given the condition that Marthal and Keiri's home was in on the other side of the city. They lived right in the middle of Station Square, after all. It was a big city, and most such settlements had been outright leveled. The fact that this one, their house included, was still more or less standing was… miraculous. Still, they were left with broken windows and walls, stolen objects, ruined photographs and furniture, and worse. Picking up the pieces of their lives from here on would be hard, but with their child safe in their arms… they knew they would be alright. Somehow.

 **~台風の目~**

Given that they lived more than twenty miles outside of Empire City and well-hidden in a forest, Shadow supposed it could be considered _expected_ that his home was undamaged and still standing. Others may have looked at it as good fortune, plain and simple. Still others would have seen it as a stroke of pure luck or mere fate. He, however, was more inclined to take his father's approach to matters and not place his belief in either luck or fate. Still, there was no denying that it was good to not have to worry about rebuilding the house or replacing anything in it. Even Lia's precious stuffed unicorn was safe, and her joyous smile when she located the toy almost forced him to smile, too.

...Almost.

 **~台風の目~**

After countless reassurances that he was fine and that he really _was_ going to go to bed and sleep like he had been ordered to, Locke settled into the bed situated in the guestroom of his son and daughter-in-law's house. Though both houses were just as they had been left (Angel Island as a whole had never been touched by the Nocturnians), he was staying with the pair and their son for now until he finished healing. This was mostly to abate any concerns that Knuckles and Rouge continued to have over his health and, truthfully, also because he didn't necessarily want to chance something going wrong regarding said health while he was alone in his own house… more than a dozen miles away.

Closing his eyes, the ancient echidna started to allow himself to drift off to sleep, only to awaken again with a painful start when an old memory teased the edges of his mind without warning.

 _Locke flew beside Analia and Pyros amongst the ranks of enemies surrounding the group. Down below, Marthal and Kaden ran with their weapons drawn, each looking tense and just waiting for any excuse to attack. After trading a glance with the dark hedgehog, Locke spun around in midair and released a deadly wave of reddish-orange fire._

He jerked awake again before the memory could continue and sat straight upright in bed. After a mere moment's pause, he threw the blankets aside and stood up. Maybe, just maybe, sleep wasn't such a good idea after all.

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic lay in bed late into the night, reading and sending messages constantly as he checked in on people. Most recently, he had finished checking on and saying goodnight to Marthal, Keiri, Wave, Espio, Charmy, Vanilla, and Cream. Everyone was alright overall, but… most of them didn't have the best news to share regarding their homes. Marthal and Keiri's, for one thing, had basically caved in on itself as a result of what seemed to have been quite a devastating explosion. It had levelled the entire block. According to Keiri, their plan was to crash with an old friend for the now while they got their home repaired. It was better than nothing.

Meanwhile, Espio and Charmy were both back at their home in the city of Spagonia. The normally calm and rational ninja was notorious for his staunch refusal to ever go to the hospital for anything unless practically _dragged_ in kicking and screaming (seriously, Sonic swore the man's battles with Vector to avoid modern healthcare were _legendary_ ), so Sonic had opted not to fight him over it this time and just let him go back home. He was _technically_ just well _enough_ by this point to be home, anyway, and the fight just wasn't worth having. So he didn't press the issue and instead, once he was sure both Espio and Charmy were settled in for the night and were fine, he simply said goodnight and left well enough alone.

Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese's situation elsewhere was a lot less comfortable. Eschire Village, the very village that their family had called him since the Dark Days following the fall of South Island, had been rather thoroughly destroyed (though, thankfully, the grave that Silver had set up there for Bokkun following the child's death was still in good condition). All the remaining villagers were doing what they could to make the best of it, however. From what Cream had been telling him, they were all helping each other to set up temporary shelters for the night and plans to start serious rebuilding were due to take place in the morning. It was a light of hope in an otherwise bleak situation.

The Rogue's Tower where Wave now lived alone (though she had once shared the dwelling with Jet, Storm, and at one time even Sonic himself) was fine, though. By simple virtue of exceptional technology and, thus, exceptional defense systems and the like, all of Future City had survived the war with minimal damage. The Tower itself didn't seem to have even so much as a new scratch so far Wave could tell. _At least some people can sleep in their own beds tonight, I guess…_

After saying some final "goodnight's" to the few people who were still up and messaging him, Sonic turned his communicator screen off and turned over to set it down on his nightstand. Once that was done, he closed his eyes and allowed sleep to claim him at long last.

 _It seemed mere seconds after he began to rest, his mind awoke to a dream-like experience the likes of which he had been subjected to before. He knew without instantly where his consciousness had gone: to the interior realm of the Master Emerald. Within the hazy light that expanded all around, he saw Bokkun standing in front of him. He spoke to the child without even thinking, struck by pangs of grief from the waking world. "Why wouldn't you come back? Why wouldn't you let me revive you? You could have…"_

 _The boy smiled. It was a sad sort of smile, but it was there and it caught Sonic off-guard enough to silence him. "Because… they're here, Sonic. My parents… the ones Ivo took me from when I was a baby. They're here, and… and I don't want to leave them again." That sad smile grew. "I'll be alright here, Sonic, with them. Just… tell Cream that I'll never forget her?"_

Before he ever had the chance to reply, the encounter ended and the blank darkness of sleep took over.

 **~台風の目~**

At roughly four in the morning following the day of the heroes return to Mobius, he awoke. Groggy and confused, he slowly opened his eyes. When his vision focused, he was able to make out ship parts, debris, bodies, and worse surrounding him. Feeling weak and exhausted, he shifted to push himself up, only to discover that he had few means of doing so. Parts of him were… _missing_. Most of his arms were gone, as was a lot of his right side and a fair chunk of foot. And yet, as he watched, that missing section of his foot slowly knitted itself back together, as though it had never been gone to begin with.

Even as he forced himself to stand, there was no pain or even too much sensation at all. A vague part of his mind wondered if he was just too out of it to register anything, but whatever the reason was truly escaped him for now. Still as confused as before and unable to recall yet what had even happened to him, he pushed himself up and slowly wandered away.

 **~台風の目~**

Around ten in the morning that same day, Sonic, Amy, Locke, and everyone else gathered to hold a quiet funeral for Kaden and Analia at Kingdom Valley… the one and only place that truly deserved to be their resting place. With nothing to bury, the graves below the newly crafted gravestones were painfully empty. However, that didn't stop people from laying flowers down in memory of both hedgehogs. Things were quiet and solemn, people simply too numb from grief to speak to one another much. Few tears even manage to be shed on this morning, though many had been shed prior to it… and no doubt would afterward.

Eventually, Sonic had to break away from the others. In too much pain to remain any longer, her turned and dashed off to Old Hill. The location was near enough to everyone else that if something happened or someone needed him he could be back in a flash, but still far away enough to give him the space he needed. Still, it soon seemed that he had overestimated the amount of privacy this spot would afford him… for soon he was not alone.

Not turning around, he sat down on the grassy hill, eyes dull and tears staining his cheeks. His legs were bent at the knees and his arms were loosely wrapped around them. Less than a minute later, Locke walked up to him. The echidna took a seat beside him and Sonic spared him a glance. The older man looked like he'd been crying, too, and the sight of it broke Sonic's heart just a little bit more. Both visibly overcome by grief and pain, they each remained silent for a time. Then, finally, Locke said something that caught Sonic so completely off-guard that it was almost jarring. "You really do have your father's eyes, you know," he murmured, voice raw from his earlier crying.

Sonic's eyes brimmed with fresh tears. He closed said eyes tightly and those tears began streaming down his cheeks. And yet, somehow… he soon managed to smile, though that smile was tight and painful - almost like a grimace of sorts - and very small. His voice quavered as he spoke. It, too, was thick with emotion. "That's good..." he managed to get out, voice very quiet. "I'm glad..." He had always known that he and his mother shared the same exact fur color, the very same shade of blue. This he'd always known. And, now that this had all happened... it was good to know that he shared some physical traits with his father as well.

Locke reached one arm up and rubbed at his eyes with it. "They'd both be glad, too," he said softly. "...That you ended the war, I mean. They probably wouldn't want us to cry like this… especially your mom."

Swallowing thickly past the lump in his throat, Sonic nodded a little. "Yeah… I know. Dad always hated seeing people cry… and mom always wanted people to be happy."

Though Locke murmured some indiscernible reply, nothing more of note was said for some time after that. It wasn't until one minute stretched into nearly ten that Locke finally spoke again. "You really changed their lives, you know," he murmured, eyes drifting out into sky. It was cloudy here, as it always was. Sonic opened his eyes and looked over at him. "Your old man was… well, I don't know if you ever really noticed, since he tried so much not to let it show around any of you guys but... way back when, he embodied his Darkness to a far more extreme degree than he ever did after you brought him and Analia back. He was a lot angrier, more hateful and violent, held grudges, didn't care about most people overall, was quick to lash out at others… Having you mellowed him out a lot, made him change an unbelievable amount emotionally and mentally speaking."

Violet eyes blinked slowly. "And your mom… When we met her, she wasn't exactly _naive_ , just… very inexperienced with life outside of her isolated tribe. The world was still, in many ways, a very new and mysterious place to her even after the war we fought against the Babylonians. Around the time they had you is, I think, when she finally started to fully understand just how dangerous our world was back then. Holding you and watching you take your first breaths is almost certainly how she found the resolve you always saw in her to help out anyone and everyone in any way she could, to give people the best chance possible at actually living their lives."

Turning his head, Locke looked into Sonic's grief-stricken eyes with his own. "You changed them forever back then, Sonic, simply by _existing_. Later, your siblings did the same thing, albeit perhaps in subtler ways. In just this last century alone, Kaden was gentler and kinder than I've ever seen him, and Analia was more determined and driven than ever to make a difference in a world she was once only barely a part of. You may never fully understand the impact you had on them, but… just know that they _loved_ you. They loved you and every other member of your family with all of their hearts. There's no way that they regret fighting by your side and helping you save this world and everyone who calls it home. And… there's no way that they would want you, or any of us for that matter, to spend the rest of time grieving. As hard as it's gonna be… they would want us all to try to continue to live our lives."

Choking back a sob, Sonic looked away and wiped at his eyes with both hands. When a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders, he leaned into the offered hug without any hesitation. He knew Locke was right and that, at some point, they would all need to try to move on, but for now… that was just too much to ask for. For now, he needed to vent his grief and get it out before it truly drowned him from the inside. Someday, he would be ready to try to get past this as much as was possible, but that day was not this day. Today… today, he just needed to cry.

 **~台風の目~**

 **2,886 words this time. I _swear_ , things will start to get happier next time, guys. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at 9:50 p.m.) 08-31-18.**


	113. Friends for Life

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this installment... especially for the ones whose bond was mended in spite of it all.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah... sorry about that. It was necessary, though. ^-^" Yes, exactly! It was meant to be reminiscent of that. :)**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Reply to your review to Chapter 111: Sorryyyy D: But, yes... yes, it is.**

 **Reply to your review to Chapter 112: That you certainly, do... Sorry it hit you so hard, though. But, yes, the feels, man... the feels.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Friends for Life"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _The ripples of their confrontation were felt across time. Fighting with every ounce of their power and ability, Jet and Kethro played out a true battle for the ages. Existence rippled around them from the sheer force of their clashing auras alone. The realm they were in, fragile though it most certainly was not, trembled. There was a clear cut winner of the duel, and yet… something was going terribly, terribly wrong. Things were not as they should be, and it soon had disastrous results._

 _When Kethro summoned forth the same energy that had killed him before, Jet knew he had a mere instant to turn the tide back in his favor and escape another death. He called forth what little Immortal energy he was capable of accessing so far for combat purposes (dangerous though it was for him to attempt to utilize at this point) and met Kethro's attack with it. Seconds later, it began clear that Kethro was driving him out of the realm Jet had deliberately trapped them in, one devoid of life where time passed so extremely slowly that he doubted much time had gone by at all in their own realm. Only by wresting control of his transport from the his enemy was Jet able to gain a measure of surety that he would survive the fall. He really didn't fancy the idea of dying yet again._

 **~台風の目~**

After many hours of diligent searching on her communicator the day after the funeral, Amy finally located a missing friend by reaching out to her numerous contacts at hospitals large and small across the world. Now she knew where he was, and she couldn't have been more relieved. Vector was recovering in a hospital in South City (which sources claimed he had previously fled to after escaping from the Nocturnians near Eschire Village) and he actually wasn't in bad shape. He was well enough to go home, though Spagonia was clear on the other side of the continent. So, determined to get their final missing friend home and reunited with his pseudo-family, Amy went to find Sonic and tell him what was up. He would get the crocodile home.

 **~台風の目~**

With time to kill and nothing better to do at the moment, Wave settled down in her lonely living room to read. She still had all the files that Sonic had sent her before on Jet, but she hadn't yet finished reading them. And, in light of all the madness that had ensued not long after she had last started to read, she didn't really recall terribly much about what she'd already looked over. So, wanting to refresh her memory and learn all she could, Wave opened the first file and started to read.

The first paragraph was a note from Sonic.

 _This is the list of Jet's known symptoms. I didn't compile it, but I did look over it to make sure it was all accurate. Before you ask, yes, it is. Anyway, I don't know if this is everything, but this is as much as is known right now. If you have any questions, just let me know._

Blinking, Wave scrolled down and began reading.

 _A quick definition: Stimming: a behavior that many autistic people display to self-soothe and/or self-stimulate (hence the term "stimming"). Stimming can stave off meltdowns and whatnot and often comes in the form of a harmless behavior (i.e. spinning in circles, waving hands up and down, etc.). Stimming is often compulsive, but not necessarily always. This definition is necessary to understand some of the symptoms discussed in this document._

 _-Doesn't often make eye contact, as this makes him uncomfortable and tends to make him anxious. Instead, he'll often just look at the faces (i.e. mouths, foreheads, etc.) when he looks at a person at all. When he does make eye-contact, it is often very quick and soon ended. For an as-of-yet undetermined reason, he wouldn't deliberately look at people at all as a baby._

 _-He seldom smiles, and this has been the case essentially since birth. He does, however, automatically smile at times when happy or excited or so on like others will naturally do. For him, it's just far from a frequent occurrence normally._

 _-Often, he has shown a reduced interest in people, when they interest him at all. He shows no outward desire for connection, social interaction, friendship, and so on a vast majority of the time. This doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't want friends and whatnot, however. And yet, even after he gained some level of desire for friendship, he prefered to play and be alone as a child (and still does as an adult). He tends to ignore people, entertains himself by himself, seldom ever checks to see what others are doing, and so on._

 _On a related note, with the exception of the Arthr (whom he didn't meet until he was six), Sonic (whom he didn't meet until he was fourteen), and Wave and Storm (whom he didn't meet until he was fifteen), he failed to make any friends as a child. The vast majority of the time, he genuinely lacked the desire to do so. He didn't start to become interested in relationships until after somehow growing close to Arthr._

 _Also related is that as a baby and young child, he didn't seem interested in certain games such as peek-a-boo, often failed to respond to his parents' displays of affection toward him (and to this day fails to respond much, if at all, to displays of affection in general) and to things such as people smiling at him. This all also stems from his lack of desire for connection, his reduced interest in people, and so on._

 _-He tends to fail to seek comfort, which has been the case since infancy. Sometimes, however, he will do this because certain people managed to get it ingrained enough in his head to seek comfort when he needs it that he does remember to now and then._

 _-Usually, he has to be reminded to ask for help when he needs it. However, there are times when he does this of his own accord without prompting. This is because Sonic and Wave both worked long and hard to teach him to do this. While he was on New Babylon during the Syxan War, Selene, Arthr, and Tammy essentially picked up where Sonic and Wave left off, further working on teaching Jet._

Surprised to find that she had unknowingly helped Jet with a symptom of his, Wave sort of stared at the note for a moment before just continuing to read.

 _-He shows a preoccupation in certain topics/subjects. His main preoccupations are art (music, writing, drawing, and so on, but especially music), trains, and the broad category of subjects and whatnot associated with outer space. He also has a more mild preoccupation with video games and racing. His interests can be categorized as extreme and he shows astonishingly high levels of knowledge in these subjects. Granted, his knowledge in general is staggering, but regardless. Also worth noting is that he shows little to no interest in sharing these interests, his achievements, and the things he enjoys with others, preferring to keep them to himself and not show them off._

Now, this one… _this_ one made her smile. It was pretty common knowledge just how enthusiastic Jet was when the topic of outer space came up. He'd always adored their local space museum, and he had all kinds of planetary models and solar system posters and the like in his room stemming back to their teenage years. That wasn't the one that really provoked a smile, however. No, it was the mention of his love of _trains_ that did it for her.

Even after a hundred years of separation, she still vividly recalled his adoration for all things train. Train toys (of which he had _many_ thanks to herself, Sonic, and others), the Thomas  & Friends tv show, pictures of trains, seeing trains in person of course… Looking back, she supposed it was odd that he had clung to this childhood fascination so strongly, but she had never really stopped to think about it before. She had always just sort of accepted it as a part of how he was, never giving it a second thought.

Eager to see what else she may have overlooked over the years, she resumed reading.

 _-Since infancy, he has displayed unusually high intelligence (though most of this doesn't seem to come from his autism). This was displayed in many ways throughout his childhood, such as in how he spoke with superior language ("like a little professor") oftentimes as a child, rather than with normal "kid speak". His vocabulary has been vast since four months of age (in his years), and it has always been so in multiple other languages as well. In spite of this, he tends to display difficulties in starting and maintaining conversations, expressing his thoughts and feelings verbally, and voicing what he wants and/or needs. However, this tends to be less true around certain people (such as Wave and Sonic) that he feels comfortable around._

 _-Related to the above note is the fact that he is echolalic to a small degree. Those with echolalia tend to repeat words and phrases that they hear in movies, songs, and other media, from other people, read in books, and so on, sometimes with appropriate context and whatnot and sometimes not. For example, a child may hear the phrase "got milk?" in a milk ad, then later repeat this when they themselves want milk (appropriate context), or they may simply say it whenever because they want to or like the words ("inappropriate" context/incorrect usage of the phrase). This repetition may occur immediately after the phrase is heard, or (as in the earlier example) some time after the phrase is heard. Some outgrow this, whether partially or wholly, after certain points in their lives._

 _In Jet's case, he doesn't immediately repeat things he hears, though he does do so later on at times (even if only in his head). He can and does vividly remember words and phrases from songs, movies, video games, literature, people, and more. These memorized words and phrases come to him much easier than his own original words tend to when he's trying to think of replies and whatnot, though he doesn't usually use these memorized phrases, since he at least partially outgrew his echolalia since childhood as his speech and language skills developed over his lifetime. Also worth noting is that he never repeats things "just because". He does, however, tend to repeat himself at times (usually without meaning to), despite expressing a dislike for doing so. Though, this isn't something he does often unless he's especially excited, which also doesn't happen often since he has such a mellow nature overall._

 _Well, that explains a lot,_ Wave mused, thinking back to some past interactions with him. After a moment, though, she shook her head and once again resumed reading.

 _-He can be very excitable during certain activities and events, such as when he's playing video games. These events and activities evoke a rush of positive emotion in him, hence his excitability. And, as is the case with many autistic people, he most readily expresses these positive feelings by stimming. As mentioned above, he can start to repeat himself, though sometimes he vocally stims by humming (usually only briefly) instead. He also tends to flap one of both or his hands in an obviously excited manner, a behavior that he has displayed since very early childhood._

 _-As a baby and young child, he rarely liked being held, rocked, bounced, cuddled, and so on. He couldn't tolerate it, and it stressed him out greatly. It was one of the main things people tried to do that caused him anxiety when he was young. To this day, being touched is something that will normally make him anxious and upset. He's been averse to it all his life, and struggles to tolerate it. This is due to hypersensitivity. Thanks to this, he struggles to tolerate heat as well. In spite of his sensitivities to touch, however, he tends to be rather oblivious to pain (this is due to a conflicting hyposensitivity, and he has a lot of those). He does feel it when a wound is severe enough, but often minor wounds will escape his notice until he notices the bleeding (if the wound bleeds at all). For this reason, the beatings he suffered as a child and from Jade simply scared him more than they harmed him (in the sense that he felt the fear but didn't necessarily feel the physical pain)._

 _-He tended to wander off with little to no warning from parents and/or other caregivers as a child. He also had/has a tendency to wander off as a teen (he stopped aging as a teenager), though he does it a bit less often nowadays. That isn't to say that he doesn't wander off, though. He's still known for wandering off very often, he just doesn't do it quite as often as he used to. Sonic is largely to thank for teaching him not to do it so much, though Wave, Ross, and even Storm had a hand in it as well._

 _-He had "petit mal" seizures (where the subject temporarily seems "absent" or "zoned out") as a child. He still has these, at times, as an adult. He is also prone to other types of seizures (some severe, some not) due to his autism (seizure disorders go hand-in-hand with the disorder sometimes). The vast majority of his major seizures, however, tend to be triggered by his PTSD._

 _-All throughout his life, he has had sleep difficulties. This was true for him even before he developed PTSD. Ross often had to put on quiet music to help put him to sleep (something which only occasionally helped), though he often was just allowed to play or whatever until he crashed. Sometimes, however, he wouldn't crash for days or even weeks on end, sometimes longer (which he only survived because he's a Babylonian). This remains true of him to this day. He basically never gets the proper amount of sleep._

 _-Has one or more repetitive and compulsive behaviors (stims). His main compulsive behavior is tapping the fingers of his right hand on surfaces like his leg or a table. The way he taps his fingers creates a rhythm that makes it seem like he's playing piano. Another compulsive and repetitive behavior he has is flipping lights on and off, something he did very frequently as a child but seldom does now. The only other two behaviors of this nature that he is known to have displayed were rapidly waving or "flapping" his hands (sometimes just one) up and down and repeatedly opening and closing doors. He seemingly grew out of this last behavior by about age four, though Sonic has since noted that Jet still flaps his hands sometimes when he gets excited or very happy. It's thought that Jet resumed this behavior right around the time he met Sonic, as he was suddenly experiencing positive emotions again and didn't know how else to express them._

 _He is known to stim a lot, both to self-soothe and to self-stimulate. As previously mentioned, his compulsive behaviors are forms of stimming for him. He can sometimes be hyposensitive (he doesn't always register light touches or pain below a certain level of severity), so he stims to stimulate himself and create some sensation of touch, sight, and so on which he would otherwise be deprived of at the time. He is often understimulated (getting overstimulated is more infrequent for him)._

 _His hyposensitivity to touch (and with other senses to varying degrees as well) and his tendency to be understimulated (as well his difficulties in coping with stress and anxiety) result in him engaging in harmful stimming behaviors known as SIB's ("self-injurous behaviors") that he has displayed since infancy. The most common one for him is head-banging, in which he (seemingly compulsively, and without conscious intent) slams his head, usually the back of it, into walls or hard furniture, or even the floor. This SIB is common amongst autistic individuals. The only other known SIB he displays is one most often only seen when he is having a meltdown. What happens here is he crosses his arms or at least folds one over the other and digs his fingertips into his forearms. Unfortunately, he tends to do this hard enough to leave dark bruises, and has even drawn blood before. (For more details on meltdowns, view the corresponding file.)_

 _On a related note, he can get fidgety and restless and can sometimes have a hard time sitting still (this isn't quite the same as being hyperactive). In correlation with this, he is very prone to boredom and always likes to be doing something. For this latter reason, he is very hands-on and likes to touch things. Touching things on his own terms, especially things with certain textures can be very soothing for him, and is in and of itself a form of stimming._

 _-As with some autistic people, he can spike random fevers. These fevers, in his case as with many others, are brought on by stress. As is the case for others like him, when he's highly stressed, he can start to act out (i.e. by being needlessly irritable with people, being overly stubborn, and so on). However, for an unknown reason, spiking these fevers helps certain autistic people calm down. Upon spiking them, these people's stress-levels will often lower and their behavior will dramatically improve (or even return to normal)._

 _-His mind tends to work more in binary and/or musical notes/language (more often the latter and not the former) rather than in real words. So far as outsiders can tell, his more creative thoughts tend to first manifest in musical language whereas his more logical thoughts tend to be in the form of binary, both of which his mind then rather automatically (after a certain age) translates into regular words and language. However, despite this translation process taking place, he still struggles to vocally form the words to share his thoughts with others. Because of this, he can have trouble, at times, coming up with verbal replies to things. This, coupled with the fact that he's often so engrossed in his thoughts that he doesn't immediately process what people say to him, causes him to often almost resort to quoting other people (i.e. lines from a poem someone wrote) rather than create his own responses (displaying the echolialia mentioned before). He often finds it easier to remember the words of others rather than create his own replies._

 _-He has an incredible eye for detail and will notice many things that most people just won't, even with great effort. His mind can take in even the most minute details in mere seconds. Typically, he will notice details (i.e. a scar on a person's arm, their hair color, etc.) before he will notice the so-called "big picture" of anything (i.e. an entire person)._

 _-He has some abnormal attachments to certain inanimate objects (i.e. the scarf and backpack that Sen gave him, several specific toy trains, a certain blanket) that make it difficult or, at times, nearly impossible for him to get rid of those objects. Just the idea of it can severely distress him. The objects these attachments are formed with tend to give him a sense of security when he's holding or using them, much in the same way a teddy bear would with a child. This is a large part of the reason why he never exactly wants to take the scarf off, for example, though he also does so purely for physical comfort in this case. Attachments like these are far from uncommon amongst autistic individuals._

Wave managed to smile again. _That's almost… sweet._ She scrolled down as she thought this and started on the next paragraph.

 _-As mentioned once before, ever since he was a baby, Jet has engaged in a very common behavior amongst autistic people: head banging. The reasons range from understimulation to overstimulation to pain to stress. In the case of overstimulation: Many individuals bang their heads when understimulated, but many will also do it when overstimulated as well, despite having too much sensory input already. Why? Pain most oftentimes overrides all other sensory information, since our brains tend to prioritize it as more important. As such, head banging is one (poor) way of coping with and ridding oneself of too much sensory information._

 _In the case of pain: Head banging and other similar behaviors (such as pressing one's head very hard into a wall or other such surfaces, which he also does) can be the go-to response when the individual is already feeling pain. I don't know all the details, just that the pressure gives the sense of alleviating the pain and/or at times distracts from the main source of pain (i.e. noises that are just too loud)._

 _In the case of understimulation: Simple, head banging is one (poor) way to stimulate oneself._

 _Final note: When he and others who engage in this behavior do it, it's not necessarily because they're consciously choosing to. It is often an automatic behavior, one that Jet in particular can seldom stop or prevent himself from doing. However, others can easily step in and help prevent him from hurting himself, such as by putting a pillow or a hand in between his head and, say, a wall. Something that can also be done is redirection. Giving him something else to focus on, preferably something that will help him feel better (if stress or pain appear to be the cause), stimulate him (if understimulation is the cause), or help him experience less stimulation (in the rare occurrence that overstimulation is the cause), is very helpful._

 _In the case of stress, one good method of redirecting is getting him to play with his trains. In the case of pain, get him medicine or whatever and then, to deal with the stress likely going along with it, let him do something he enjoys such as playing with his trains or drawing. In the case of understimulation, encourage activities such as swimming or even just a shower (as water can be seen, heard, felt, and at times even smelled) that will stimulate multiple senses at once and calm him down (this can also help prevent a full-on meltdown later down the road). In the case of overstimulation, dim lights, remove sources of noise, remove things that are touching him if possible (i.e. take his scarf and shoes off), and encourage an activity with low stimulation (such as laying down with a really soft blanket which he tends to snuggle when stressed)._

Though troubled by the idea of Jet harming himself like this, Wave was relieved to know that there were methods of dealing with the issue. _Still, the fact that he hurts himself is just…_ Stifling a sigh, she forced herself to end that thought and just continue reading.

 _-He has meltdowns ranging from infrequent to fairly frequent, most stemming from understimulation or stress. He also has a few here and there related to overstimulation and anxiety as well. Some also stem from communication difficulties, another common cause of meltdowns. He also has anxiety/panic attacks stemming more from the PTSD than anything else and these can morph into meltdowns, at times very quickly._

 _-Many with autism have so-called "age-inappropriate" interests (things that they like, love, or even adore), such as a sixteen-year-old that adores Barney the Dinosaur or a twenty-something-year-old that still plays with Barbies. So long as these interests aren't in any way harmful to an individual, it's recommended to just let them enjoy what they enjoy, because there's really nothing wrong with, say, having a beloved teddy to snuggle at age twenty despite what society likes to say._

 _For Jet, as has been previously discussed, he adores trains, even toy ones. This love has been present since Ross bought him his first toy trains two mere months (in their years) after he was born. Age be damned, he loves to play with his trains, watch train-related shows such as Thomas & Friends, and snuggle his blankets (especially when upset). He also loves the YouTube show Sunny Bunnies despite it being meant for children (it's his favorite show of all, even beating Thomas and Friends). In the case of Sunny Bunnies, it's actually something really good for him to watch due to his issues with understimulation. There's a lot of bright, vibrant color, a lot of noise and music, a lot of movement, and so on, all of which help keep him stimulated. He also loves blankets and stuffed toys, though he consciously refrains from having any of the latter (however, he has many blankets)._

 _-As has been previously discussed, he has a lot of anxiety. Much of this exists purely due to his autism, but it also comes from his past traumatic experiences. It causes him to be easily startled and, in some more uncommon situations, can even cause him to easily be brought to tears. He tends to cope poorly with anxiety despite all the therapy he's had (off and on throughout his life though said therapy has unfortunately been). Often, he resorts to SIB's often to help him cope, and he can rather easily move from having an anxiety attack to suddenly having a full-blown meltdown. Sometimes, however, he does manage to cope well enough with the feeling to avoid these responses, usually by stimming (i.e. snuggling his soft blanket) or playing with his trains._

 _Because he can't often vocalize his stress and anxiety, one has to look for nonverbal cues. Obviously SIB's and excessive stimming are big signs, but so is him suddenly starting to repeat himself or quote things a lot instead of speaking normally. He also tends to tense up visibly, startle more easily and frequently than normal, and try to stay closer than normal to people he really trusts (such as Sonic). And if he ever starts to suddenly rock back and forth, something he normally doesn't do at all, then he's definitely feeling anxious._

 _-His facial expression doesn't always match his mood. He tends to frown and look very serious, if not angry, even when he's not. When this isn't the case, his expression is often regarded as calm, blank, and unreadable, which again doesn't always actually match his mood. This is rather common amongst autistic people._

 _Ain't that the truth,_ Wave huffed to herself. Before she could think too much on this note, though, she saw the next one.

 _-A little-known fact is that he seems to have some degree of ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), which causes him to be extremely and abnormally stubborn, refuse to do what he's told, and so on. It's not that uncommon for this disorder and autism to go together._

This one… _This_ one explained a lot, Wave realized. Particularly, it helped explain to her some of his issues with authority and _listening_ to people with it. She huffed again, then resumed reading. She was nearly done with this file now.

 _-He is incredibly emotionally sensitive due to his autism (though some of it can be blamed on his harsh childhood). It's surprisingly easy to make him want to cry when you say or do just the right things. However, because he often struggles with emotional expression, his sensitive nature can most oftentimes be detectable only through his aura. His aura is nearly always hidden, though, so his sensitive nature is very easy not to know about._

 _-He has a borderline extreme desire to be left alone much of the time. However, he does tend to ignore this often enough that it's not necessarily readily apparent to others just how severe that it really is._

 _-To a certain point, Jet has always had an issue with boundaries stemming from a genuine lack of understanding regarding them. This usually manifests itself solely in the form of him taking things from other people's hands, because he truly doesn't understand that doing so is wrong. Sonic and Wave have done what they can to teach him so that he at least understands in theory, but he never just automatically "knows" like anyone else would. He has to consciously remind himself, or be reminded by others. This reveals a small degree of issues with controlling certain impulses as well, something he normally has no issues with._

 _-As far as the five basic senses go, Jet has hypersensitivies with all of them. In particular, touch and sight bother him immensely and too much visual stimulation is one of the easiest ways to overwhelm him. He is hypersensitive to touch nearly as much as he is with those two. Also, he is sensitive to others' auras, which he is always intensely aware of. And yet, he is also very hyposensitive to everything just as often._  
 _-As previously stated, Jet has SIB's. He bruises himself during meltdowns like Kaden does (though he does so virtually every time he melts down, unlike Kaden) and sometimes bites his inner cheek so hard that it draws a lot of blood. Mostly, however, the main concern with him is headbanging (as previously discussed). It's a serious health concern that others have with him, since it can obviously do a lot of damage. Of course, he knows that logically it's a bad thing to do, but he struggles not to do it when the impulse strikes. Other people nearly always have to intervene to keep him safe and prevent him from seriously injuring himself._

Finished now with her reading, Wave stood up and stretched, then walked off to go get food. She would continue reading later.

 **~台風の目~**

He wandered slowly through a forest he didn't recognize. He was hungry and still tired, but far less groggy than before. More importantly, though, he was healing. While he still didn't understand how or why he was healing so well, let alone how he was still _alive_ , he chose to simply focus on getting home. Once he did, he could sleep, get some food, and, as soon as he was well enough, begin some research to try to understand what had happened to him. For now, that was the most important thing he could do.

 **~台風の目~**

When Sonic dropped him off at home, Vector wasn't at all surprised to have Charmy full-on bodyslam him in an effort to get a hug. The hug was readily returned, and the large crocodile was quick to start teasing the young bee for his exuberance. That earned him some yelling and a smack to the arm, but the laughter than ensued made things well worth it.

Things quieted down when Espio slowly walked into view, a hand trailing on a wall to help him maintain his balance. For a moment, Vector stared in shock at his old friend's condition. "...Espio? For the love of god, what _happened_ to you?"

There was a long pause before Espio finally asked, "...Vector?" Curiously vague though the emotion was, he seemed confused… as though he wasn't completely sure who he was even looking at.

Now also confused, Vector nodded slowly. "Yeah… who else would I be, Espio?"

Charmy took this as an opportunity to whisper, "Some bad things happened, Vector. Sonic says Espio doesn't remember a _lot_ of stuff, even people he used to know like Kanari, Knuckles, and Amy." Though he flashed a glance at the bee with his one good eye, Espio didn't deny any of it.

This news was _deeply_ troubling, to say the very least. Vector, however, was not one for negativity most of the time, so he focused on asking the one worrisome question that was on his mind so that he could move on. "But you do remember _us_ … don't you, Espio?"

Another long pause, this one far more disconcerting than the last. But, _finally_ , Espio responded with a small nod and a simple, "Yes."

Vector let out a gusty sigh and cracked a smile. "Good. Now do me a favor and stop scaring me like that, you prick." The ninja's eyebrows drew downward a slight degree, but Vector just laughed. "Aw, don't be like that. Now, come on. I'm willing to bet you both need some food. I'll order us some takeout or something." Charmy cheered and buzzed through the air to the wall phone in their kitchen. As he did so, Vector moved to Espio to help him walk to the kitchen as well. "You sure you alright?" he questioned lowly as they began moving.

Espio nodded again and repeated, "Yes."

Not wholly convinced but wanting to trust his friend and not worry, Vector returned the nod and continued walking.

 **~台風の目~**

He had been her good friend.

Cream had never had many friends, looking back. Well, none her own age, at any rate. She considered people like Jet, Sonic, Tails, Amy, and the others to be her friends, practically even her family, but only Bokkun, Cheese, and Charmy were actually her age. Sure, there were some other kids in the extended group now, but she viewed them more as siblings than friends. She supposed it had been that way with Bokkun, too, but even so… he had still been her friend. And now… now… now he was _gone_ , and that was how things were going to stay. She knew that. She understood that. Understanding, however, did little to ease her pain.

Sitting alone in the grass beside his grave, she wiped at her eyes and sniffled softly. Her heart ached as she again turned her head to read his name, carved deeply into the stone marker. Her lower lip quivered. _I'm sorry, Bokkun. I… I'll miss you. I'm… I'm sorry…_

 **~台風の目~**

A week after the end of the war, Silver had finally finished using his psychokinesis (along with some hard labor courtesy of both himself and Blaze as needed) to repair his and Blaze's home. Kimmy was understandably thrilled to have their house back and was running wildly through the halls as three-year-olds were wont to do. Trading smiles, albeit ones still tinged with sadness, the young couple set about cleaning up the last of the mess.

 **~台風の目~**

Things were rather blissfully mellow in Shadow's home today. Lia sat on the floor near the table in the open dining room, which had no walls separating it from the entryway (which, likewise, had no walls to separate it from the living room). The little girl was currently coping with her sadness in her own way by performing a very simple task: playing with her favorite toys, including her beloved unicorn… which his mother had given Lia when she had been just a baby.

Shadow sat close by in a chair, leaning his cheek on one hand at the table while he watched her play. He had no desire to get anything of note done today too overwhelmed by his own thoughts to bother with meaningless things like chores. He supposed what he was feeling was probably sadness, but… somehow… he found a measure of comfort in observing his daughter and her young strength. If she could get through this then maybe, just maybe, he could do it, too.

 **~台風の目~**

In an effort to give both the twins and her husband some means of coping with their agonizing grief, Amy organized a game for them to play with her. The other three hedgehogs were understandably disinterested and reticent at first but, over time, she started to see a change in them. Small, wary smiles started to make the occasional appearance. Some quiet laughs began to be shared. Soon, everyone within the house started looking and sounding far happier… and Amy considered her little game a success.

 **~台風の目~**

Marthal sputtered and dropped the rubble he had been working on clearing away from the place where their house had once stood. " _Kits_?" he echoed in shock, eyes wide.

Keiri smiled at him, apparently amused by his reaction. "Yes," she replied easily. "Seeing Silver and Blaze with their own kitten just makes me think sometimes… about how you and I talked about the possibility of having our own one day.

He turned to look at her, tails swishing from side to side. "Well, yeah, but… I mean… _now_?"

"No, doofus, not _now_ ," she laughed. The sound was quickly followed by a soft purr of continuing amusement. "But, sometime… I would like to have at least _one_ kit. Wouldn't you?"

All sorts of flustered, Marthal just grumbled something while he bent down to resume cleaning things up. Understanding perfectly what he had said, Keiri just smiled a bit wider and went back to helping him.

 **~台風の目~**

After a long and painful conversation while Locke finally slept (after nearly four straight days of fighting against his own exhaustion), Jason finally began to understand the fate of Lucas. The pair had rapidly been growing to be best friends, had had a promising future together as such, and know Jason understood why he hadn't seen the young hawk in so long. His parents did their level best to comfort him during his sudden time of grief, but he wouldn't let them help him much. Not now, not yet. For now, he just wanted to be left alone… and he most certainly did not want them to see him cry.

 **~台風の目~**

It wasn't befitting of a girl so sweet and full of love to be so profoundly sad, Vanilla knew. Watching her young daughter suffering the effects of grief was something she had never wanted. She wished she knew of some way to truly help Cream's heart heal so that she could try to move on with her life, but there was only so much she could do.

Hugs and kisses could only help so much.

 **~台風の目~**

When Jet suddenly reappeared on Mobius, Sonic teleported to his friend's side without a second thought. He appeared beside a a crater where Jet seemed to have been slammed into the ground with no small amount of force by… _something_. Two long and stressful weeks had passed since the hawk's disappearance and, while Sonic was angry at Jet for taking off like that, he was honestly just glad to see the other male was alive. That wasn't to say that he was lacking in injuries, though - he certainly had a fair few of those. But he was _alive_ , not that he could _not_ be, and that was all that mattered to Sonic. After laying into Jet with a _well_ -deserved scolding, he crossed his arms and let out a heavy breath. "Look… just don't _do_ that anymore, alright? I don't think I can take anymore disappearances, and certainly not from you."

Though never one to take it particularly well when he was scolded (largely due to the verbal abuse he'd suffered as a child), Jet appeared to force himself not to get upset about it this time. "Fine," he replied simply.

He left it at that, and Sonic let him. "...Kethro…" he started after a moment while Jet dusted himself off a bit with one hand. "...Is he dead?"

That earned a frown. "...No," Jet eventually replied. He nudged a bit of rubble off of Alkarus with his boot, then bent down to pick it up.

 _So we're back to one-word answers, it seems,_ Sonic internally sighed. _Just when I thought we were past that… Realistically, though, I guess this could just be how he prefers to talk these days. If so…_ Brushing that matter aside, Sonic focused his tired and stress-addled mind on the far larger issue at hand. "You mean you couldn't kill him?"

"You misunderstand," Jet answered in clipped tones. That tone alone was a sign of irritation that was quickly curbed and extinguished. Sheathing his sword, he continued, "I brought him to the brink of death, more than once. Each time, something restored him and kept him alive. That same force was lending him power, the same he used to help kill me before."

Feeling troubled, Sonic pursed his lips together and echoed, "'Force'?"

"The Night, most probably," Jet shrugged. He was curiously… nonchalant about this all of a sudden.

"And… that's a real thing?" Sonic asked slowly, thinking back to one of his conversations with Ix and Shade mere days ago.

"More real than anyone in their right minds would like it to be," Jet sighed. He fixed his scarf, then added, "But as things stand now… it lacks the means to do anything to us or anyone else. It was sealed for eons and was only recently released, rendering it weak and exhausted. It isn't much of a threat as it stands now."

"Shouldn't we deal with it now, then?" Sonic questioned, his concern deepening.

Jet finally turned to actually look at him. "Ideally, yes. However, only the other three Immortals actually possess the means to do that thing any harm. You and I would only get in the way of their efforts to handle the issue."

That was fairly sound logic, Sonic supposed, but that didn't mean he had to like it. "And Kethro?"

"Probably holed up wherever his new master is."

"Will he come back?"

"It's doubtful that he will. Not for a long time."

Though far from fully satisfied, Sonic made himself relax. He trusted Jet's judgement on the matter and so, for now, all that was left to do was try to move past this dark time in their lives… and help everyone else do the same. Walking over, he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Get on home, alright? You've got people waiting for you. Just let me know when you can that you made it back safely."

A small pause, then Jet nodded. "Same to you," he murmured, turning away.

For the first time since their teenage years, Sonic found himself asking a question that meant more to both of them than most others would ever understand. "Hey, Jet… we're friends for life, still… right?"

Jet turned back around to look at Sonic. After a long moment, he surprised Sonic by smirking a little and replying in a manner that the hedgehog hadn't heard him speak in for far too many years. "Damn straight." Startled, Sonic gaped at him while Jet turned away again. "See you, Sonic." And with that, he was gone.

Suddenly smiling to himself in spite of it all, Sonic turned and executed a quick teleport. After all, Jet was right. They both had homes and families to return to. At least this time, their goodbye wasn't so painful… or for such a long time. That, more than anything else, kept that small smile on his face as he walked inside his house and toward Amy and the twins.

 _If nothing else… at least I finally have him back._

 **~台風の目~**

 **7,388 words this time. So, hope you all enjoyed this installment. Next chapter is gonna feature a _lot_ more scenes, just like the peace arc of Hero did. As such, it may take a little bit for me to finish it and get it up. Still, I'll get it up ASAP. Posted (at about 3:15 p.m.) 09-01-18.**


	114. Together As One

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during these events... especially for the ones who are now so thoroughly enjoying their lives.

 **~台風の目~**

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 **~台風の目~**

 **"Together As One"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _Amy about throttled him when he showed up at her doorstep in the dead of night nearly three weeks after the end of the war. She had been sort of whisper-yelling (in an effort not to wake Sonic and the twins) at him for nearly ten minutes when she finally burst out with, "Where were you?! We thought you were dead, Tails!"_

 _While she furiously swiped at the tears streaming down her face, Tails's eyes remain downcast. It took him a moment to reply, but when he did, his words further stunned her. "I think... I think I was, in a way..."_

 _Unable to process this, Amy stared at him. "...What?"_

 _Tails's ears were low. "I think I was dead, in a sense," he mumbled. "Not completely, but close enough that... that there was almost nothing left."_

 _None of that made any sense. He had to know that, didn't he? __"Tails-" she started to argue before he interrupted her._

 _"Amy," he said, suddenly looking at her, "when I woke up, I was still in the place where Sonic and I were fighting before..." He paused, swallowed thickly, then continued. "When I woke up, I... wasn't... whole. I mean... parts of me were missing, like most of my arms and both of my tails, and..."_

 _When he trailed off again, she jumped back in. "Tails, that's not possible. There's not a scratch on you!"_

 _"It is possible," he insisted. "You have to understand, as crazy as it's going to sound, I know what happened. I didn't initially, of course, but I was able to make it back home last week and I figured it out." Before she could even attempt to question him, he ask, "Amy, I know I don't ever use it, but you know how I have that radiation power, right?"_

 _Reigning in her emotions for now, Amy sat down heavily on the couch they had been standing beside this whole time. "Yeah," she sighed. "And I remember how you did a lot of research in the past about it. You determined that you've had it since birth, for one thing, and that it's probably responsible for the mutation that caused you to be born with two tails instead of just one."_

 _He nodded earnestly. "There was more, too. Remember how when I was five, I got so sick that I had to go to the hospital? I'd spiked a fever so severe that it should have killed me, but it didn't. From what I've been able to gather, that fever or the illness itself or possibly both awakened my previously dormant radiation power. I didn't know it was there for a long, long time, of course, but it was there. And you said it yourself... radiation creates mutations."_

 _"Tails..." she frowned, "...where are you going with this?"_

 _After taking in a slow breath, he let it out. "My radiation power itself has been mutating, Amy. I didn't know that before this past week or so, but the data I gathered just... doesn't lie. And those mutations have been causing other mutations, too, though I couldn't quite determine what most of them were. I was really only focusing on one, anyway."_

 _Somehow, Amy suddenly caught on and her eyes widened. "Regeneration," she breathed. "It mutated you and caused you to develop a new ability, the power to regenerate..."_

 _Relieved that she understood, Tails nodded again. "Yeah... that's exactly it."_

 _Silence fell and, for a time, reigned as Amy fought to process everything that had just been revealed to her. Eventually, however, she acknowledged the fact that this would take time. So, for now, she just leaned over and hugged her adoptive brother. "Don't ever scare me like that again," she sighed._

 _Without hesitation, Tails hugged her back. "I'm sorry, Amy... I won't. I promise."_

 _Smiling, she let one last tear fall from her eye._

 **~台風の目~**

One year after the end of the war, everyone was gathered at Sonic and Amy's house in a scene rather reminiscent of Tails's birthday party before the first Nocturnian attacks. Knuckles and Rouge were among the last to arrive to the gathering, which was merely a peaceful celebration of the first year of peace since the end of the war. With them they had both of their sons: Jason, and his baby brother. He, like his brother, looked like an echidna despite being half bat. However, unlike Locke, Knuckles, and Jason, the baby's fur (and in particular his hair) were streaked with white. He didn't seem to have the typical family temper, either. Instead, his personality reminded them more or Rouge and Locke... or Kaden, when he was in a good mood. It was for this last reason, among others, that they decided to honor the man by naming their son after him.

The baby's name was Kayde.

As they walked to the others, Rouge tickled one tiny foot. "Guess what? You're three months old today, little man." In her arms, the sleepy baby yawned and cooed, earning a smile from his mother.

Chuckling, Knuckles gently touched their son's cheek. "I think someone wasn't quite ready to get up from his nap."

"Then how come he woke up already?" Jason asked. For once, he seemed genuinely curious as opposed to just being moody.

"Oh, who knows?" Rouge replied easily. "Babies do what babies do, I suppose."

At about that time, Sonic caught sight of them and walked over. "Hey, you guys made it," he smiled. He had done a _lot_ of recovering over the past year and was generally back to being his old self, though he did still have his moments of depression and pain. Today was certainly tinged with sadness and it showed in his eyes, but he was doing well and that was what mattered.

"Yeah, just had to wait for the kid to wake up," Knuckles replied, gesturing to Kayde. "He was up kinda late last night and really needed a nap."

"I believe it," Sonic nodded. He turned his attention to the baby. "Hey, there, little guy. How are you?" When Kayde cooed at him, Sonic's smile grew.

Knuckles glanced around. "Jet's not here yet?" he asked in apparent surprise. "It's not like him to be late. ...Or even borderline so."

Sonic shrugged but explained, "It's the anniversary, you know? He's probably visiting their graves right now, like Locke and I did this morning." It didn't take any sort of a genius to know whose graves Sonic was talking about. He and Locke had visited Kaden and Analia's together this morning, and then later also visited Bokkun's and Kanari's (they'd had no body to bury for her, but she had a proper grave regardless). Jet, meanwhile... he was almost certainly visiting the graves of Kath and Lucas, which were on the very same hill he had once buried his friend Selene on near the palace. Kath's body had been relocated and properly buried about a month after the war had ended. Lucas... he had been buried before then, after his body had finally given out.

Violet eyes filled with painful understanding and Knuckles looked away. "Yeah. That makes sense."

Suddenly, Cream tripped and started to fall off the edge of the porch. Sonic reacted without thinking, sending out a gentle wave of energy to catch the young bunny before she could hit the ground. The bunny flashed him a grateful smile and the energy quickly dissipated... blue, _magical_ energy. A voice sounded behind him, far more casual and relaxed than it had ever been a year ago. "Hell of a time to discover a new power, Sonic."

Emerald eyes rolled and Sonic turned around. His best friend stood there, arms loosely crossed and his entire demeanor completely at ease. "Hey, Jet? Do me a favor?"

Jet quirked an eyebrow at Sonic. "A favor?" he echoed.

"Yeah. Shut up." Jet smirked faintly, and Sonic soon did as well (though his was much more visible). It was then that Sonic chose to explain, "For your information, I discovered I got dad's magic like a month ago. Locke thinks it was dormant before... before... what happened."

No further explanation was needed for Jet to understand what Sonic meant. He inclined his head. "Have you been training?"

"When I can," Sonic shrugged. His eyes drifted to the twins. "Kind of have my hands full most of the time, as I'm sure you can understand."

Another faint smirk. "I see."

Sonic thought for a second, then asked, "Speaking of training, how's your training with Wave going? I heard she was getting pretty proficient with those aura powers of hers."

All of a sudden, that smirk had a very pronounced quality of _pride_. Or, at least, as much as any expression ever _did_ when Jet was concerned. "She is," he confirmed easily. "She progresses more with each session than most do in years."

"That's amazing," Sonic smiled. "And you're training her in other areas, too, right?"

"Mostly in the use of blades," Jet answered. "As a Rogue, proficiency with a dagger is rather expected of her by our society, so that is a weapon we focus on a great deal." He paused, then added, "She has taken to swords extraordinarily well, too, and I recently found her a mentor to aid her in learning how to use her mental abilities."

Honestly, Sonic was more than a little pleased to hear this. "I'm glad," he said. "Is that everything you guys are working on right now?"

Jet shook his head. "Do you recall her lineage?"

Surprise caused Sonic's ears to perk up. "...Her dad's not Babylonian," he answered after a second. "I remember that much."

"He's a Hexan," Jet explained, "which is a race of powerful magical beings from a realm known as the Lost Hex."

"He looks like a Babylonian, though."

"Hexans are bird-like in appearance, but they are of a different race."

Sonic nodded a little, then asked, "Anyway, you were saying?"

Blue eyes shifted to look at Wave, who was talking to Silver and Blaze across the vast expanse of lush grass. The young couple were expecting their second child but, tired though Blaze understandably was, the trio were sharing plenty of laughs over whatever they were discussing. "She may not show any signs of having magic of her own yet," Jet murmured, "but her father is powerful. His strength in the area of magic rivals nearly anyone else I have ever met."

"And you've met a _lot_ of people," Sonic noted quietly.

This earned a small nod. "She shows no signs yet of having inherited that magic," he reiterated, "but there is always a chance that it simply lies dormant within her... waiting to be unleashed."

Now Sonic understood. "So you're training her to control it, just in case." Another nod. Sonic turned to look at his old friend. "You can _do_ that?"

"I can teach her the basics," Jet answered simply. "For more in-depth and serious training, she will need to look elsewhere."

 _For someone who actually has magic... someone like her dad._ Sonic inclined his head. "That makes sense." Things grew quiet for a time, so Sonic looked around to check on the others. Locke was reclined under a tree some distance away, his hat pushed over his eyes while he dozed in the shade. Knuckles and Rouge had joined Vanilla by the porch and were talking with her while Kayde idly batted at a necklace his mother was wearing. Vanilla had only gotten more and more sickly and weak over this past year, but today represented a day of relative ease from her usual symptoms and pain. Those were few and far between, and she was clearly enjoying it now. Her smile was as warm as ever as she talked.

On the porch still was Cream, who was playing some sort of a card game on the small table. Jason sat with them, but were merely observing the game. Hannah and Ten (whom Sonic had only just spotted) were making their way over to the trio. Meanwhile, on the bench mere feet from the table sat Espio and Vector, who were working together on some small exercises that the ninja frequently had to do to help him fully regain the use of his right hand and arm. His left arm was impossible to save and remained in a sling forevermore, paralyzed from the shoulder down. His left eye was also unable to ever be saved and was still sealed shut by the same scar. But thanks to much physical therapy and the like, he was learning well how to get by without them. And equally important was that, while there was no saving his lost memories, he was still gradually reforging friendships with everyone he had once known. He had forgotten everyone but Cream, Charmy, Cheese, Vector, Sonic, and Shadow, but even for him things were looking up.

 _Speaking of "up"..._ Sonic turned his head a bit and looked to the roof of his house, where Marthal was currently sitting with Keiri. The cats were clearly taking _full_ advantage of the warmth and sunshine to be found there and, like Locke, were peacefully dozing. Tails sat fairly close to them with his legs dangling over the edge while he typed on some handheld computer of his. Back on the ground some distance away, Shadow leaned against the trunk of a young tree, watching with a careful eye as Lia and Kimmy ran around and played. Today was a day where Soren had managed to come by for a visit, and he was sitting by Shadow's side and also watching the girls play. Only, _he_ was openly smiling. Shadow's smile, if he had one, was entirely on the inside.

Smiling himself all over again, Sonic clapped Jet on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go join the others." Jet nodded his assent without pause. His smile growing, Sonic led the way.

 **~台風の目~**

Two months after the anniversary, on July third, Silver found Blaze munching on some chocolate in the kitchen. Now, he had _long_ known that she possessed a bigger sweet tooth than she was generally willing to let on just about... ever. Typically, though, she denied it even when it was just _him_ asking about it or making a comment. Now, though, there was no escape for her. She had the chocolate bar in her hand and, better still, was actively eating it when he came up behind her and made a joke about candy and cravings. Of course, that got him flicked in the forehead, but she was smiling and didn't try to argue with him about the matter for once. That was a win in his book.

 **~台風の目~**

Shadow and Tails were sitting together in the fox's workshop while Lia read a comic book on the floor nearby. It was July tenth and very hot out, but the inside of the building was nice and cool and, thus, an ideal place to work. When Shadow had come to him, Tails had been busy fixing up an old computer he'd found in his closet the other day. Now, however, he was focused on his friend... whom he was forcibly reminded was no ordinary person. He was a cyborg, had technology and metal all over the place inside of him, and right now... well, that was the entire problem. "How long have the parts in your hand been locking up like this?" the young inventor frowned as he carefully opened up the appendage. He was no surgeon, true, but technology was something he could _absolutely_ handle. After all... this wasn't the first time he had actually fixed up the parts within a cyborg before.

"A week," Shadow shrugged. Thankfully, nothing about what Tails was having to do seemed to be hurting him. He didn't even seem to feel any pain as Tails uncovered the source of the problem: the mysterious metal coating every bone within his hand. There were wires and other parts, too, but it was the metal that was largely the problem.

"And why didn't you say anything before?" Tails huffed. "Honestly, it's your dominant hand, too..." Another shrug from Shadow caused Tails to huff again. "Look, I get why you don't want to ever think about any of this and how you got to be this way Shadow. Believe me, I do. But you _have_ to come to terms with it at some point. All this tech and metal are a part of you, for better or for worse, and it has to be maintained and cared for. I'm willing to help you whenever you need me to, but you have to _tell_ me when something goes wrong or acts up or whatever. I can't read minds."

A long silence followed, but eventually Shadow let out a breath that may or may not have been a sigh. "...Fine."

Satisfied with that answer, Tails let the conversation end and focused on his work.

 **~台風の目~**

On July twelfth, Wave was sitting in Jet's office with him at the palace while he worked. Normally she wouldn't have gone in the room at all, but today he had seemed like he could use the company. At one point, she looked up from her book and peered at the paper Jet was busy writing on. Unable to resist, she interrupted him by asking, "What are you doing over there, Mister 'I-hate-math'?"

"Exactly what it looks like," Jet huffed, sounding a little less-than-pleased.

Wave took a second to glance over his work before replying. "...I thought you always said you sucked at math. Those equations are extremely complex, but everything you've put is correct."

"I do suck at it," Jet told her, using much more casual language than usual for the moment. "...Comparatively."

That made Wave blink. "Compared to who, exactly?"

Jet didn't look up. "Kath."

"Okay, now that's just not fair." When Jet glanced at her, Wave explained, "To you, that is. I mean, Kath is... Kath. Aside from high-level Immortals and the like, I don't think nearly _anyone_ had beat his knowledge and whatnot."

It was silent for a moment before Jet responded. "Perhaps," he allowed eventually, already writing again.

Shaking her head in amusement, Wave returned her focus to her book.

 **~台風の目~**

Locke was sitting alone in his house, which was somewhat cluttered with books and relics (all of which were undoubtedly artifacts from various ruins around the world). It was July fifteenth and far too hot to be outside, so he was sitting at his desk in front of some papers, logbooks, pencils, and so on instead. However, he wasn't looking at any of that, let alone working on anything. Instead, was looking out the window with eyes that bore none of their usual happiness. He looked utterly depressed, in fact, and he _was_. This didn't happen to him often, but when it did... well, the depression hit him hard.

Right now, He was supposed to be writing in his logbook so as to keep track of all the artifacts and treasures he had found, which ones were supposed to go to which museum, which he was keeping, and so on... but instead, all he was doing was gazing out the window to his right, chin propped in his hand. His violet gaze was dull, lacking in the usual amount of life and joy and humor and whatnot that usual brightened them. As his dull eyes gazed out the window, his thoughts wandered slowly and aimlessly from topic to topic, all relating in at least minor ways to the same specific subject. All these thoughts only served to worsen his mood and dull his eyes further.

A knock sounded at the door. With a small sigh, Locke stood, chair scooting back as he did so. He left the room and entered the living room, then walked to the front door. Upon opening it, he immediately saw his son. Knuckles's expression was already irritated by the time Locke opened the door, and the younger echidna's arms were crossed. "Why haven't you been taking your meds?" he demanded as he walked in.

Suppressing another sigh, Locke shut the door. "I don't _want_ to take them," he replied. It wasn't a lie; he really did hate taking medicine of any kind. He, like Kaden, always preferred being okay on his own, not with the aid of anything else. At least... as much as possible, anyway.

"I don't give a damn what you _want_ ," Knuckles responded, already headed for the kitchen. His tone was made sharp with worry. Locke reluctantly followed him. "Without that medicine, your depression gets even more severe than normal, and you _know_ that." He grabbed a pill bottle off the windowsill above the sink. "Now take these, or so help me I'll hit _you_ over the top of the head!"

Unable to suppress his sigh this time, Locke slowly reached out and took the bottle.

 **~台風の目~**

For once, Cream, Cheese, and Charmy were having a play-date in Spagonia rather than at Eschire Village and, more specifically, Cream and Vanilla's house (both of which had been long since rebuilt). Despite the heat of the day (it was mid-afternoon on the twentieth of July) he kids were playing at a large park while Vector and Vanilla sat on a bench and watched them. Vector, in particular, was feeling quite smug. As he watched them, arms crossed and grin on his face, only one important thought crossed his mind. _They are so meant to be... even if Charmy'll never admit to liking her._ Barely able to suppress a chuckle, he watched them continue to play.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,725 words this time. So... sorry that this took so long _and_ that it's so short. Remember the end of Hero, how the peace arc was mostly a bunch of small scenes like this in one huge chapter? I was gonna do that again here, but it's too much. So, smaller chapters will be posted instead as I complete them. Hope y'all enjoyed. Posted (at about 3:50 p.m.) 09-05-18.**

 **Edit 09-06-18: Forgot to mention it before, but thanks to Blazing Winds for helping me name Kayde! He suggested the spelling "Kade", and I added a "y" to help make the spelling unique and more different from "Kaden". But, anyway, thanks again!**


	115. Of Laughter and Love

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this era of peace and fun... especially for the one who knows when to call it quits and flee for his life.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! I think you misunderstood, I _am_ doing separate chapters of this peace arc. The one in Hero was just one giant chapter, but I just can't pull that off this time. I had a lot of help typing the Hero chapter up, but I'm mostly on my own this time around. Hence the smaller, separate chapters. Anyway, I don't blame you for liking the action stuff, as I do as well. XD Hope you also enjoy this!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Of Laughter and Love"**

 **~台風の目~**

It was July twenty-second. The twins were off visiting Shadow and Lia for the afternoon, allowing Sonic and Amy some time alone. They sat on their porch together, just talking and enjoying each other's company.

"Let me get this straight," Amy, who sat in one of the chairs, laughed. "You had a Chao once, and he beat _you_ up?"

"I was, like, _six_ ," Sonic chuckled from where he reclined on their cushioned bench. "Cut me some slack, Ames. At that age, just getting a thump on the head felt like a proper beat-down. And, trust me, he whacked me a _lot_. ...Usually with a stick."

Only after laughing a bit more at her husband's expense did Amy speak again. "What did you name him, dare I ask?"

Sonic smirked wryly. "It's a bit of an odd coincidence, but I actually named him Charmy. 'Cause, you know, he was such a _charming_ little guy."

"So I've gathered," Amy grinned.

"Just do me a favor and don't tell Cheese about this, okay? Don't need him getting any ideas." Amy laughed some more, and Sonic soon gave her a grin of his own. He loved days like these, and hearing her laugh… _Life doesn't get too much better than this._

 **~台風の目~**

Due to the heat of the day on July twenty-third, Silver and Kimmy were playing in a kiddie pool together. For very obvious reasons, Blaze refused to join them. While they splashed around in the sun, Blaze reclined in a lawn chair in the shade with a good book… well out of range of their energetic play. Still, she couldn't resist occasionally stealing a peak at the pair over the tops of her pages. Each and every time they did, her smile grew a little. And whenever she felt her unborn child move or give a kick… well, her smile couldn't _not_ grow in response to that, too.

 **~台風の目~**

"The heck kind of name is Keia?" Marthal yawned, stretching as he did so. He was laying down on their sun-warmed roof, savoring the contrast of heat from the summer sun and the coolness of the early morning breeze. It was July twenty-seventh, meaning it would be hot later. For now, though, it was heaven.

"I don't know," Keiri admitted with an amused purr. "But I'm not the one who made it up, anyway. I saw it in a book once."

Given that they were discussing tentative names for a potential child that they might one day have, Marthal supposed it was necessary for him to participate in this. "Okay… Whatever, listen, if we have a kid we don't need to give them some sort of fancy name."

"Oh, I know," Keiri replied lightly. "At the same time, though, I don't want to give our child a common, run-of-the-mill name that probably hundreds or thousands of others have."

Okay, that had some merit. "So nothing fancy but nothing common…" Marthal sighed and put an arm over his eyes to shield them from the sunshine. "...What about something like Mei? Not spelled like the month, though. Spelled 'M-e-i'."

After giving the name some thought, Keiri let out another purr. This one managed to sound approving, somehow. Satisfied that _she_ was apparently satisfied, Marthal finally allowed himself to doze off. Warm sunshine made him drowsy…

 **~台風の目~**

"I still miss them," Amy admitted quietly. She was sitting in her living room with Tails on July 28th, visiting with him while Sonic played some video games in another room. The visit had been mostly happy, but over the course of the last few minutes things had taken a rather somber turn.

"I miss them, too," Tails agreed, looking down. "They may not have been _my_ parents, but your mom and dad were the closest I ever had. They were amazing people."

"They were," Amy sighed.

Tails cracked a slight smile. "I can still name a lot of the wonderful things they did. They spent a lot of time helping Vanilla raise Cream, they were constantly inviting me over for meals to make sure that I didn't skip meals, your mother traveled to all sorts of hospitals all over the world to try to heal people… I mean, I could on and on for probably hours. They were just…" He looked back up to his practically adoptive sister. "They were truly amazing people. Like you."

Amy wiped a tiny tear from her eye and forced a sad smile. "Yeah… Yeah, they really were."

 **~台風の目~**

On July thirtieth, Knuckles and Rouge were doing their level best to get their sons ready for a trip across the continent to visit Rouge's family. Over the course of the last year, she had finally begun reconnecting with them (Knuckles still suspected that his father had something to do with her sudden willingness to do that), and that meant they now more people constantly wanting to see their kids. It wasn't a bad thing overall, but it did mean a lot of hassle… because if there was one thing that children hated, it was getting ready to go anywhere or do _anything_.

Trading a look and taking deep breaths, the couple prepared to dive headlong into this latest battle of wills.

 **~台風の目~**

Wave and Jet were spending a day together on June first. Jet was completely free from work-related obligations for the day, a rare thing indeed, and was visiting Mobius with his kids in tow. Walking side-by-side, the two older Babylonians kept an eye on his kids while they talked and strolled the streets of the mostly rebuilt Empire City (which they were in if only because it was an interesting place). They continued this for nearly an hour, only for them to each fall silent upon spotting a very familiar face in the crowds ahead.

In the midst of the throngs of people, they spotted Storm. He was walking around Empire City by himself, his eyes scanning the crowds slowly as he went. It almost seemed as though he was searching for something… or some _one_. But before either of them could think to call our or otherwise grab hold of the albatross's attention, he disappeared back into the crowds and was gone.

 **~台風の目~**

Crimson eyes watched almost placidly as Kimmy and Lia ran around playing together in the forest surrounding his home on June seventh. Said eyes never missed even the tiniest movements the girls made while they squealed and laughed and giggled and just all around had fun. It was an energetic display. One he had no desire to take part in, of course, but… his reality-hopping son (who was visiting for the next week or so) seemed to have other ideas.

"Bet you miss being a kid, huh?" Soren asked, tone almost teasing.

Thinking back on his life, Shadow had no reason to hesitate with his reply. "No." Soren didn't say anything else and soon the pair was silent again. Some time passed, then Shadow found himself inquiring, "...Do you?"

Soren shrugged. "No, not really. ...Guess we have that in common." In the silence that followed, Shadow leaned back against a tree and crossed his arms. He had just started thinking about life again when Soren suddenly jarred him back to full attention by suddenly saying, "Hey, come on, let's go join them."

Surprised, Shadow responded without thinking. "What? No."

The teenager grinned and tugged on Shadow's arm. "Come _o-o-on_ ," he persisted in a deliberately childish whine, "it'll be fun."

Shadow scowled. "I don't _do_ fun."

"But you could!"

"No."

"You're too tense and crap. Just come on."

"I'm _not_ moving."

"Yes you are, just come on!"

"No!"

Much arguing ensued, and somehow… some way… through some crazy witchcraft or something… Shadow wound up chasing the boy around, intent on catching him and wiping that _goddamn_ self-satisfied smirk off of his face. And it was definitely was _not_ fun.

 **~台風の目~**

June eighth was a bright and shining day, perfect for some relaxation and quiet. ...Or, at least, it _would_ have been, had Silver not been hell-bent on wreaking as much havoc as possible throughout Sonic's house for the duration of his, Blaze's, and Kimmy's visit. _Why_ he was choosing this entirely random date to execute prank after prank after prank, Sonic had no idea. All he knew was that the twins and Kimmy all seemed to be taking notes… and he was _so_ not getting caught in the middle of another prank war.

A bucket of water fell on his head when he opened a door.

 _Oh, hell no._

Silver wisely sprinted for his life down the hall.

Soaking wet and filled with a desire for vengeance, Sonic sprinted after him.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,518 words this time. This is late again, but... eh... I have an excuse this time. Spider-Man PS4 just came out recently, as did Boundless's early-access PS4 release. So... yeah. XD Anyway, hope you enjoyed this next installment to the peace arc! I'll definitely try to get the next one up faster next time. Posted (at about 7:15 p.m.) 09-08-18.**


	116. What's Lost and What's Gained

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during these bits of interaction... especially for the one who sees people as they truly are.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Hahaha, yep. XD Poor Sonic has a prankster for a kid, lol.**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"What's Lost and What's Gained"**

 **~台風の目~**

Locke was in his house alone on June 12th. Walking down one of the halls of his cozy home, he entered the living room and picked up a framed picture off of a round side table beside his couch. The picture was a very old black and white photo of a smiling echidna woman. That smiling face was one he could never in his life or death ever forget… the face of his long-deceased wife, Laura. He had lost her so long ago and yet, the pain of that loss was somehow still… raw.

Losing Laura and their child had been the ultimate death-blow to his heart so many years ago. Some of that pain had healed when he had been reunited with Knuckles later in life, but not all of it. After all, he had missed _years_ of his son's life and Laura was still dead. And those things… those things weren't likely to change. He knew that. He _absolutely_ knew that. But he also knew that he couldn't stand to lose anyone else. Not _anyone_ else.

So, so many people he cared for were already dead and gone… two of the having left him twice now. He had lost his tribe leader and childhood caretaker Linan, his tribe's healer (and not to mention one of his earliest mentor's and friends) Yan-Shu, Laura, his friend (though he had been more Kaden's friend than Locke's own) Pyros, Marthal (though, granted, it had later come to light that the cat had never actually died), and of course Analia… and Kaden.

His heart clenched so tightly with emotion that it made him want to vomit. Unable to take the memories anymore, he quickly set the frame down and turned away.

 **~台風の目~**

June 13th was due to be an extremely hot day, but the morning was relatively cool and pleasant. Sonic, Shadow, and Amy were gathered together outside of Sonic's house while Sen, Sarai, and Lia played. While the boys (ahem, _men_ ) bickered and argued like the children they most certainly were _not_ , Amy fought not to laugh… and secretly plotted ways to prove to these two just how ridiculous they genuinely were when with each other.

If only she had a camcorder...

 **~台風の目~**

"I don't know that he would let us throw him a birthday party," Wave admitted. She carefully worked on one of her gadgets in her workshop in the Rogue's Tower in Future City as she and Amy chatted. "Jet's never exactly… _liked_ his birthday. He saw no point in ever celebrating it, I think."

"Sonic's hellbent on making sure _everyone_ celebrates their birthdays from now on," Amy responded with a smile, "and you _know_ he's not going to leave his best friend out of it. I'm just trying to ensure that things don't go badly if possible."

"I'm not convinced that it'll go _well_ ," Wave shrugged.

Amy thought for a moment. "Well… we could always do a surprise party. I know he can startle easily sometimes, though, so we can avoid people shouting 'surprise' if we do it."

Wave set her tools down thoughtfully. "...That might work."

That evoked another smile from Amy. "Perfect. We should start working on this soon, then. It's already the fourteenth today, and his birthday is soon isn't it?"

"It's June seventeenth, yeah," Wave nodded. "At least, that's the best guess Jet has. He never celebrated his birthday as a kid, save for one time when he was really little, so he just sort of guesses."

Amy stood up from the chair she had been sitting in. "Let's get to work, then, shall we?"

"Alright," Wave agreed, also standing. Together, they left the room to begin their plans.

 **~台風の目~**

It was June fifteenth. Cream was home with her mother and Cheese. Vanilla was getting more and more ill all the time, despite everyone's best efforts to care for her. Her health was deteriorating. She likely wouldn't make it much longer. It was all that Cream could do to try to ease her mother's pain most days. And the tears she shed at night with this impending massive loss looming over her head… Well…

No one needed to know about those.

 **~台風の目~**

Wave was visiting Jet at the palace again on June sixteenth, one short day before his surprise birthday party. He had finished up most of his work earlier in the day and the pair had just been relaxing and such since then. For the past hour, they had been indulging in some fun with Ten and Hannah (mostly in the form of board games) while Suri was napping. When the baby had woken up, however, Jet had left the room. Wave had been playing with the older two kids since then, and things were going really well overall.

"You're really good at this game, Miss Wave," Hannah murmured with a small smile as she made her move. She had gotten very quiet and reserved, not unlike how her father was, since the war and the death of her only biological brother. Still, the child managed find little rays of happiness every once in a while and it was wonderful to see.

The compliment made Wave crack a smile of her own. "No more so than anyone else," she replied. "And, just so you know, you both are really tough opponents."

"I should _hope_ so," Ten grinned. "Kath's the one who taught us how to play this. It'd be doing him a disservice if we somehow managed to suck at this."

He made his move while he spoke and Wave chuckled. "If you say so," she said just before moving her piece. A few moments later, she stood up from the low table they had been playing at in the sitting room they were occupying. "Hey, I'm gonna go see what's taking your dad so long. I'll be right back."

"Alright," Hannah agreed. Her eyes were locked on the board as she tried to decide on her next move.

Without further ado, Wave stood and exited the room and headed off down the hall. She was about midway to the room Suri had been napping in (her own bedroom was on the very top floor, along with Jet's own and those of Ten and Suri) when she rounded a corner and saw Jet already walking toward her. Something in his eyes was bright and almost sort of… joyful, which gave her pause. Yes, Jet was more relaxed and open now than he had been for a really long time, but he still retained his reticence overall. Seeing such open emotion in his eyes was uncommon… but not unwelcome.

For once, Jet spoke first. "Wave, look at this," he said, bending over to gently set Suri down. The baby, who had been getting rather good at standing on her own for brief moments, wobbled uncertainly for a second as she smiled up at Wave. Then she shifted her legs… and actually took a couple tiny steps before plopping down on her rear.

Wave almost gasped. "Oh my gosh!" she all but whispered. "Suri, you just _walked_!" The baby waved her arms and babbled happily. And Jet… he was positively _beaming_. Unable to resist, Wave bent down and picked up the child to give her a little hug. Her smile growing, Wave turned to Jet. "This is wonderful," she breathed. "And she's starting so young, too…" Words seeming to fail him, Jet just allowed himself to return her smile. But, coming from him, that was more than enough.

 **~台風の目~**

 **1,312 words this time. And... I have no excuse this time. I just kept getting really lazy and unmotivated. Plus, you know, video games. XD Posted (at about 12"15 p.m.) 09-15-18.**


	117. Reminiscence

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this bittersweet time... especially for the one who's been in the background doing so much for so many people.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yep! Well, we don't see _too_ much on it (generally doing small scenes and all that as you know), but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. And yeah... poor Locke. He just can't catch a break here at all. ;_;**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Reminiscence"**

 **~台風の目~**

The day of Jet's surprise birthday party had come. Everyone who could be there was there. This meant that everyone aside from Locke (who was feeling a little under the weather), Marthal (who had some sort of serious business to attend to), and Keiri (who was with Marthal) was there. It was roughly eleven in the morning. The party had been slated to begin at ten, but the one everyone was here to see… well, he was late. And, so far, no one was really sure why.

Silver suggested that Jet was just working, as per usual.

Wave disagreed, saying that he would have answered all hers and Sonic's texts by now if that was the case.

Blaze suggested that he was, perhaps, off dealing with business somewhere else that wasn't New Babylon.

Knuckles agreed that it was possible, but it was unlikely that he would have gone without telling at least Sonic or Wave.

Vector guessed that Jet was possible just sleeping, but Rouge was quick to point out that that was what Vector _himself_ would most likely be doing as opposed to Jet (and then she proceeded to tease him relentlessly over it).

In the end, it was Amy who pointed out a highly logical possibility. "Guys… where's the _one_ place where Jet frequently goes without telling people? Where's the _one_ place aside from here and New Babylon that he frequently goes to in _general_?"

That made something click in Sonic's brain. "...Wherever it is that he goes to train with the other Immortals," he realized aloud.

Immediately, debate ceased and Silver's ears perked up. "You think that's where he is, then?"

"Now that it's been brought up, yeah," Sonic nodded.

Some people traded looks. "What do we do about the party, then?" Charmy asked. "Do we all have to go home now?"

"Not likely," Tails spoke up. "See, from what Jet's told me, the place where he does his training is a realm that some Immortals from a time immemorial crafted themselves specifically _for_ the sake of training. He said that time there flows in a way we can't really hope to understand, but the gist of it is that the passage of time there is _nothing_ like how it is out here. Centuries could very well pass there in a matter of mere seconds here."

Slowly, Knuckles frowned. "...Is that _standard_ , or does it fluctuate?"

"No idea," Tails admitted. "It could be like that all the time or, for all we know, it could vary depending on what the Immortal or Immortals there want or require as far as the flow of time goes. Either way, there's no telling how long he's been there already, but chances are that he won't be there too long overall. As in, in our time."

"So, the plan's just wait, then?" Knuckles asked.

It was Shadow who actually answered. Sonic still considered it a bit of a miracle that he had convinced his half-brother to come, despite the fact that Shadow and Jet seldom got on well. "Unless you feel like leaving and coming back later, yes."

"Well, good thing we have games and such!" Silver cheerfully declared. "Uncle Jet's just gonna have to miss out for now."

Chuckling, Sonic waved his son off in a gesture meant to imply unspoken permission for Silver to go gather up some of the aforementioned games. As the aptly-named silver-furred hedgehog scurried off with Tails in tow, Sonic sent Jet another text.

 ** _Sonic:_**

 _Hey, I know you're obviously busy and all but, seriously, come by my place when you're free, okay? Bring the kids, too. You'll be here a while, guarantee it._

With nothing left to do now but wait, Sonic walked off to help gather some entertainment for the others.

 **~台風の目~**

Roughly fourty-four minutes after Sonic sent that message to Jet, the hawk in question finally showed up with his kids in tow. Hannah and Ten immediately walked off to go mingle while Suri squirmed to be put down. As Jet set her down in the grass and held her tiny hands so that she could practice taking some equally tiny steps, Jet looked around at all the tables, weighted balloons, people, and so on. Sonic walked over with a teasing grin. "Way to show up late to your own party, dude."

Blue eyes blinked. "...Party," he repeated slowly.

"Damn straight," Sonic grinned, deliberately echoing what Jet had said to him in regards to their friendship over a year ago. "I know _you_ don't necessarily like the idea of celebrating it, but everyone else here happens to be happy that you were born. So we're celebrating, and you just have to deal. Kapeesh?"

Jet indulged in a rare eye-roll. However, he conceded without any complaint. "Fine," he sighed. He looked around again. People were chatting, playing games, hanging out, having fun… Hell, even Shadow didn't seem to hate being here. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Glad we can see eye-to-eye. Now, how about we go get some food?" Emerald eyes glanced up and down over Jet, taking in his somewhat battered appearance. "My guess would be that you're pretty hungry after all that training."

For now, Jet decided it wasn't worth trying to pry an answer out of Sonic regarding how he knew that Jet _had_ , in fact, been training this morning. Instead, he just nodded his assent and, taking things slow so that Suri could keep up, he followed his old friend to the nearest snack table.

 **~台風の目~**

Blaze and Amy were sitting together outside of Blaze's house on June twenty-seventh. While Silver and Kimmy spent the morning out on the town getting some household shopping done, the women chatted about the upcoming third addition to the family. "You don't know the gender yet?" Amy was inquiring. A breeze shifted her hair across her shoulders.

"No," Blaze responded with a shake of her head and a small smile. "Do you remember, while we were all in the hospital waiting room before Sen and Sarai were born, how Kaden mentioned that Analia preferred to let the gender of her children be a surprise at birth? Silver and I decided to do the same."

Though the memory bore a certain inescapable sadness to it, Amy also smiled. "I see," she murmured. A small pause, then she asked, "So, if the baby is another girl, what names are you planning on?"

"To be honest, I'm not certain yet," Blaze admitted. "We've contemplated many options, such as Anna and Kaitlyn, but none sound just right."

Amy's smile grew. "I think I know what you mean. Are you having the same issues with boys names?"

"No," Blaze repeated, her smile also becoming a tad larger. "If we have a boy, we intend to name him Kohaku. It does mean 'amber', after all, and Silver is rather convinced that the baby will have my eyes just as Kimmy does."

"That's a wonderful name," Amy told her friend happily. Then she stood up. "Let's talk some more inside, though. I don't know about you, but I could use some water."

"Alright," Blaze agreed easily. Once she, too, was on her feet, the two women walked inside.

 **~台風の目~**

Today was yet another soul-wrenching day. June thirty-first was Locke's wife's birthday... but only he was around to celebrate it in her memory. Fighting back tears, he lit commemorative candles around her photograph and cooked one of her favorite meals... though he didn't have the appetite to eat it. All he could hope for was that she was watching... and that _she_ , at least, was able to smile.

 **~台風の目~**

It could be said that Tails had become a doctor of sorts.

Over the course of several weeks, the fox had properly educated himself on the ins and outs of everything that had been done to Shadow to make him... a little less than biological. In the process, he learned something he hadn't previously known. _Many_ of Shadow's internal systems, implants, and so on had been critically damaged years ago, as it turned out. All save for the most vital ones that kept him alive and functioning. After much prying, he was even able to get Shadow to explain to him when and _how_ such extensive damage had taken place.

It was because of Maria. Or, rather, because of the actions she had had to take to save Shadow's life when he had been a small and vulnerable child. Shadow never went into any specifics (Tails suspected he didn't even _remember_ the specifics to begin with), but he'd said that he had had to escape from the Space Colony ARK in order to escape from Gerald Robotnik. Maria had shoved him into an escape pod and launched him pod and all off toward Mobius. The eventual crash-landing had been violent and extremely severe, nearly killing him. Hence the damage.

 _I guess this explains why he's never utilized any of these implants and the like since we've known him,_ Tails mused as he busied himself with one of his newest computer systems. It was the second day of June and he and Shadow were both in his workshop. _And if there are implants in his head that help store memories and the like and were damaged... well, that would certainly provide an explanation for why he had so little recollection of his dealings with Ivo and whatnot all those years ago. I'd wager that Ivo repaired those to some degree, though, judging by what I saw earlier._

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Tails spoke up. "Okay, everything seems to be repaired," he reported in a pleased voice. "You can go ahead and sit up now. I'm done messing with things." Shadow shifted beside him to do just that while Tails's fingers flew across the keyboard. "So, I'm going to start getting your systems online again, one at a time. You ready?" A single nod answered him. "Okay. Let's start with your optical scanners and sensors. ...You might experience some glitches for a few minutes, bright flares in your vision and the like."

That sounded familiar, however vaguely, so Shadow went ahead and just accepted it. "Fine." As Tails worked, Shadow did his best to recall what the scanner was even supposed to do. He recalled that it responded to his thoughts and intentions, and remembered that it (obviously) scanned things and people at a glance. It did so very rapidly and accurately, too. He was pretty sure that it had infrared, heat sensors, and night vision capabilities as well, but... beyond that, he wasn't sure anymore. It had been too many years.

"Done," Tails said. "Any issues at all?"

Shadow looked around slowly, blinking constantly in an effort to adjust to the constant stream of information his eyes were giving him. This was very familiar, despite how long it had been since he had had this scanner activated. And, thankfully, there were no problems with anything so far that he could detect. "No," he responded.

"Good." Tails continued typing. "Next one, then."

One by one, system after system came back online. DNA and Biofluid recognition software, environmental scanners, facial and voice recognition software, memory storage systems, components used to aid in self-sustaining efforts, self-diagnostic programs, language conversion programs... the list when on for quite a while. And once Tails was done, one look at Shadow and he knew. No matter his overall thoughts and opinions on everything that had happened to him, he now felt oddly whole.

 **~台風の目~**

A soft knock came at the door of Jet's office, prompting Jet to glance up from the document he had been reading. After a second, he looked back down and murmured, "Come in."

The door slowly opened and a white cat quietly poked her head inside, as if cautious, before she fully pushed it open and took a small step inside. "You are Jet, yes?"

Blue eyes glanced up from the document again. "Yes," he answered simply. He already knew straight away that he had never before met or otherwise encountered this woman, but the inherent Light he sensed within her negated his usual suspicion toward strangers.

"I was made aware of an incident in which you may have encountered another cat sharing my fur color. If you do not mind, could you please spare the time to inform me of what you know?" Her tone was gentle, yet carried subtle tones that hinted at her concern regarding the situation.

White fur was hardly unique, Keiri's was the same color after all, but Jet suspected he knew _exactly_ who she was referring to. "I know little," he murmured. "I only know that she claimed to have saved an ally of mine and feigned willingness to aid in a war, only to vanish when the final conflict began."

The cat's face shifted minutely, confused by this information. "I see… What name did she go by?"

Jet blinked. "...Astra."

"It's her, then." The cat glanced back quietly before pushing the door shut, sighing softly to herself. "This is a very private matter… and I would not like anyone passing by to hear of this and have their own concerns."

In response, Jet created an invisible aura barrier around the room. "No one will hear," he assured simply in lieu of a more in-depth explanation for his actions.

She nodded her thanks and leaned gently against the door. "Her real name is Eila, a being born of Light." The cat paused, then added, "My sister."

Finally, Jet set the document down and gave her his attention entirely. The whole 'family relations' issue was certainly one that surprised him, but he had a more pressing matter to address. "She was born of Light?"

"Yes. Eila was born just like me, but her skills lay in magic rather than swordsmanship or using Light itself. To keep this story short, she began practicing Black Magic and became corrupted. My parents and myself attempted to stop her and find a way to remove the corruption, but we failed in our efforts." The cat was noticeably and visibly upset, arms drawing in to hug herself lightly. "She lost her memory of who she was and named herself Astra."

Slowly, Jet began to frown. "...And I assume your parents are deceased or otherwise unable to aid in dealing with her."

There was a slight nod of affirmation. "As of now, they have their struggles elsewhere. As much as they hate to do so, they have devoted their efforts to helping keep peace and doing what they can for others while I search for Astra myself."

That response earned a slow nod. "...I don't know where she is," Jet eventually told her, "nor do I have any further information to give you."

"I did not expect much more, though I have information for you. You may want to hear it." Jet didn't reply and simply waited for her to continue. "She gained an aptitude for the mind and how it works. Astra understands far too much too be good, and coupled with her magic… She once attempted to take control of my mind. I do not know the specifics of what she is planning, or how exactly she does this, but I implore you to be cautious should you ever meet her once again."

Given that he had spent next to no time around the woman, Jet wasn't especially concerned. Still, though, he didn't brush off the warning, serious as it was. "Understood," he said simply.

"You do not have to tell me, but is there a number of your allies she may have spent a lot of time around, or nearby?" She asked this slowly and quietly, as if concerned she may anger him.

"Just two," Jet told her. "The one she saved, and the one who typically acts as the group's leader."

The cat nodded slowly. "Sonic, then… If he is as _important_ as I believe he is, her influence could grow disastrous. Keep tabs on those two in particular, and anything that is unusual."

Surprised though he was that she knew that name, Jet didn't ask about it right now. "Sonic will not be affected," he assured firmly. He wasn't so certain about Espio, if only because he just didn't _know_ , but he was absolutely positive that Sonic would be fine.

"That is certainly good news. Sonic and you were my primary concerns." This made Jet's frown grow deeper. Her amber eyes glistened for a moment, then she shifted her head and took a small step forward. "Will you allow me a moment to look for something?"

"Look for _what_?" Jet asked, made a bit tense due to the closer proximity. Noticing the tension, she moved back to where she had been before.

"I am afraid she may have tried to place something in you. It is merely me searching for anything… _inconsistent_ , so to speak." The cat clearly was unsure of how to word this, searching for the right thing to say.

Though asking this was borderline repeating himself and he didn't enjoy doing that, Jet nevertheless questioned, "Left what, _exactly_?"

She sighed softly at her own inability to make sense of this. "Essentially, anything that would allow her to 'probe' your mind and leave her a simpler access." Jet wasn't entirely sure what to say to that, so he remained silent. When he said nothing, she grew a tad worried. "May I…?" she asked slowly.

Eventually, Jet almost sort of sighed. If only because this was a safety concern, he knew he had to agree. "...Fine." Her eyes glowed softly for a moment as she examined him quietly, slowly frowning as she did so. Jet waited in silence, wary in equal measures about what she might find and just in general the fact that she was even in his mind at all.

"You said you were not around her much… correct?" she asked slowly, attention focused on the current task.

He nodded once. "It was only once. ...Perhaps twice."

The cat frowned. "She has become even more skilled, then…" The implications of this statement were far from _comforting_. Jet, however, didn't have anything to say about it. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, taking her time in undoing whatever seed of influence had been placed there. "I will remove it myself." Jet just nodded a little. After nearly five minutes, the cat opened her eyes and backed away, no longer examining Jet. "I have finished. Everything I found was removed, and any effect it may have had on you should vanish without even being noticed."

There hadn't been any effect. Jet was certain of that, if only because he knew how mind control worked and how it would cause gaps in memory and the like. Which posed an odd question… _Why did she attempt to open a gateway to control me, and then not follow through?_

"I am sorry for the inconvenience the failure of my family has caused you." She bowed a little, as if to add to her apology. "It is painful to know that we could have prevented events such as this."

"You need not apologize for actions that were not you own," was the quiet response. "The mistakes of your family are not your own."

Though she didn't personally accept his words, the cat nodded slowly and stood straight. "I see." She made no attempt to argue his point with her own.

Jet decided to move on instead of continue discussing this. "Did you need anything else?"

"Not much else. Though, if I may, is there a way I can contact you? Traveling while searching does not exactly agree with going back to the same place any time something new need be discussed."

He gave that a moment of thought before teleporting a communicator into his hand. It was one of the ones he had made using a combination of Mobian and Babylonian technology, just like his own. It was only attached to the network the other communicators he had built were on, which included only his communicator and a very small handful of others, but it would suffice. He then tossed it to her. "Here."

She caught it and looked at it for a moment, blinking in minor confusion before shifting her attention back up. "Thank you, Jet. If you ever need my help, I will do my best to aid you, as well as keep you informed on my search for Astra."

He picked up the document he had been reading again. "If any word reaches me from other sources, I will be in touch as well."

"Alright." As she turned around, she typed out a quick message, smiling in satisfaction when she saw that it had indeed gone through with a glance back to the hawk. "I hope we can meet another time on less… serious terms."

"Hnn," Jet murmured vaguely in response, already reading again.

The cat paused for a moment and looked back once more, already outside the door. "I neglected to mention. My name is Rose." Jet gave her one last glance, then just nodded once more. Rose smiled gently and teleported away, leaving Jet to his work once more as if she hadn't been there in the first place.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,654 words this time. Hopefully the length of this one makes up for the delays lately, at least a bit. ^-^" Also, heads up, there is _no_ chance of an update tomorrow. On top of work, I have to travel over an hour away to deal with a very long personal appointment, so I will have no time to write. Sorry about that, everyone, but I'll do my best to past as soon as possible after that. Anyway, many thanks to Blazing Winds for his contribution to this chapter. He wrote Rose in the last scene. Posted (at about 7:05 p.m.) 09-16-18.**


	118. EotS Bonus Chapter 2: Playlist Pt 2

**~台風の目~**

 **"EotS Bonus Chapter 1: Playlist Pt. 2"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _EVERY SONG LISTED CAN BE FOUND ON YOUTUBE._

 _* = The main theme (if there are two or more of these for one character/event/whatever, it means that there's a tie, as far as which fits best)._

 _# = Two or more characters share the same theme_

 _Note: Every character/event/whatever is allowed to have two songs from the actual Sonic games and whatnot (though they won't necessarily have any listed). But just two._

 _Hey, I'm always open to suggestions! Have a song you think works for something? Let me know! I may just add it!_

 **~ 台風の目~**

 **Couples (Current and Past):**

 **Kaden and Analia:**

*Color the Sky _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Sonic and Amy:**

*Promise _(by Thomas Bergerson; Two Steps From Hell)_

Okay _(by Backhouse Mike ft. Elizabeth Gilies)_

Halo _(by Beyonce)_

 **Silver and Blaze:**

You're the Reason _(from Victorious)_

*I Swear _(by All 4 One)_

 **Locke and Laura:**

*Shut Up and Dance _(by Walk the Moon)_

 **Knuckles and Rouge:**

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Places (Mobius):**

 **Mobius (As a Whole World):**

*Freedom _(by Joona Latti)_

*Becoming a Legend _(by John Dreamer)_

*Believe _(by James Paget)_

The Journey _(by Tartalo Music)_

Color the Sky _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*Dragonland _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

#The Flatlands _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Yueisha (As a Whole Continent; Mobius):**

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Chun-nan (Restored):**

*Xian _(by Antti Martikainen)_

*The Journey _(by Iliya Zaki)_

 **Apatos (Ruins):**

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Hyale (part of "The Highlands"):**

*Journey Through Aran _(by Tartalo Music)_

 **Chao Gardens:**

Aurora _(by Florian Blur (Really, this only fits until about 2:06))_

 **Places (Space):**

 **Outer Space (As a Whole):**

*Color the Sky _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Zyr, the Garden of Darkness (Deep Space):**

#*Prepare For The End _(by Epic Score)_

#*Leader of Armies _(by Epic Score)_

 **Eras, the Garden of Light (Deep Space):**

*#Ascend _(by James Paget)_

 **The Meeting Place of the Immortals (Deep Space):**

Awakening _(by Icon Audio)_

-*Ascend _(by James Paget)_

 **The Watchers' Observatory (Deep Space):**

*Guardian Watch _(by John Boberg)_

*Eyes of the Sky _(by R. Armando Morabito)_

 **Places (New Babylon):**

 **New Babylon (As a Whole World):**

Human Legacy _(by Ivan Torrent)_

Strength Of An Empire _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*Aurora _(by Florian Blur)_

-#Apollos Triumph _(by Audiomachine)_

-Chase the Light _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

-North Country _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

-*Eternal Flame _(by Audiomachine)_

 **Astral Babylon:**

 _(These tracks work for when the ship is being awakened, as well.)_

*Winterspell _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*For the Win _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **The Badlands:**

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **The Palace:**

-Guardian Watch _(by John Boberg)_

-*#The Journey _(by Iliya Zaki)_

-*Final Kingdom _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

-Cyrus, the Scholar _(theme of Cyrus, from "Octopath Traveler")_

 **Places (Therius)**

 **Therius (As a Whole):**

*Kaii _("Strangeness"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 24 (Not a truly perfect fit, but close enough in many ways.))_

Enchiridion _(by Evan King)_

 **Places (Realms, Alternate Timelines, etc.):**

 **Soren's Timeline:**

*This Is Why I Was Born _(by 8Dawn or Vivien Chebbah (I'm not sure which.))_

Lazarus _(BBC's Sherlock Homes Soundtrack, Season 3, Track 08)_

Dark Times _(BBC's Sherlock Homes Soundtrack, Season 2, Track 05)_

 **The Twilight Cage:**

 _(Where the force Kath will only refer to as "The Night" dwells. It is trapped here… for now.)_

*Eternal Shadow Falls _(by Epic Score)_

-Shippu Kumikyoku _("Hurricane Suite") [Choir Only] (from Naruto)_

 **Dimensional Bridge:**

 _(The so-called "bridge" that keeps many realms connected, and the same one that Jet and Wave traversed.)_

The Trees Have Eyes _(from "Octopath Traveler")_

Annihilation _(by Arn Andersson)_

 **Realm of Chaos:**

 _(The realm that gave birth to everything. Houses pure Chaos. The Master and Chaos Emeralds are permanently tied to this realm)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Realm of Darkness:**

 _(This realm houses pure Darkness and is where Kaden's earliest ancestor, Zennith ("Zen") was born, along with Zyr. Zyr still here, but it also exists in the "Realm of the Living" at the same time.)_

#*Leader of Armies _(by Epic Score)_

#*Prepare for the End _(by Epic Score)_

*Creator of Worlds _(by Epic Score)_

 **Realm of Light:**

 _(This realm houses pure Light and is where Analia's earliest ancestor, Eona, was born along with Eras. Eras exists both here and in the "Realm of the Living" at the same time)_

*#Ascend _(by James Paget)_

 **Realm of Storm:**

 _(This realm houses pure Storm energies and is where the first living embodiment of Storm (name unknown) was born.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **"Realm of the Living":**

 _(The realm the Hero series, for the most part, takes place in. Is by no means the only realm to house living things, making the name a source of confusion for many.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **The Master Emerald's Interior:**

 _(The unofficial fourth Realm of Death, where the spirits of Sonic's dead friends and family, their dead friends and family, and so on may dwell. Is as large as Mobius itself and is fully controlled by Sonic. Is permanently linked to the Realm of Chaos, making seemingly impossible things (such as this realm possessing internet) completely possible.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **~台風の目~**

 **So, posting this to allow you all to read _something_ today. Hope you all enjoyed. **


	119. Prelude

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during these series of interactions... especially for the one whose loss will ultimately shape her future.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, and this one's even longer. Lol. I'm not trying to, I swear. Lol XD**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Prelude"**

 **~台風の目~**

Early on July sixteenth, Tails had decided to pay a visit to a local orphanage that he had been helping to support and improve for a number of months now (via technology and inventions, of course). He had spent the whole of the morning working on various small projects around the facility, replacing faulty wires, improving computer systems, changing a light bulb out for an experimental improved version to test if it worked, repairing an old and busted television set that had been found buried in a closet, and so on. Now he was taking a break and finishing up a sandwich he had packed… and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a child.

Turning his head, Tails was genuinely surprised to see a young _fox_ peeking around a corner at him. Before he could even ask, the boy stepped a little further into view. He was small, probably no older than eight or so, and had fiery orange fur. His eyes were a striking shade of bluish-green. And of course, unlike Tails himself, _he_ only had _one_ tail. "How do you do all that stuff?"

Tails blinked. "What stuff, exactly?" he asked after a second.

Another few wary steps forward. "All that techy stuff. With… with all those tools and the wires and- And those inventions, you made them, right?"

Sensing the obvious excitement this kid was trying to hide, Tails found himself smiling. "Well, it's a bit complicated to try to explain it all, but I can show you some things if you want. I have a few more projects to work on today, and you're welcome to tag along."

All attempts at hiding his true emotions went out the window, and the boy openly gaped. "R-really?"

"Really really," Tails confirmed lightly. He crumpled up the baggy his lunch had been in and threw it away, then stood up. "I don't mind at all."

The boy stared at him. "Are you… sure?" he asked cautiously.

"Completely," Tails replied. "Just one question, though. How long have you been watching me work?"

Now the boy seemed to find his worn-down sneakers utterly fascinating. "...A while."

"Hey, no need to look so chastised," Tails soothed, smiling again. "I'm not upset. I was just curious. Now, come on. I'm ready to get going."

"Okay," the boy nodded, already following as Tails walked out of the room.

Tails headed off down the hall. "My name is Miles, by the way. Though, most people call me 'Tails' on account of the fact that I have two of 'em." He winked playfully, earning a shy smile from his new companion. "What's your name?"

"Alex," the boy answered. "Alexander Li Prower."

Tails nearly froze. "...P… _Prower_...?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded, not seeming to notice Tails's shock. "My momma was a Prower, from what I heard. She died, though. She got sick, really sick, so I ended up here."

Taking in a deep breath, Tails walked around in front of Alex and knelt down. "What was your mother's name, Alex?" he asked, mind racing. _I looked up my last name years ago, trying to see if there were any residents of any cities who were in anyway associated with the name and, thus, with the ancient fox clan that my family came from… despite the fact that any remaining individuals would be only distantly related at best in this day and age. Only four individuals came up. Myself, two young women, and an older gentleman who since passed. His mother has to have been one of those women… Vanessa or-_

"Cyndi," Alex told him, eyes full of confusion. "Why?"

 _Cyndi Prower… right._ Tails closed his eyes. "Because I'm a Prower, too, buddy. In no way closely related to you or your mother, but… even so…"

Alex's eyes went wide. "R- _Really_?"

"Yeah. Like I said, my name is Miles… Miles _Prower_. The son of those two famous Prower inventors from years ago, Jacob Styles and Marisa or 'Molly' Prower." Now Alex was stunned speechless. There were few foxes left in existence at all these days, and even _fewer_ of them had the misfortune of having not ever heard of _those_ two (not that Tails had known that for most of his own life). Tails pursed his lips together and stood up. "...Come on," he murmured. "Let's go get that work done for now… we can talk a bit more about this afterward."

Still shocked silent, Alex simply followed.

 **~台風の目~**

Returning to Green Forest still hurt, Jet reflected as he slowly walked between several monstrously large trees on August twenty-fourth. The pain he felt in this place was wholly tied to his memories of Lucas, and those memories were… bittersweet to say the least. And, of course, they _hurt_. Though… it was more of a terribly yet dull ache at this point as opposed to the crippling and agonizing grief it had once been. Of course, he didn't enjoy pain. Next to no one did. Right now, he just had to deal with it. It was necessary for him to finally, _finally_ repair his home here. He just… he had to take it slow. Going through the ruins of the house his son had once shared with his siblings and Jet… He wasn't exactly looking forward to that.

 **~台風の目~**

It was a cool and breezy day in late September, and Locke was (for once) feeling peaceful enough to leave his island home and pay an old friend a visit. Right now, he and Marthal were strolling through Station Square together, just talking about the past and reminiscing on things that made them smile or laugh. They did their best to avoid touching on any hard subjects like those of loss and death, but Locke kept wondering about something that _potentially_ crossed the line into that territory. He debated for nearly ten minutes over whether or not to ask but, in the end, his curious nature won out. "Speaking of families," he started slowly, earning a quick but knowing glance, "I've never heard you talk about yours… ever. All I've ever heard from anyone is that you were raised as an orphan in your clan."

Tail sweeping from side to side, Marthal executed a small shrug. "There isn't much to tell about my past, but… I get the feeling you wanna know anyway, right?" Locke gave a nod, but was humble enough to be a bit sheepish about it. Marthal sighed. "Yeah, thought so. Look, I don't know too much about my parents, since I wasn't around them for that long. I just know that they didn't die or anything. At least, not when I was a kid. They took me to a cat clan that we didn't live in and left me there, so I wound up living on the streets and shit. Eventually, a guy named Ylden took me in, so I lived with him for a while."

Locke blinked. "Ylden?" he echoed.

Marthal nodded. "Yeah. Don't get the wrong idea, though. He wasn't like a second dad or anything, but he was my mentor. He helped teach me more about a lot of the things I was starting to study, like medicinal herbs, certain fighting styles, that sort of thing." A small pause, then he mumbled, "...And he seemed to think I had a temper issue, so he was constantly making me deal with that, too."

Quite wisely, Locke decided not to remark on that last part. Instead, he changed the subject a bit. "So what happened after you left his care?"

Another shrug. "I stayed in a group home of sorts for orphaned boys, spent my days training and studying my ass off and my nights mostly just reading more or sleeping. That's basically all there was to my life until I ran into Kaden in the woods that one day. Then I left to travel with him for a long time, as you know."

"And rejoined him and myself later during the war," Locke nodded. Marthal murmured his agreement. There was a lull in the conversation after that, but it only lasted until Locke asked, "So what about your parents? What _do_ you know about them?"

This was a subject that Marthal seemed keen on avoiding, but… for whatever reason, he answered anyway. "My family was nothing to smile about, as you might have guessed," he huffed. "Only my mother was actually horrible, though. My dad was inherently neutral, probably literally incapable of caring about things, hating things, or whatever else. That shit caused a lot of problems by itself, but he did still physically take care of me and crap. Points to him for that, I guess."

Locke frowned a little. _...Please don't tell me this was another abuse situation…_

Marthal continued. "My _mother_ , on the other, was _literally_ evil. And I mean that, Locke. You can't joke about this shit."

"' _Evil_ '?" Locke echoed, stunned.

"About as evil as that Shade witch, just minus the creepy mutations from Black Magic and whatever else." Marthal looked away. "She never actually laid a hand on me or anything most of the time, but… it doesn't really matter in the end, you know? There are a lot of other ways to fuck with people without injuring them."

"So, she was a neko yokai, then?" Locke asked carefully. "Or, was it your dad's inheritance?"

That caused Marthal to quickly look back over at him, but any surprise he felt was quickly melted away. "...I forgot you knew that I'm a half-yokai," he soon said. A pause, then he added, "And you were right the first time. My mother was the yokai, not my dad."

Locke took a moment to consider everything he was learning here. _His home life was apparently… rough, to put it mildly. His mother was, apparently, evil and a yokai to boot while his father was a normal man… albeit an innately neutral one who was probably unintentionally neglectful on various levels. ...Hm, that might actually explain Marthal's own personality. Evil heritage would feed into his violent temper and how easily he can come to hate things, and if he inherited some of his father's neutrality that would explain why he doesn't otherwise express emotions very much… Unless he's feeling particularly lighthearted and goofy, of course._

The pair turned a corner just as Locke spoke up again. "Despite what you said," he began, "you seem to have been at least a _bit_ close to your dad. Is that right?"

"Hell if I know," Marthal sighed. Only a few seconds later did he think to ask, "...Why?"

"You call him 'dad' still, despite what you've told me," Locke shrugged. "That, as opposed to something more formal and impersonal like 'father' or your dad's actual name. Saying 'dad' is more casual and usually implies a bond of some sort." Silence answered his little assessment, so he opted to change the subject somewhat. "Anyway… mind explaining to me what a yokai _is_? I know a bit, but they're such a mysterious bunch overall that most of the world doesn't even know they _exist_ , you know? And even Kaden could only ever dig up so much information about them." Just _saying_ that name hurt, but Locke strove to banish that ache for now. Today was _not_ yet another day to suffer and grieve.

Though he sighed again, Marthal obliged and soon began explaining everything to the echidna. By the time Locke left later in the day, he did so feeling that much wiser.

 **~台風の目~**

Early in November, Vector was busy in the kitchen making hot chocolate with Charmy in an effort to help the boy warm up a bit after they had finished playing outside. Espio was seated at the table nearby, nose deep in a book as usual. The scene seemed normal, and in many ways it was, but… it didn't feel _completely_ normal. And that had everything to do with the ninja at the table.

Of course, due to to the damage to the left side of his body (his paralyzed arm, stiff leg, and scarred, blind, and impossible to open eye) he had to use and do things differently than he once had. That contributed to things nowadays not being quite normal, but it wasn't the _real_ reason why things felt so… so, well, _different_ now. No, the real reason had to do with Espio's _emotions_. Or, rather, his lack thereof. He had been lacking in a lot of emotions from the moment he woke up in the Watcher's Observatory, but over time since then he had gradually lost _all_ of them. He was utterly devoid of emotion now, and no one was quite sure why.

The best guess they had to go off of came from Locke, who had long suggested that the Black Magic that the Nocturnians had exposed him to (possibly combined with the head injuries) had lead to this. But who truly knew? Vector certainly didn't, and he didn't want to dwell on it when he could help it. He had never liked dwelling on things, feeling badly about things, wondering about questions he couldn't answer… So, instead, he tried to just focus on his conversation with Charmy, and all the while, Espio sat in silence across the room… never even so much as cracking a smile.

 **~台風の目~**

It was mid-November when Marthal and Keiri made the biggest realization of their lives: they were expecting a child. His powerful nose had alerted him before even an actual test could have detected anything. When he finally worked up the nerve to say something, she beamed and squeezed him tightly in a hug of death (ahem, _love_ ). And, soon, Marthal managed to smile as well.

 **~台風の目~**

In late November, Jet was back in Green Forest to resume working on his ruined home. Due to lack of free time, he had yet to get even halfway done with the project, but he had the whole day to himself today and he intended to get some work done on this place. After some time of near complete silence, Jet felt his attention slip away from his work and toward what he knew was a portal shrouded by trees. The hawk set down a box of various items he intended on picking through some other time and turned to face a green hedgehog who stepped out within his view. He knew straight away that he hadn't ever seen this person before, but… his energy felt familiar. _From that final fight… that brief moment with the golden portals…_ Frowning slightly, he watched the stranger approach.

"So, you're this timeline's version, eh?" the hedgehog asked as he stopped mere feet away, crossing his arms. "You don't seem the slightest bit different besides that air you carry with you."

Jet's frown grew slightly, but he didn't waste time asking about whatever in the hell this guy was talking about. Instead, he cut right to the chase. "Who are you?"

"Depends on what all you want to know," he started, smirking faintly. "Name's Steam. Alakara. Chances are, you have _no_ idea about my family or any of that here."

A breeze ruffled through the area, lifting a ruined picture from a busted frame on the ground and starting to carry it off. Jet snatched it out of the air with one hand, then demanded, "What are you doing here?" He didn't need to look to know that the photo he was holding was one of his dead son. And, for that reason, he _refused_ to look right now.

Steam huffed with an amused expression, watching Jet with a somehow concerned look in his eyes. "I came here to see more of how that battle went down. From what I can tell…" Dark green eyes scanned the area for a moment, then slid back toward Jet. "It was a bittersweet victory _and_ loss."

With a slight _tch_ , Jet turned away and resumed sifting through the rubble of his home. "When faced with that much death, _no_ victory deserves to be referred to as such."

"I know. I've seen it all play out before. It wrenches your heart and soul out, then thrusts it back in to make you keep going." The hedgehog sighed a little, shaking his head and walking over to the destroyed home. "That's not all I came here for, though. I'm sure you'd rather not be drug through all of that again, and I would prefer to avoid some unpleasant memories."

"Why _are_ you here, then?" Jet asked, eager to get to the point already.

After a moment, Steam sighed. "It's not simple, and there's a lot to talk about. First, _your_ future. Sonic, Kaden… So many people." It took a long moment, but the hedgehog realized he was dragging this out far too much, and refocused himself. "Starting with you and _what_ you are."

For now, Jet reigned in his impatience enough to say simply, "Explain," without sounding irritated.

"You're an Immortal, and everyone knows it now. You know the responsibility and the burden already. But there's much more to come. _Mountains_ to climb, wars to wage, enemies and friends to gain and lose. Being prepared for the Night and eternal darkness, as well." Steam's tone had shifted to something more disconcerting, an odd seriousness that seemed out of place.

Now Jet was really frowning. _The hell is he…?_

"Sonic has a lot ahead of him as well. Strength to unlock, loved ones to lose, people to touch and care for, and a friend or two to save from themselves… in a way." Steam fidgeted as he spoke, noticeably antsy and in need of something to properly distract himself.

Jet closed his eyes, painstakingly committing all of this to memory. He'd try to work out meanings later. "What else?"

Steam suddenly began rooting through rubble, sighing. "There's the matter of Kaden and Analia… but there's not much I can tell you there. I have to avoid telling you much, because that could alter some events in _bad_ ways. I'll say this though… You'll see them again. They won't be exactly the same, and you'll know what I mean when you see that for yourself."

The fact that Steam was messing with things almost made Jet irritated by itself, but he curbed that response rather quickly. "Fine," he muttered unhappily.

"Also, sorry for just doing this… It's kinda hard to just… stand there. You would fully understand if I explained it all, but there's no point in it." After a few long moments of silence, he began speaking again, a bit more slowly this time. "Do… you know who and what Locke is?"

"What do you mean, _what_ he is?" Jet questioned, obviously implying that he _did_ know the man.

Steam tapped his fingers for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "A certain… woman you've likely met shares a similar fate in who they are. She was present at the battle, and fights with true fury unlike the others."

Jet closed his eyes and thought carefully about who all had showed up at the battle that fateful day. _One of them, then…?_

"Yeah. You've got it." The hedgehog had cast a small glance at Jet, that alone apparently being enough to clue him in to what the hawk was thinking. "There was one in particular that should stand out with the description I gave."

At this, Jet shook his head. "To those who had the luxury of observing them, perhaps," he murmured. He had, after all, been a bit too… _preoccupied_ during that fight.

"You've spoken with her. Before the battle ever took place." Jet didn't reply that time, purely because he was busy thinking. "You'll figure it out in time if you haven't already. She knows Locke and who he is. She also undoubtedly knows some things that you'll one day learn about yourself. Such as your mastery of Immortal abilities at a young age. There's a reason behind your unusual level of skill." Steam intentionally grew vague, trying to not outright tell Jet everything about his eventual future.

At this, Jet huffed a touch defensively. "I'm not _that_ young," he grumbled. Being called that always rubbed him the wrong way, if only because his kin (the other three Immortals) insisted on sort of treating him like an Immortal _child_ or something. He may have been a teenager (permanently, even), but he was in _no_ way some incompetent child.

In return, Steam huffed as well. "And I'm not that _old_ , then."

Jet decided not to argue that point… if only because he wasn't sure what to even _say_ to that. Instead he asked, "That woman you were referring to… she's the cat, isn't she? A white one."

"Yes, but she doesn't have Light inherently within her." Steam confirmed, helping to narrow down the potential choices. Jet nodded once, already sure that he knew who they were talking about. "You can ask her for more on that whole topic. She's more tactful with words than I'll ever be."

"Hnn," Jet murmured vaguely. There was a long pause in the conversation as he pulled a book out of a box and gently slipped the photograph he had been clutching in between the pages for safekeeping. After that, he busied himself with a bit more dull cleaning while he thought over everything he had been told thus far. Only after that did he finally speak up again and ask, "Is there anything _else_ you have to share?"

Steam took a moment, silently picking out what he was sure he could say before finally speaking again. "There's almost always something more that should be shared, a lesson that may do you some good to learn one day." He hadn't been _intending_ on coming off as rude, so he made short work of correcting himself. "Information shared with those who can use it wisely is a good thing. Especially on things that you come to bear all on your own. Sometimes, you end up leaving someone in the dark about details until you can no longer find it in yourself to trust each other."

Given that that was a very similar message to the one people like Sonic had been trying to instill in him since the start of the Nocturnian war (and even before then), Jet knew he probably shouldn't argue. _I doubt he'd listen anyway, somehow..._

"There will come a day when something new is birthed into existence and you'll be the only one who can… beat it, per say. A man, a woman, and a voice will all be your enemies, none of which will give up. _Ever_." The hedgehog sighed, rubbing his temples lightly. "One will cause more pain than you could ever imagine, far worse than what Kethro could have managed to do."

Jet unintentionally tensed up. _Worse than Kethro?_

"It's gonna suck… all of it. Every enemy you face threatens everything more and more, but you won't have to shoulder the burden all on your own." Steam glanced over, smiling a little. "Some very important people from your past will come to your aid. They can and will fight, whether you want them to or not, and you'll learn more about yourself than you may think at first."

"And let me guess," Jet said, stifling a sigh, "you can't or otherwise won't give any further details than that."

He wasn't particularly sure of how to answer that, so he took his best shot. "Those particular threats and the people who will come to you have identities that don't need to be named. I hate not being able to share much, but you'll kill me if I say too m-" Steam paused, standing up straight when he realized he'd given up a detail that would have been better unsaid. "Don't mention that last part." He added quickly, gritting his teeth in annoyance with himself. Jet blinked, but didn't comment. He wasn't sure what to say. "Guess I'll continue in that case. One of your enemies will be something you have yet to face, something corrupted and evil in a way _similar_ to Kethro and Astra. I'm sure you know about the latter by now, so you should know what I mean since those two only have one common connection. Hopefully."

Blue eyes closed briefly in thought. _Commonalities, huh...? That would be… Black Magic and corruption in a general sense._

"Here's something I probably _shouldn't_ share, but I will. The woman I mentioned that would be a threat is someone from long before even your birth, the one who could easily be blamed for causing large parts of your life to be as miserable as they are. The very reason your mom died." Steam drummed his fingers against his leg, sifting through information and potential hints he may be able to give to Jet. "You'll meet this woman and hopefully be her downfall. I can't guarantee that's a battle you'll actually be able to win."

Jet felt a bit… frozen. Mysterious woman be damned, he had a _far_ more pressing question on his mind. "You know about my mother?" he demanded. His tone was unintentionally harsh, but that was only because she had always been a bit of a sore subject for him. He had never known her, after all, and time and time again he had been fed so many lies about her and how she had died… Even the Therian who had once bragged to him (during the war against the Meterex) about having killed her hadn't been telling the _whole_ truth. As Jet had learned in the past century, that monster _had_ killed his mother… but he had _not_ , in fact, killed the version of her that was _his_ actual mother from his timeline. Which meant that many of the things the man had implied had been outright lies, and Jet was still left forever wondering.

He did _not_ want to be lied to again.

He wanted the damned _truth_.

"Yes," Steam answered, turning to face Jet. "I know her… decently well by now. You got your quiet side from her, without a doubt." At this, Jet was silent, once more faced with a dilemma where he just didn't know _what_ to say. There were far too many thoughts racing through his mind for him to give any sort of a decent reply, so he just kept his mouth shut. "Your father is… a man of passion and pure will. When you do one day get to see them both, just watch out. He's a prankster, and good at it much like you."

Though Jet sort of huffed (mostly to cover up the fact that he was busy curbing his emotions right now), he didn't deny the implications. "Hnn," he murmured vaguely in lieu of an actual reply.

After some consideration, Steam decided to give one last vague and dark hint of the future. "You're gonna have to decide if you can be the one to kill a person you all care for. Someone you all love and that no longer knows love for themself or others. That person you can say that you will always look up to until they are turned from you and walking away as your bloodied corpse lies there on the ground, waiting to come back and try again. Or, you can decide to suffer at their hands, allowing them to beat and cut you down over and over as you try to save them from a fate they never deserved to live through." He hated this, not being able to just _say_ it.

 _It always has to end on an ominous note, doesn't it?_ Closing his eyes again, Jet gave himself some time to fully process everything he had been told. He also made sure to fully collect himself (any mention of his mother _always_ got him upset, unfortunately) before speaking. "And why are you warning _me_ , specifically, about most of these things?" he asked quietly. After all, _most_ people typically went to Sonic for matters like this before even going to people like _Kaden_.

"It's not just for you. This is about _everyone_. _Everything_. But you… you sadly become the center of it all. I hate that for you." Steam groaned and sat down, sighing gently. "You know of the main seven in existence, correct?"

A moment of rare confusion had to pass before Jet had any sort of idea what Steam might have been talking about. "The timelines?"

Steam nodded in confirmation. "Are you aware of which one you reside in out of those?"

Jet frowned at the randomness of the question, but nevertheless answered, "This is the sixth."

"And you know which you originate from, I presume?"

Now _that_ made Jet really frown. Wasn't he born _here_? "...What are you talking about?" he eventually asked, though he was suddenly wary of the answer.

"You… technically don't belong here. Now, though, you've been mingled into this timeline and you're an Immortal here. Do you know what happens when the timelines are essentially destroyed?" Steam asked, sitting up straight.

Given that he was still very new to his training and studies as an Immortal, Jet had to reluctantly admit that he didn't. Or, at least, he wasn't totally _certain_. Sure, he knew for sure what happened when one messed with reality in one timeline and how the effects of that would ripple through all the others, but... this was different. "No."

He closed his eyes. "Everything else could fall apart, for lack of a more thorough explanation. If _they_ succeed, _everything_ could be destroyed. That's why I'm giving these warnings. If you fuck up somewhere along the line, the repercussions will be definite. And if you so decide to share any information you find with your allies, it could make things several times easier."

 _So don't fuck up or everything practically doomed… Lovely. Just fucking great._ Stifling his irritation, Jet just nodded vaguely so he couldn't be accused of ignoring what he'd been told.

"You don't have to hide it, Jet. This kind of thing would piss me off, if I'm honest," he admitted quietly, shifting a bit and rubbing the top of his head. "Besides… it's not all going to suck. You've got allies all around that will help, some unlikely companions, and even enemies that will fight each other at times. All you have to do is be the one who moves and helps everyone else make the same steps you do."

A small pause, then Jet asked simply, "Are you allowed to say how long I have before this all starts?" If he had time to try to prepare, then he wanted to know. Now.

Steam nodded slowly. "You've got a long time before any of the real threats show their faces. Perhaps… not as long as you may want, but it's enough time to get your preparations in."

Eventually, Jet nodded again, though the vagueness of this response bothered him. "Fine." With that simple response, he stood up to resume cleaning up this mess. He needed to get this done before he worried about anything else.

"Small gift from me to you, since I can tell you may want to do some other things." Steam stood up quietly and waved his hand lightly, a golden glow surrounding it and the rubble around them. It was all cleared up and set aside. "You can start doing some real searching if you want. If you want to talk or ask about anything, you can try to find me or ask Cere."

This time, Jet's nod was a bit… grateful. "Fine," he said again, his voice a murmur. His eyes were locked on the previously blocked entrance to his kid's game room nearby, where Lucas had once spent a lot of time. Stifling all the memories simply seeing that room was causing was… difficult.

After a moment of hesitation, Steam turned away. "Sorry about what happened. If I could have done something… I can't say I wouldn't have tried." A portal opened and he walked through wordlessly, leaving Jet alone as he had been before.

Too pained to speak anymore, even if Steam _hadn't_ just left, Jet simply resumed cleaning.

 **~台風の目~**

Less than two weeks after Marthal and Keiri shared the news of Keiri's pregnancy, in very early December, Sonic and Amy learned that they were also expecting their very first child together… and in the midst of their shock and rapidly blooming joy, they simply could _not_ stop hugging each other.

 **~台風の目~**

December twelfth was the day that Blaze and Silver's second child was born. It was a little boy, his fur white as the moon and his body positively overflowing with Light. That Light created a gentle aura around him for hours, and earned more smiles than anyone had anticipated seeing even on a day like this. His hair was gently spiked (unsurprising, given that both windswept and spiky hair ran in the family from Kaden's side), and when he opened his eyes…

Amber.

 **~台風の目~**

It was January now, and Jet had spent most of his morning on Mobius visiting baby Kohaku, young Kimmy, and their parents. Now, however, he and Tails were in the palace together following a small training session that they had just finished. They spent quite a long time just talking about various things when, somehow, the Immortals were brought up. This led in to Tails soon making a comment that completely caught Jet off-guard. "I always knew you were an Immortal, you know. Or at least, I suspected it."

Jet frowned slightly and looked at him. "What?"

Smiling, Tails said, "I did, you know, and I can prove it."

Blue eyes glanced to the unfinished device Tails held in his hands. "Using that thing, I'm assuming," he guessed blandly.

"Yep!" Tails grinned. "See, it lets you view the user's memories. It's not done yet, obviously, but it works well enough to view short memories without an issue."

Resigned to the idea of doing this, Jet waved a hand. "Go on, then."

In response, Tails got everything set up and they began to watch.

 _Side by side the pair worked, diligently repairing the wiring in various ruined appliances in the kitchen. The hole now repaired, they were the only ones up. Everyone else had gone to bed. As they worked, the young fox spoke first. "You got awfully worked up when Shadow made that comment about the Immortals." The only response his sensei deigned to give was a small snort, as if to say, Hardly. Tails looked at him. "Any reason why?" he inquired rather casually._

 _Jet, too, paused in his work and returned Tails's look. "What are you getting at, kid?" There was a note of suspicion in his tone that could also subtly be seen in his perfect, piercing blue eyes._

 _Shrugging, Tails looked away and resumed working to finish the coffee machine on the counter before them. "Nothing," he responded simply and easily._

 _Still looking suspicious, Jet slowly returned his attention to the toaster and began working again as well._

Now Jet was frowning again, just a bit. He thought back to that time, recalling the circumstances leading up to that interaction. The Metarex had attacked the ship earlier in the day and blown a hole into the Blue Typhoon, hence the pair working to repair it. And even earlier than that, Shadow had made some sort of a comment about the other Immortals not "bothering" to help them and, well… Jet had gotten irritated. And made a bit of a harsh retort to him… in front of everyone. And, apparently, blown his cover without fully realizing it... and then apparently later forgotten. "Fine, you were right," he huffed, though not with any sort of irritation or anything. "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," Tails laughed. He shut his device back down.

Smirking a bit, Jet returned his focus to making himself some coffee.

 **~台風の目~**

February was a month of pain and grief for Vanilla. She was more ill than ever, and she could feel that her time was coming soon. It was all she could do not to let her pain show, not to let her poor daughter see what was going on under the surface. Poor Cream worried far too much already… So, in an effort to cheer the child and her Chao up, Vanilla summoned up all of her strength in order to take the two young ones out for a picnic day in the meadows. It was the last time she would ever be able to do so.

 **~台風の目~**

"You're _joking_ ," Sonic said with feeling, staring at Jet. The two were hanging out together outside of Sonic's house on a bright morning in March.

Jet shook his head. "Not at all," he assured.

"Tammy and Arthr dating," Sonic murmured. "Who'd have thought."

At this, Jet smirked faintly. "You really are blind sometimes."

Emerald eyes glanced his way. "Huh?"

"This has been a _long_ time coming, dumbass," Jet chuckled. "They've been dancing around each other since the Syxan War. Even Wave mentioned she saw it coming, and she hasn't known them any longer than you."

Sonic couldn't resist a smirk. "So even _you_ saw it coming for once, huh?"

"Oh, shut up," Jet huffed, clearly a little less than amused by Sonic's teasing.

"Make me," Sonic laughed. Jet proceeded to give him a mild _zap_ with his lightning and, though Sonic yelped and cursed at him (and Jet, of course, smirked like the smart-ass he was), he had to concede that he _might_ have deserved that one.

That didn't mean he was sorry, though.

 **~台風の目~**

Birthday parties were… obnoxious affairs, in Shadow's opinion. Or, at least, they _usually_ were. They were loud, they were (depending on whose birthday it was) full of people he didn't know and often didn't like, they were chaotic, they were long, they were just _horrible_. In spite of all that, though, he had always done his level best to make sure that Lia was able to celebrate her birthday happily each and every year. He may have hated birthday parties, but that didn't mean that she had to suffer as a result. So, just as he did every year, Shadow carefully got everything ready throughout the month of March until, finally, the twenty-eighth came around. Not only did her party manage to surprise her, but it left her positively beaming for the entirety of the day.

That alone made all the madness, the mess, the hordes of kids, the noise, the chaos, all of it… worth it.

 **~台風の目~**

It was the second week of April when Vanilla finally succumbed to her painful illness and died. The funeral the next week was so full of pain and drowning so completely in tears that Cream almost couldn't bear it… but for the sake of her poor, poor mother, she knew she had to stay. She stayed, and she watched as the casket was put into the ground and Vanilla was laid to rest. At that point, the sobs she had been trying to restrain finally escaped her. Strong red arms wrapped around her ( _Locke's_ , she realized vaguely), but the tight hug could only do so much to help.

Her heart was utterly, _utterly_ broken.

 **~台風の目~**

For about a week following Vanilla's death Cream had been staying with Sonic, Amy, and the twins. However, the moment she caught wind of something else that was changing in their lives elsewhere… she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

News came from Spagonia that Espio was leaving the Chaotix Detective Agency and, thus, Vector and Charmy. He had been feeling restless, from what she'd heard, and was setting out to wander the world… travel… learn… rediscover who he was… train… and Cream was desperate to go with him. She had always been very close to him and, honestly, she had started to look at him as an almost sort of fatherly figure as of late. After all, he was (to her) everything that a father _should_ be. So she got into contact with him, prepared to beg and plead for him to take her with him… but, in the end, it didn't come to that. He agreed fairly easily, for the first time since her mother's death she managed to smile just a bit.

Days later, about midway into April, they left on their journey.

 **~台風の目~**

 **6,953 words this time. Sorry for the delay, as usual... but this one's nice and long, at least. Hope you all enjoyed, and many thanks to Blazing Winds for writing in Steam for me (that's his character, as are Astra and Rose). Also, as for what a yokai is... yeah, I took the easy way out in that scene since I'm not sure how to explain it honestly. You can find plenty of information online, though. And, lastly, "neko" is Japanese for "cat". '**

 **TWO MORE CHAPTERS UNTIL THIS STORY ENDS, GUYS!**

 **Til next time! Posted (at about 11:20 a.m.) 09-20-18.**


	120. Bonds

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this collection of peaceful scenes... especially for the one who doesn't mind his family obligations as much as he'd like to let on.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Oh, no, I knew what chapter you reviewed on. I just didn't do the reply in the Bonus Chapter due to time constraints, so I did it in the last chapter instead. :P Anyway, yes, there certainly is a _very_ tough journey ahead in the near future. And yeah, I suppose it has been, hasn't it? XD Anyway, hope you enjoy this! **

**~台風の目~**

 **"Bonds"**

 **~台風の目~**

Knuckles and Rouge sat side by side on a beautiful spring morning. It was the month of May, and they had taken their sons outside for some much-needed play. There had been an unexpected rainstorm earlier in the week that had kept the boys cooped up for a couple of days, and they were still far too full of energy for their own good. So, naturally, a fair number of hours of outdoor play were _definitely_ in order. Jason busied himself with manipulating some of the rocks in the area (Jet had been training him for months now, and Jason's control was really growing) while young Kayde toddled around near his parents, occasionally picking up items of apparent interest to bring to Rouge for her to examine. Each and every time, Knuckles spied her tucking the items away to keep for a time… and though he shook his head at her, he also smiled.

 **~台風の目~**

In early May, Wave was off visiting her parents while her younger brother Alec played video games in his room. While her mother Mara was busy finishing some work on her laptop nearby, Wave spent some time talking to her father Han. She had brought up the conversation that she and Jet had had together when traveling to Eniwer. In particular, the parts about Hexan magic, aging, and lifespans. Han confirmed what Jet had speculated about Wave's aging (namely that she would age like a Babylonian, despite being half-Hexan, until she unlocked her dormant magical abilities). He also confirmed that Hexans were, indeed, one of the longest-lived and slowest-aging (hence Han still being a mere _sixteen_ in his years) mortals in the whole of existence. Not that Wave had doubted these things when Jet had said them. Hearing it from her father just… further solidified the truth in her mind.

Right now, however, she had a much more important question to ask. "There's something else, Dad," she said. "Jet also mentioned that, with you being sixteen right now," God, that was hard to wrap her mind around, "you're old enough to have lived through the Nocturnian War. The first one, I mean. The one that happened around twenty-five to twenty-seven million years ago."

"I did," Han replied, nodding a little. He headed off her next questions by adding, "I was fifteen then and, yes, I witnessed it in part."

The idea that Han had only aged _one_ year in his years in all that time absolutely blew Wave's mind, but she forged on. "You had left your home realm by then?"

Another nod. "I had," Han told her. "I had traveled between numerous realms before winding up in this one, and even when I reached here I did not immediately go to Mobius. I found my way to Babylon far before then."

"But you didn't stay there, right?" Wave asked. "I thought you've mentioned before that you traveled to many other worlds for a lot of years before meeting mom on Babylon and then staying with her there."

"Yes. And when I did finally reach Mobius, it was already locked in the grips of war." Han's gaze drifted out a window. "I was reckless then, but I did not fancy my chances against the likes of Ix, Shade, Kethro, and their generals. So, needless to say, I did not stay long."

"And you didn't come back until Babylon was destroyed," Wave murmured, "and you, mom, and everyone else who followed Queen Laralei ended up here, inciting an entirely new war." Han murmured some sort of vague agreement. Wave frowned slightly. "Why didn't you ever mention any of this before, dad?" A shrug. However, Wave understood in small part the answer to her question. _...Jet did say Hexans are notoriously secretive…_ "And why didn't you help fight in this last war, dad?"

"We did, Wave," Mara soothed, suddenly jumping into the conversation. "No, we didn't join you all in space for a number of reasons," Wave suspected one was the simple fact that she had had their ship, "but we did what we could here, defending the cities and those in them alongside everyone else who could fight."

Wave sighed heavily and looked down, feeling a touch guilty at her almost-angry. "...Right… of course. I'm sorry." Smiling gently, Mara placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. Soon, Wave smiled back.

 **~台風の目~**

It was June and Silver and Blaze had were taking their kids on a little trip to the beach. Silver used his powers to fly and simultaneously carry Blaze along with him. She held little Kohaku in her arms while he very carefully held Kimmy piggy-back style for her enjoyment. The sheer, raw wonder in Kohaku's wide and innocent eyes coupled with Kimmy's blissful laughter guaranteed wide smiles from both of their parents.

 **~台風の目~**

July twenty-fourth was the day that Marthal and Keiri finally welcomed the first child into their family. Her fur was fiery orange just like her father's while her eyes were a bit of a mix of his and Keiri's. Rather than deep blue like Marthal's or stormy grey like Keiri's, they were a very unique shade of bluish grey. And, just as they had decided so long ago, they named her Mei.

 **~台風の目~**

August found Vector and Charmy inside their home enjoying the AC during the heat of the day. The pair were seated together in the young bee's bedroom playing a PVP match in a fighting game. Charmy happened to be kicking Vector's butt despite Vector's best attempts to turn the tables, but the crocodile was determined. Oh, he would wipe that smug little grin off that kid's face… one way or another.

 **~台風の目~**

On August twelfth, Sonic and Amy's daughter was born. She was pink like her mother with Sonic's telltale Emerald eyes. Her hair was spiked in a way that was reminiscent of Shadow's hair, though her bangs were normal and flat like Amy's. When Sonic insisted that Amy be the one to name her, Amy took her time to think. In the end, she named their baby Emi.

 **~台風の目~**

Jet was in one of the palace's indoor swimming pools with his kids in mid-September. The pool was heated just enough to be comfortably warm, and Hannah and Ten were energetically enjoying both the warmth and the water as the played near the pool's deep end. Jet stayed in the shallows with little Suri, holding her up while she squealed and splashed around. Unable to suppress it, Jet occasionally (and quietly) joined in her laughter.

 **~台風の目~**

In late September, Marthal and Keiri found out that they had unintentionally conceived a second child despite having only so recently had their first. However, though they were both undeniably surprised and maybe even a touch overwhelmed by the idea of having to little ones so close in age, they ultimately decided to just be grateful for the surprise. After all, at least this way their rambunctious first-born would finally have a playmate.

 **~台風の目~**

Storm was hanging out in the apartment that he shared with his girlfriend Keilin. She was sleeping in still, something he normally would have also been doing had hunger not driven him to get up already (despite the fact that it was October, cold, and he had wanted to remain buried in his blankets). He had just raided the fridge not ten minutes ago and was sitting on the couch with the TV on when he received a message on his long-neglected communicator. Pulling the device off of the little side table it had been resting on for the past several months since he'd last moved it, he read the message. Much to his surprise, it was an invitation to meet up and hang out with a couple of old friends… and it had come from Jet. Sitting up, he quickly scarfed down the rest of his food and went to wake up Keilin.

Suddenly, he had plans for the day.

 **~台風の目~**

Silver, Blaze, and everyone around them received quite the surprise on November tenth when a baby literally no one knew was coming was suddenly born. The child was a small white cat with blue eyes (the very same shade of blue as Kaden's when he used his magic) and she, like Kohaku, was so filled with Light that it flooded everyone's senses for a time immediately following her birth. They had no names planned for the child, since of course she had been a surprise, but in the end, Silver and Blaze settled on one for her.

On that day, little Ava was welcomed into the family.

 **~台風の目~**

Christmas day found everyone, sans Espio, Cream, and Cheese, gathered at Sonic's house (if only because it was large enough to hold everyone). Even Storm and Keilin, whom were now fully acquainted with (or reacquainted with in Storm's case) the group and had been hanging out a lot as such, had joined everyone here on this day. The whole group had fun all throughout the day, and everyone received gifts that they truly enjoyed or even love, and many smiles and laughs were shared. The dinner they all shared at the end of the day truly ended everything on a high note and, in Sonic's humble opinion, the entire day was a success. He didn't think he had felt so happy in a long, long time, save for when his daughter had been born… and he was eager for more days like this one.

 **~台風の目~**

It was early January and Tails was hard at work in his workshop/lab. Dozens of half-finished and neglected inventions and experiments littered the tables around him, but they went ignored. He was on the cusp of one of the greatest scientific discoveries in Mobian history, a way to revolutionize space travel for the whole of the planet, and he would be _damned_ if he didn't continue to pursue it to the very end. It would by no means bring their capabilities up to par with that of the Babylonians… but it was a start.

 **~台風の目~**

February twenty-sixth brought with it cold snows and the birth of yet another new member to Sonic's family: his and Amy's second child. The child was a surprise to everyone but them, for they had intended for it to be that way, and had windswept hair just like Sonic. Their fur was an odd yet refreshingly unique shade of blue, a mix of blue and (curiously enough) grey that was both dull… and almost sort of beautiful. The color, Sonic suspected, was a partial physical expression of the latent Light and Dark energies that the child and Emi (just like Sen, Sarai, Silver, Kimmy, Kohaku, Ava and Sonic himself) all possessed. However, while Emi, Kimmy, and Sarai possessed higher levels of Darkness than Light, this child, Silver, Kohaku, Ava, and Sen possessed higher levels of _Light_.

That was a matter to focus on later, when the kids were actually old enough to train, and Sonic new it. As such, he put it out of mind for now. Besides, he had something more important to deal with. It was his turn to name the child, after all, and after a few moments of consideration he did so. It perhaps wasn't the most creative name in the world but, then, neither was Silver. So, settled on his decision, he let everyone else know what he had decided.

Their son's name was Grey.

 **~台風の目~**

In March, Knuckles and Rouge were again out with their sons. Locke had joined them on this particular day, and the three adults were working together to introduce the young boys to some of the easier aspects of treasure hunting. Jason knew much of this already, but he was eager to learn more. Kayde, meanwhile, was likely too little to fully grasp yet what in the world they were even doing. Still, he _did_ manage to find an old coin that Locke had hid in order for Jason to hunt it down… so maybe he knew a little something about all of this, after all.

 **~台風の目~**

On a truly beautiful day in early April, Silver insisted on taking his family out to a park to play (ostensibly because the kids needed some fresh air and not just him). Kimmy was extremely eager to go and introduce her little siblings to the joys of the playground, so Blaze caved to their collective wills with a smile and helped her husband pack a bag of snacks, drinks, and so on for the impromptu excursion. The pair spent the day playing with their young children, keeping them safe on the equipment, and just in general having fun with them. The trip back at the end of the day, short though that trip ultimately was, resulted in all three kids being fast asleep in no time flat with the most angelic looks on their little faces.

Personally, Silver considered it a day _perfectly_ spent.

 **~台風の目~**

Tails was walking alone in mid-April to the old orphanage where he had met Alex, questioning himself and what he was doing all the while. In his mind he questioned his own motives, but ultimately he could think of no single reason for what he was about to do. Still, he was determined. His mind was set. Today was the day he was finally going to do it… He was going to adopt Alex.

 **~台風の目~**

For the first time in more than a century, it was going to happen. It had taken much convincing from Wave for him to finally give in and agree, but she had done it. Now, on this beautiful, breezy day in late April, Jet was going to have a race with her on Extreme Gear… his first such race (aside from the little fun ones he had with his kids now and then) since before he had left Mobius for New Babylon to aid in the Syxan War. He was a bit quiet leading up to the actual event, but as soon as they shot off on their boards… she knew she had been right in her long-lasting suspicions.

He had _missed_ this.

The pair flew at high speeds, executing masterful maneuvers, trading lighthearted taunts and teases, engaging in friendly banter, betting jokingly on who was going to win and who wasn't… All the while, Wave relished in the fact that she had been right about this, too. Namely, the fact that they really _were_ alright now. The awkwardness and pain of their past together was gone. All wrongs, perceived or actual by both parties, had been forgiven and left behind. They were truly at ease with one another just like they had once been and, most importantly… they were finally _friends_ again. And that meant more to her than he would ever know.

 **~台風の目~**

In the quiet of the night in early May, Espio and Cream rested in their latest campsite. The pair had spent the entirety of the day training up until just a scat few hours ago. Espio had been teaching Cream lately how to better fight and defend herself physically and not _just_ mentally, and that meant engaging in forms of combat she had previously had no experience with. Each training session left her exhausted, battered, and bruised (though he took care to never really hurt her), but she knew that she was improving… and she was determined to get better. The fact that she was drowning out her inner pains with physical actions was a matter of the heart to be confronted at another time, when she was truly ready for it. For now… For now, she just wanted to focus and train in order grow into the best person she could be.

 _Just as Mother would have wanted._

 **~台風の目~**

May fourth was when Marthal and Keiri's second (and last, they had decided) child was born. Unlike her sister, she had both her mother's fur and eye colors, white and stormy grey respectively. She was a tiny little thing, small even for her extremely young age, but her parents sensed a strength in her that would no doubt be recognized one day. This time, though, the young couple decided that a relatively common name fit the girl best. So, in the end, she was given that name. Natallie.

 **~台風の目~**

When Wave mentioned to Amy near the end of May that Arthr and Tammy had just gotten married the day before, she was properly surprised by the suddenness of it all. Until, that is, she learned just how long the pair had known and cared for one another. It became less surprising then and more something sweet for them to talk about, despite Amy having never known the two Babylonians very well. Still, she was happy for them, and she could tell Wave was too. And seeing Wave happy after so many years of melancholy and outright depression was more than enough to make the young mother smile.

 **~台風の目~**

Sonic and Amy were relaxing in their house in mid-June while the twins played with their young niece and nephew. Emi, being the vocal and outgoing girl that she was, let her enjoyment of their little game be known with a series of squeals, happy giggles, and wide smiles. Grey, meanwhile, was quieter about it all. He smiled and very clearly enjoyed himself, but didn't ever vocalize it much. It made Sonic think so much about his mother and father… and though those thoughts hurt, they ultimately made him smile more than anything else.

After all… there were worse ways to be reminded of the dead.

 **~台風の目~**

In June, Marthal and Keiri were in their backyard with their daughters. Keiri was happily playing with the children while Marthal focused on repairing (or trying to repair) a broken toy horse. The girls were all having fun and laughing and smiling together and, eventually, enough of that rubbed off on Marthal to force him to smile as well… and also to abandon his little project and go join them in the large sandbox. Repairs be damned, it was time to play.

 **~台風の目~**

Shadow was babysitting Emi and Grey at his house in July. Lia was at a friend's house for the day and Sonic and Amy had asked him to watch the two little ones so that they could give the twins some much needed one-on-one time. He had agreed, so now Sonic was off with Sarai at a pet store looking for a lizard for her to buy (she had wanted one for ages now) while Amy and Sen visited a local art museum together due to their shared enjoyment of the subject. So, here Shadow was, watching two very young children wreak havoc in his house and make messes everywhere. It was like having baby Lia in his house all over again, times _two_. And yet, somehow, he found he didn't really mind.

 **~台風の目~**

It was August now and Jet was visiting Sonic on Mobius. Amy was out with the twins at a nearby carnival, leaving Sonic home alone with Emi and Grey. Jet's decision to stop by and visit had been a surprise, but a pleasant one. Equally pleasant and smile-inducing was watching the hawk interact with the two little hedgehogs, fully taking on and probably even enjoying his role as their uncle in everything but blood.

"You know, up until these last few years happened," Sonic smiled, "I never thought I'd see you _willingly_ doing stuff like this."

Jet, who had been helping little Emi color a picture, looked up at him. "Like what?" he asked.

"You know, playing with kids and such," Sonic shrugged. "I mean, you were always pretty willing to interact with Cream, but she was the exception rather than the rule once upon a time."

After a moment, Jet looked back down at what he was doing. "Things do change, Sonic."

Sonic's smile grew immediately. "Oh, I know. And that's not at all a bad thing in this case. I'm just saying."

"And what about you, then?" Jet suddenly inquired.

The tables had turned, and Sonic blinked. "What about me?"

"You were intent, once upon a time, on having no friends, never starting a family, trusting no one, relying only upon yourself… and look at you now." With slow, careful motions of his hand, Jet finished coloring the picture Emi had begged him to help her with and handed it to the child. She beamed and ran off with her little treasure. "You have three kids and as many grandkids, more friends than you've probably ever bothered to count, and are among the most _trusting_ people I have ever managed to meet."

Now Sonic was _really_ smiling. "The same could be said about you, you know," he reminded easily. "Well, maybe minus that last part. But even still."

Though Jet shrugged a little, he now sported the shadow of a smile of his own. "Perhaps," he allowed vaguely, standing up. He walked toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water and, soon, Sonic walked after him. He really, truly had his best friend back… and he couldn't have been happier about it.

 **~台風の目~**

 **3,677 words this time. Woo! Only one more chapter to go, everyone! And then it's on to the next story, Eternal Shadow Falls! :D (For more information on the story plans, by the way, visit my profile at any time to see the full list.) Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 7:10 p.m.) 09-22-18.**


	121. Hope For the Future

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this collection of premonitions... especially for the one who refuses to miss even a single moment.

 **~台風の目~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Haha, yeah, poor Shadow. XD Oh no, don't cry! Here, take a tissue! *Throws box of Kleenex* Anyway, hope you enjoy this last installment to the story!**

 **~台風の目~**

 **"Hope for the Future"**

 **~台風の目~**

Years had passed since the year that Grey and the other kids had been born. Wave and Jet had spent many days during that time just as they were spending this one, by training on the palace grounds. They were currently engaged in one of their fiercest sparring matches yet, one that was forcing each of them to stay completely focused and at the top of their game in order to avoid actual injury.

As Wave swung her sword at him, Jet nimbly jumped to the side and aimed a blast of aura in her direction. She countered with a surge of her own aura, creating an explosion that knocked them both back. A split second later, their swords collided with enough force to cause sparks to shoot out frantically from the point of contact. Jet quickly eyed Wave's stance, but found nothing to correct. In fact, that had been the case for several years now. She had just about perfected everything he had spent so long teaching her and, as such, the two were on near equal footing as far as skills went. Old habits simply died hard, he supposed. Perhaps he had grown to used to the role of 'teacher' for his own good.

The energy crackling between their blades finally had to be released, and it did so strongly enough to again send both him and Wave skidding backward and away from each other. Wave, tired though she seemed to be getting from their long hours of combat, smirked at him. "Heh. I think we may be on the verge of reaching an impasse."

Jet quirked a brow at her assessment, but had to agree. "Hnn, perhaps," he allowed. Then, feeling an urge to tease, he shifted his stance and asked, "Are you finished, then?"

Her smirk shifted into a confident grin. She, too, moved back into a fighting stance. "Not a chance. Unless you are, of course."

"As if I would yield first," Jet huffed, feigning indignation at the very idea. His little show made her laugh, and he allowed himself a small smirk.

"Never," Wave said with feeling, still chuckling. "It would hardly be befitting of a king to do so, now would it?"

Heavenly blue eyes indulged in a rare roll toward the heavens. Still, he joked right back again, feeling too relaxed to not do so. "Hush, now," he told her simply. "No one needs to hear you say such things."

"Oh, fine, if you insist." Wave smiled and readied her sword. "Shall we continue, then?"

"I do insist," Jet replied, his smirk growing a touch wider. "And, yes… if you are ready."

"Very much so." With no further warning, Wave rushed at him. He ran forward and matched her pace, his sword also at the ready. Only, this time, as their swords clashed, he heard a voice in his head… heard a sentence he hadn't heard or even really thought about since the first and only other time he had heard it, back on the Blue Typhoon during the Nocturnian War… in the dead of night… in a dream that had in actuality been some sort of a vision… a dark glimpse of things that were possibly to come.

 _"Have you told the boy that everyone who walks with you dies, Jet?!"_

That simple sentence shouted in his head distracted Jet enough to allow Wave to nearly break his guard, but he managed to recover enough to knock her back a couple of feet and buy himself a few seconds to think. It likely wouldn't be enough, but it was all he had and all he could do was work it because that _voice_ … He _knew_ that voice. He had known it since he had had that horrible, fiery vision so long ago.

Kaden's voice…

To this day, Jet didn't understand it. Especially now that Kaden was dead, it was hard to explain why he'd heard the man's voice in a vision about the future (though a couple of specific reasons could be given to explain it, each a tad unlikely perhaps but viable nevertheless). But that wasn't the only thing about this that Jet didn't understand. He also couldn't make sense of _why_ Kaden would be saying such a thing, let alone with such fury and hatred in his voice… The words _dripped_ with venom, and it made no _sense_. That simply was _not_ a tone Kaden used. And certainly not around those he cared for in any capacity. _So why, then?_

His few seconds of reprieve over, Jet was forced to return his focus to the present. He swiftly dodged under another swing of Wave's sword by ducking under it, then used a fast swipe of his left leg to knock both of hers out from under her. Using the opportunity as it presented himself, he leapt away and again fired a blast of aura at her. She defended herself with a nearly flawless aura barrier that he had no time to really look at before his attack hit it. The collision raised a cloud of dirt from the ground and temporarily prevented Jet from seeing Wave. It hardly mattered anyway, however, for not even a full second later he felt a piercing pain in his skull, followed by the sound of that _voice_ again… It carried the same message as before, demanding an answer to the same question in the same tone as Jet had previously heard.

 _"Have you told the boy that everyone who walks with you dies, Jet?!"_

Jet had no answer to this question, though he understood the truth that it carried. It was a reality he had privately faced over and over and over again all throughout his life, a realization he had come to all over again during the Nocturnian War. He still remembered his own specific thoughts on the matter when it had, in his thoughts, come up back then. _"An instant is time enough for tragedy. Even if tragedy fails to strike now… it will come. With time, it will come. And one day… I will outlive everyone here… And one day, I will lose them all, all over again."_

It was a truth too painful to contemplate, and yet… it kept coming up. After all, his own prediction had begun coming true _long_ before he had even made it. Countless people he had known had died in front of, around, and at times nowhere near him by Syxan hands during the war he had helped fight against them. Selene had died, murdered in front of him by the Syxan King. Ross had died years later, murdered by Nocturnians. Kath and Azerel had met a similar fate in space, specifically by Kethro's hands. Lucas had succumbed to his injuries, injuries sustained by who else but more Nocturnians, and died in the Blue Typhoon's medical ward. Kaden and Analia, the only people he had ever regarded as parental figures, had died in the midst of the final fight against those bastards, right in front of nearly everyone. Vanilla had died, ill and in pain, from the effects of the Black Magic and whatever else she had been exposed to during the war.

Far more recently than that, Cheese, being but a Chao with a fairly short lifespan overall, had passed from his equivalent to old age. Keiri had died of a mysterious illness, one that even Amy didn't know how to cure, in a hospital. Later, young Mei succumbed to the same illness. Even Storm's long-time girlfriend Keilin was dead, killed by a seemingly minor injury that, when left untreated, proved itself in the end to be anything _but_ minor.

These people were all dead and gone. That much was true. But what was also true was the fact that this would never be the end of the list of people, friends, acquaintances, or otherwise, that he was destined to one day lose. Even his own children, Sonic, and Wave would one day be gone and _that_ … that hurt him _far_ more than he trusted himself to ever be able to express. There was no time to, anyway. That searing pain in his skull was only building and he knew what was coming. Another vision. Perhaps more than one. He could distantly hear Wave's voice somewhere calling his name, but soon it was gone, drowned out by his latest glimpses into his own future... a future perhaps best left unknown.

(-)

 _In the vision, Jet stood in a dimly lit room beside a window. Outside, it was snowing quite hard but despite the undoubtedly very cold temperatures, the hawk wasn't even so much as wearing his scarf for warmth. He stood with his arms crossed, expression so indifferent as to appear almost bored. However, vague flashes of temper sparked just underneath that mask, sparks that made themselves quite known from time to time as he spoke to someone whose image was blurred beyond recognition in the vision._

 _"Jet," the person, another male, as saying, "you have to do something about this. This force, entity, whatever it is can't remain unchecked any longer and you know that."_

 _Blue eyes narrowed very slightly. "I do not have to do anything," he reminded, chafing as always over the implications of being told what to do. However, he quickly reigned in that bit of irritation and added, "There is little to be done, at any rate."_

 _"Yes there is!" the other man disagreed earnestly. "You could kill it, for one thing!"_

 _Jet had to stifle a rare sigh before it could escape him. "No. I cannot." 'I can't even claim to be certain that it is capable of death...'_

 _"You're the only one who stands any chance of doing it," came the quick argument, "especially since it's tied itself to you. The rest of us would just be wiped from existence without that thing even lifting a finger. ...If it has fingers."_

 _There was a reply on the tip of Jet's tongue, one that he didn't care to voice. Still, though, it ran through his mind. 'It doesn't.'_

 _"And that's another thing," the person continued, tone sharpening out of what Jet could only guess was some sort of misplaced concern. "The fact that it has tied itself to you, and so deeply, is- is- God, I don't even know what it is, I just know that it's bad. I don't know if you just don't see it, but the rest of us do. It's changing you, Jet, and we're all worried about you because of it."_

 _Slowly, Jet blinked. '...Misplaced indeed.' Turning, he started to walk out of the room. Before his companion could try to say something to stop him, he headed off the incoming words by saying, "If you think I intend to sit idly by and allow it to see its plans come to fruition, then you are mistaken." Seeing no point in further explaining himself, he continued on his way out of the room._

(-)

 _In the next vision, Jet was idly examining and messing with various weapons he had removed from his private stash earlier in the day. There was no real reason for any of it, but he spent some time practicing shooting some of his guns, throwing a few knives, aiming a laser or two, and so on before finally sitting down, bored, in the frost-licked grass. Ornate dagger in hand, he gazed upon his reflection in the shimmering metal and took in his own painfully bored expression. Then he shifted, traced a finger in a very particular path over the blade's side, and shining blue lines began to appear. They followed his finger through its swift and complex path, creating a glowing symbol that previously had not been there before._ _Suddenly, his dagger was filled with the essence of ice energy itself and his previously quiet companion apparently felt compelled to no longer be so quiet._

 _Nier, Babylonian and God of Runes, approached. His aura revealed that he was feeling equal parts amazed, surprised, and confused all at once, but it was only the latter emotion that he wound up expressing initially. "You... just drew a rune."_

 _Jet tilted the dagger this way and that, examining his little drawing from multiple angles. It was hardly perfect, nor had he managed to create it in anywhere near as short a time as Nier could, but... he had managed to create it nevertheless. Honestly, he himself was a bit surprised over that. "...Yes," he finally said in agreement."_

 _Nier knelt down beside him and, with Jet's unspoken permission, took the dagger to also examine the rune. "I mean, this could use some work but even still... You actually drew a rune." Electric blue eyes lifted to look into heavenly blue ones, though Jet was quick to break the eye-contact. "How? Technically speaking, aside from myself and very high level Immortals, no one's supposed to be able to do that." __Jet's right shoulder lifted in a sort of half-shrug. Very high level Immortal he was not, so he had no real explanation to give his friend. That shrug was all he could offer. Nier sighed, but then gave an easy smile. "Well... whatever, I guess. Just, promise me you won't go trying to make runes on your own, okay? It can be dangerous until you know what you're doing. I'll teach you."_

 _That actually wasn't a bad idea, so Jet didn't complain. Instead, he nodded a little. "Alright," he agreed, accepting his dagger back with one hand. God, it had been so long since he had been the student as opposed to the teacher. And, honestly, he wasn't even sure what to feel about that._

(-)

 _"Mind if I sit?" A slow move of Jet's right hand served as invitation to do just that, so Sonic went ahead and took a seat. Jet chose to just lean back against the wall beside a large window, arms comfortably crossed. "So," Sonic began, "I hear you're the person to talk to if I want to know what in the hell's going on these days. More specifically, if I want to know about who you've been fighting." It was hardly a proper or even emotional greeting but, really, neither was usually the sort to tolerate that kind of thing anyway._

 _"There is little to tell about the first one," Jet told him, turning his head to the side to contemplate a bookshelf. His eyes roved over the numerous books, few of which had any titles or other writing on their spines. Still, he knew each by name, had all of their contents so completely memorized that he hadn't had to read a single page out of any of them in many years. "His name is Tein," he murmured, focusing on the matter at hand. "He was a student of mine once, another Immortal. I met him when he was a child. He came to us, myself and the other two Immortals, orphaned and eager for a place to belong. We housed him, and I did what I could to teach him."_

 _Out of the corner of his eye, Jet witnessed Sonic frown a bit. "But something went wrong… didn't it?"_

 _Blue eyes blinked slowly, gaze growing distant. "He was always drawn to darker things… to evil forces that are best left buried. He began to succumb to their lure when he was barely twelve. By the time he was fifteen, there was no saving him… though we tried. Now he is trying his damnedest to raise an unstoppable army, to kill myself and our other kin, and to conquer or destroy any worlds he comes across." Jet closed his eyes. "But that is my problem. Not yours."_

 _"I can help, you know," Sonic argued quietly. "I may not be unkillable, but I'm not useless."_

 _Jet frowned subtly. "I know that."_

 _Apparently unhappy, Sonic questioned, "Then why do you look so unconvinced?"_

 _Something in Jet's eyes had hardened by the time he opened them. "Sonic, there are far darker forces at work right now. This I can handle alone."_

(-)

 _Irritated by the glancing blow, Jet glanced down at his left arm. The foe he was currently facing off against had ripped the actual limb off many eons ago, leaving not even the shoulder behind. A hyper-realistic robotic arm, nearly indistinguishable from his real arm unless one looked on the inside of it, had been there as a replacement for most of his life since then, but now that arm bore a slash that exposed the internal technologies and energies that kept the arm functioning... yet another reminder of yet another thing that this enemy had taken from him._

 _Yet another reason to want to end this threat where it now stood (or, more correctly, floated)... but he could not._

 _As was far from an uncommon sight with this enemy, it slowly began to grin. The expression was wild, manic, and so full of malice that the mere sight of it would have incited feelings far behind terror and horror in the hearts of just about anyone else. But Jet was not as profoundly affected by this attempt at intimidation. In fact, he didn't feel affected at all. Though, really... he supposed that he didn't feel much of anything these days. "If I were you," he murmured, now examining his sword's lethal edge in an almost casual manner, "I would not be going around inciting fresh wars with my many enemies... Especially not when the God of Demons himself is about this close to murdering you and taking your place."_

 _That wiped that grin right off of the enemy's face._

(-)

 _One glance around the battlefield, and Jet knew he was in trouble. When he had encountered this horde of demons out of the blue, he had fully anticipated some trouble. After all, even the weakest of demons were seldom truly weak. And, to top it off, these demons came from the legions that the very God of Demons himself had spent so many long years carefully assembling. That alone separated these threats from the usual riffraff Jet had to face. However, there mere presence here was concerning. His war against that God was meant to far, farremoved from civilized worlds and potential casualties of innocent people and animals, and yet the hordes had spread even to here..._

 _He gritted his teeth subtly and drew his sword. The odds of him escaping from this battle unscathed were minimal, given that he was alone and there were thousands upon thousands of these beasts surrounding him, but... he couldn't just leave them here to wreak havoc. He had to deal with them, if only because no one else could. And if he died yet again in the process... then so be it. He had long reached the point where he no longer cared about such things. Time meant nothing to him. Death meant nothing to him. Life meant nothing nearly ever anymore. At this point, he wasn't even sure why he continued to fight against threats like this._

 _'I fight... for nothing...'_

 _Wasn't he the one who had said that, who had been saying that for more eons now than he cared to count?_

 _Why, then, was he here now, doing this?_

 _Whatever the reason, he supposed it didn't really matter. Not now, or perhaps ever. What mattered was getting this done, driving the demons out of this region and back into their home realm. It was all he could do, and he intended on doing it._

(-)

Wave's voice suddenly cut through the stream of visions and all they contained, and Jet became dimly aware of sitting on his knees in the grass. His fingers were pressed tightly into his temples in an attempt to alleviate the agonizing headache he was suffering through and his expression felt tight with said pain. He could feel Wave's hands on his shoulders, steadying him even as he sat there, unable to respond to her attempts to talk to him. It soon didn't matter anyway, because more visions were coming, and he was helpless to resist them.

(-)

 _Grinning in anticipation, Sonic (who looked to be somewhere in his thirties now) was the first to jump onto his board at the starting line of an Extreme Gear race. Rolling his eyes at his friend's enthusiasm, Jet got on his board as well. This prompted Wave, who was eighteen now and thus only a year his senior in their years, to do the same. The trio traded looks of varying degrees of open excitement and shifted into ready stances. When the signal came for everyone to go, they shot off together, impossibly fast, impossibly coordinated, impossibly skilled, and impossible to defeat._

(-)

 _In the tranquil semi-darkness of night under a blanket of stars and the pure light of the moon, Jet sat with Cosmo under a tree. The pair had been talking just as often as they had not been throughout this night, choosing much of the time to simply sit in companionable silence and enjoy one another's company. Gradually, however, she broke the silence and spoke._

 _"My kind has always survived by the grace of nature," she murmured. Her words were a reminder, a truth as ancient as she. "It is through nature that my people returned, even when I was once the only one left." Her eyes closed as another breeze sifted through the clearing. A lone blossom drifted down the hill. "This creature… this entity… there seems nothing naturalabout it."_

 _The other individual seated here, a male young in appearance yet ancient beyond what most could comprehend, blinked slowly. When he spoke, his words were just as hushed and as a reminder of his own. "It is natural…" he argued, "and I cannot kill it."_

 _Her head dipped down. "Not as you are now," she agreed quietly._

 _After a moment, he turned his head to look at her. "I seem to recall," he said slowly, "having this conversation once before."_

 _His words evoked a small smile from her. Not because he was right - though he was - but because he was speaking more than he normally did. That was a rare thing, and she always appeared to enjoy it when he opted to indulge her in conversation. "That would be because we have… and it is not like you to forget much, when you forget at all." A soft hum served as his only response to that. "Guardian, are you so certain that you will never be the one to end our foe?"_

 _At this, he turned his gaze back to the stars, quietly contemplating every faint glow. She didn't doubt that he saw more, understood more, about those distant lights in the heavens than she ever could. "It is… unreasonable to assume that I will be strong enough to kill it before it is too late. As you are no doubt aware, even my kind can only gain new strength so quickly."_

 _Of course, she understood the implications. He knew she did. "But the only being out there who is strong enough is…"_

 _He cut her off, tone deceptively calm and unconcerned. "I know."_

 _She shook her head slowly, dismayed. "If he is the one to kill that monster… he will then take the beast's place as the most powerful evil entity in existence." She looked directly at him, perhaps hoping as always to gauge the subtleties of his vague responses. "You would have to kill him instead."_

 _Though normally loathe to repeat himself, he soon closed his eyes and did just that. "I know." This time, the response was soft, almost pained, but the hint of emotion his voice had betrayed was hidden away no sooner than it had escaped. "But that fight is not due to take place for many, many years. Our more immediate concern is-"_

 _"Your student, I know."_

 _He actually sighed, though it was subtle enough that she might have honestly missed it. "Yes." She watched him as he moved to stand, bracing a hand on his knee to push himself up. The purity of his white attire caused him to glow softly in the moonlight, much like those pink cherry blossoms that still littered the grass all around. In lieu of a proper farewell, he simply told her, "It is late. I need to return to A'latria."_

 _"I understand." Shifting, she rose to her own feet. "Will you visit again?"_

 _"Soon." From him, this simple response was a promise… One that lingered, long after he vanished._

(-)

 _When Jet broke free of the extreme control their enemy had been exerting over his mind, he wasn't sure what he had been expecting to happen. He knew she had been probing at things deep within him, latent abilities and potential that should have been left untouched until he was properly ready for it... but it seemed she had been greedy, eager for control over every aspect of his power. Even those aspects that he should not have been able to access yet, not now, not at his current level of ability._

 _And yet, here he was._

 _There existed no words to adequately describe the things he felt right now, physically, emotionally, and otherwise. There were no words to describe the things he knew while he was in this state, to explain the sheer knowledge he was tapping into. And the power... there were no words for that, either, and there possibly never would be. He was at a point right now where he was so far beyond mortal manners of thinking and whatnot that he felt no inclination to describe any of it, anyway._

 _Looking at himself, he took in his newfound appearance. He still looked like, well, himself in terms of his general shape and whatnot, but now his body, hair, and so on were far from physical in nature. He was comprised entirely of wisps of pure aura energy and his eyes glowed from within with a light not seen even once since the time of the Faein... the very first Immortals of them all._

 _Blinking slowly, he lowered his hand, acutely aware of everything but in particular the multiple pairs of shocked awestruck eyes staring at him. He, however, focused solely on the one who had pushed him into this raw state of being... the one whom he now intended to fix. Gathering his newly intensified energies, he concentrated it all on her... and in particular, her mind. This woman was broken, yes... but if his life proved anything to him, it was that even those who were broken could be fixed._

(-)

Finally, _finally_ , the flow of visions ceased, though his headache failed to ebb even once his mind was released from those glimpses into the future. He wanted to groan in pain, but he refrained. Especially once he realized that Wave was still there. Her hands were still on his shoulders as she said for perhaps the millionth time, "Jet?" Not trusting himself to speak, Jet just gave a very slight nod. He regretted doing even that, however, due to the pain it instantly caused him. Despite being seated on his knees, he felt himself sort of sway. That was _not_ a good sign, and he knew it.

Feeling like he might pass out from the sheer intensity of this headache alone, Jet sought to find some way to communicate to her that he needed to get inside and lay down or something. Wave, however, already seemed to have the same idea. With only the briefest of warnings, she teleported them both inside to his room and helped him get into bed. Things were going black already by the time his head came to rest on one of the pillows. And yet... somehow... he still managed to feel it when she put a blanket over him and then placed a hand on his cheek.

That feeling stayed with him, even as he succumbed to the darkness for the time being and let himself drift away.

 **~台風の目~**

When Jet woke up an indeterminate amount of time later, it was to the feeling of something small climbing into his bed and on top of him. He knew straight away that it was Suri. The four-year-old (in their years of course) got into the bed behind him and draped herself over his side to peer into his face just as he opened his eyes. "Are you okay yet, Dada? You been sleeping _forever_!"

Turning over, Jet lifted the small girl so that he could sit up, then let her settle into his lap. "Yes," he replied after a brief self-assessment. "I'm alright."

"Was Dada sick?" Suri questioned, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

Jet managed a slight smile. "No, baby. I just had a headache." _And a hell of terrible one, at that._

Her tiny face scrunched up in thought. "But it go away?"

He couldn't help it. Her adorable way of talking just _forced_ him to smile. "Yes, sweetheart. It went away. It's all gone now."

Now Suri smiled back at him. "Yay!" she cheered, throwing her little arms up into the air. "Now Dada can come play!"

"Do I _have_ to?" Jet asked, feigning disappointment.

" _Yes_!" his daughter declared. "Dada _has_ to come play!"

Unable to suppress a laugh, Jet tickled the child until she squealed and squirmed away from him. Giggling like the joyous child she was, she slipped down off the bed and ran for her room just beside his own. Shaking his head, Jet also climbed out of the bed. The memories of his visions from before still weighed heavily on his mind, but... Suri, Wave, and everyone else that he cared for was here now. The future would come whether he spent his time and energy worrying about it or not. Sooner or later, it would come. However, he was determined to focus on what already was _now_. He was going to lose all these people eventually... but for now, he was going to enjoy whatever time he had left with them. After all, it was like Kath once told him...

 _"These seconds of existence are precious. Let us not waste even a single one of them."_

 **~台風の目~**

 **5,166 words this time, AND THIS IS THE END OF EOTS, FOLKS! BE SURE TO LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT STORY IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS!**

 **Oh, and also, I'll be posting the last couple of playlist bonus chapters to this story later today before I actually mark this as complete by the way. Just thought I'd let ya'll know. Anyway, I seriously hope you all enjoyed this! I know it was dark and painful and took a long time to finish, but hopefully it was worth it regardless! Posted (at about 11:30 a.m.) 09-24-18.**


	122. EotS Bonus Chapter 3: Playlist Pt 3

**~台風の目~**

 **"EotS Bonus Chapter 3: Playlist Pt 3"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _EVERY SONG LISTED CAN BE FOUND ON YOUTUBE._

 _* = The main theme (if there are two or more of these for one character/event/whatever, it means that there's a tie, as far as which fits best)._

 _# = Two or more characters share the same theme_

 _Note: Every character/event/whatever is allowed to have two songs from the actual Sonic games and whatnot (though they won't necessarily have any listed). But just two._

 _Hey, I'm always open to suggestions! Have a song you think works for something? Let me know! I may just add it!_

 **~ 台風の目~**

 **Friend Themes:**

 **Kaden and Locke:**

*Dear My Friend _(from Sonic Unleashed (This is perfect for Locke at the end of the story, after Kaden and Analia die. It especially works when you think of how terribly he must miss Kaden especially (not that he doesn't miss Analia, too).))_

*Jump! _(from Two Steps From Hell (This one works perfectly for when they're kicking ass together.))_

 **Locke and Analia:**

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Sonic and Knuckles:**

Ultimate Secrets _(from Naruto; Sasuke version)_

 **Sonic and Jet:**

*The World That Was Transparent _(from Naruto Shippuden (This song fits perfectly if you think about how Jet left before. You can find the English lyrics on Anime Lyrics Dot com.))_

 **Jet and Wave:**

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Jet and Selene:**

 _(So what if Selene's dead? I'm still adding this.)_

*Sign (Slow Version) _(by Flow; from Naruto Shippuden (This song really works when one thinks about the lyrics coupled with the emotions conveyed by the person singing the song. The English lyrics can be found on Anime Lyrics Dot com.))_

*Always Mine _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Tails and Silver:**

*Go Go Naruto! _(from Naruto (This sounds like them getting into trouble together… And maybe running away from whatever havoc they caused. XD))_

 **Events:**

 _(Please note that these are horribly out of order and that I lack the willpower to sit down and fix that. Also, no, there isn't a song or even a category for every event (even the major ones) that happened in the story. The only events listed are the ones that were important and/or I just happened to have a song for.)_

 **Terrible Destruction:**

 _(The Babylo-Syxan War)_

*Blackheart _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*SkyWorld _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*El Dorado _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Return of the King:**

 _(Kaden unleashes his magic for the first time, revealing his identity to the world)_

*Victory _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Arrival! The Babylonians Appear!:**

 _(The arrival of Jet's army)_

*Departure to the Front Lines _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

 **The Power of Storm:**

 _(Jet lashes out at Kethro when they first meet)_

*Archangel _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Ruler of the Old World:**

 _(Kaden meets Satsuno's spirit)_

*A Father's Wish _("Chichi no Negai"; from the movie Inuyasha: Swords of an Honorable Ruler)_

 **Eternal Hope:**

 _(Kaden's meets Seiko's spirit)_

*Love of Izayoi _("Izayoi he no Omoi"; from Inuyasha)_

 **Goodbye, Old Friend:**

 _(Tails's "death")_

*Farewell to Hero _(by Peter Roe (feat. Ùyanga Bold))_

*A Sacrifice to Save You _(by Efisio Cross)_

 **Broken Seal:**

 _(Kimmy and Lia release the unknown dark force trapped beyond the Black Gate)_

*Awakening the Beast _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Death of a Close Friend:**

 _(Wave's end)_

*Young Obito Death Theme _(from a Naruto Shippuden OST, track 6)_

Rebirth:

 **(Wave's revival)**

*Evening Calm _(from Naruto Shippuden's third movie OST, track 34 (Especially the vocal part toward the end.))_

 **Peace:**

 _(Arriving home from war)_

*Morning _(from Naruto)_

Rekindled Light (Save the Speech!) _(from Sonic Unleashed)_

All Right _(from Sonic X)_

 **"Don't Test Me.":**

 _(Jet unleashes the Raiga)_

*My Name _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

 **Clash! Fire and Lightning:**

 _(Sonic vs. Jet)_

*Kokuten (Extended) _("Sunspot"; from Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 13)_

*God of War _(from Naruto Shippuden the Third Movie OST, Track 32)_

*Rising Dragon _(from Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 1)_

Violent Fluctuation _(from a Naruto Shippuden Movie)_

 **Aftermath (When the Battle's Lost and Won):**

 _(Aftermath of the final fight)_

*The Guts to Never Give Up _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

Silent Song _(from Naruto Shippuden; this works well for the continued grieving of Kaden and Analia's deaths immediately following the battle.)_

Rain From a Cloudless Sky _(from a Naruto Shippuden Movie. (This, like Silent Song, works well for the continued grieving of Kaden and Analia's deaths immediately following the battle.))_

Afterglow _(from the Naruto Shippuden Second Movie OST, Track 7. (This, like Silent Song, works well for the continued grieving of Kaden and Analia's deaths immediately following the battle.))_

 **The Fall:**

 _(Kaden and Analia's death scene)_

*Decision _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

 **Grief (Laying the Fallen to Rest):**

 _(Kaden and Analia's burial)_

*Yamagasumi _("Mountain Haze"; from Naruto Shippuden OST 2)_

*Shirohae _("The Rain Stops"; from Naruto Shippuden)_

 **Sadness and Sorrow:**

 _(Sonic's pain and loss)_

*Ochihabune _("Floating Dead Leaves"; from Naruto Shippuden)_

 **~台風の目~**

 **Just one more after this, then I'll mark the story as complete. There will be no further bonus chapters after this next one.**


	123. EotS Bonus Chapter 4: Playlist Pt 4

**~台風の目~**

 **"EotS Bonus Chapter 4: Playlist Pt 4"**

 **~台風の目~**

 _EVERY SONG LISTED CAN BE FOUND ON YOUTUBE._

 _* = The main theme (if there are two or more of these for one character/event/whatever, it means that there's a tie, as far as which fits best)._

 _# = Two or more characters share the same theme_

 _Note: Every character/event/whatever is allowed to have two songs from the actual Sonic games and whatnot (though they won't necessarily have any listed). But just two._

 _Hey, I'm always open to suggestions! Have a song you think works for something? Let me know! I may just add it!_

 **~ 台風の目~**

 **Character Themes Part 2 (BONUS TRACKS):**

 **Kaden's Inheritance (the King's Dragon):**

*Lightning Speed _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

Girei (Extended) _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

 **Kaden (Death):**

*Hisou _("Tragic"; From Naruto Shippuden (This fits his death scene so perfectly. ;_;))_

Man of the World _(Extended ver.; From Naruto Shippuden)_

 **Analia's Light (The Heavenly Phoenix):**

*Jinora's Light _(from Avatar: The Legend of Korra)_

 **Light Analia:**

 _(Same as Sonic's Pure Hyper Form, as far as fur color goes. Unlike Sonic, however, her eyes don't change.)_

Response of Souls Song (Naruto Shippuden Movie OST, Track 01 _(I swear I think the movie is actually called that. I can't find a different title anywhere.))_

 **Analia (Death):**

*Shitsui _("Despair"; From Naruto Shippuden)_

 **Final Sonic:**

The Hero Within _(by James Paget)_

*The God Awakened _(Uchiha Madara's Theme; from Naruto Shippuden)_

Power from the Soul _(from Inuyasha)_

 **Emi Rose, Daughter of Sonic and Amy:**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Grey Rose, Son of Sonic and Amy:**

 _(Seldom uses his last name.)_

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Kohaku, Son of Silver and Blaze:**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Ava, Daughter of Silver and Blaze:**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Kayde, Son of Knuckles and Rouge:**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Alexander Li Prower, Adopted son of Tails:**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Vanilla (Death):**

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Cream (Adult):**

*Evergreen _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Charmy (Adult):**

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Mei, Daughter of Marthal and Keiri:**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

 _(NO TRACKS FOUND YET! OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Natallie, Daughter of Marthal and Keiri (Nickname: "Nat"):**

 _(Being fairly minor characters overall, at least comparatively, all the kids are only going to have general themes.)_

*Tressa, the Merchant _(from Octopath Traveler)_

 **~台風の目~**

 **Alright, that's it! This story is officially done! Keep an eye out for the first chapter of the next story, "Eternal Shadow Falls", either tomorrow or the day after!**


End file.
